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Our flight into Kulusuk, on the east coast of Greenland was the most spectacular flight either of us has ever been on. It took about two hours and we came down over giant icebergs and mountains rising straight from the sea. Polar bears that had been shot on the runway were mounted in the airport. From there, it was two more hours over ice to Nuuk. The pilot dove the Dash 8 steeply down through driving rain and 50 mph head winds. It was pretty scary. There was nobody to meet us at the tiny airport, so the baggage handler offered us a ride to our apartment in Blok 10.

Combine a Philadelphia ghetto with Lopez Island and you get Nuuk. With a population of only 15,000 it’s a small town, but it feels like a big city and has big city problems. There are no roads out, just an airport, a harbor, huge decaying apartment buildings and glorious scenery.

Sometimes Jonas Heilmann fishes for cod, haddock, and redfish; sometimes he shoots birds, sometimes seals or reindeer; but he’s mostly known for hunting whale, like his father. We spent two days hunting and fishing with Jonas from an 18-foot open boat. The first day we jigged for cod using a large real that was clamped to the side of the boat and a line with seven hooks. In the middle of the day, we ate blueberries at the abandoned village where his mother lived before the Danish government moved everyone from small settlements into block apartments in Nuuk. The second day we hunted birds and harp seal with a rusty riffle and double-barreled shotgun. Hunting seal was a powerful (and bloody) tradition to be a part of. We were also invited to his father’s house where we ate cake and looked at old photographs of whaling vessels with five grown grandchildren and their friends.

We spent most of our time in Nuuk meeting with politicians, scientists and administrators while waiting for good weather. Hunting and fishing from small boats is very weather dependent. There has been a recent increase in rain, wind and generally unpredictable weather on the west coast of Greenland. On the good days, when we were out in the boat, we still wore every piece of clothing we brought. We drifted beside humpback whales and listened to gunfire echo across the fjord.

We are so grateful to Jonas and his family for opening their lives and helping us to understand the complexities of modern life in Greenland’s capitol city.