Words & photos : Mike Keen @ eatyourenvironment www . eatyourenvironment . com
In April 2023 , I set off from Qaqortoq in the south of Greenland , intending to paddle solo over 3000km up the west coast to Qaanaaq in the far north – ‘ Qajaq from Qaqortoq to Qaanaaq ’ ( the number of ‘ Q ’ s in that catchy title having kicked off the whole idea the previous year ). All under the umbrella of climate change and connecting to our evolutionary roots , I was also eating purely ancestral Inuit food to measure the effects such an ‘ evolutionary ’ diet had on my body ( essentially sea mammals , fish and seabirds ) – either raw , fermented or cooked ).
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Words & photos : Mike Keen @ eatyourenvironment www . eatyourenvironment . com
In April 2023 , I set off from Qaqortoq in the south of Greenland , intending to paddle solo over 3000km up the west coast to Qaanaaq in the far north – ‘ Qajaq from Qaqortoq to Qaanaaq ’ ( the number of ‘ Q ’ s in that catchy title having kicked off the whole idea the previous year ). All under the umbrella of climate change and connecting to our evolutionary roots , I was also eating purely ancestral Inuit food to measure the effects such an ‘ evolutionary ’ diet had on my body ( essentially sea mammals , fish and seabirds ) – either raw , fermented or cooked ).
Ironically , I had to cut it short in Upernavik , 2200km into the expedition , due to unseasonably solid sea ice in Melville Bay . Melville would always be the trickiest section : 320km between Kullorsuaq and Savissivik , the two settlements that bookmark the Bay . The weather and ice can be , and often are treacherous , with the added spice of it being prime polar bear territory .
I left you at the last update having finished the expedition , not particularly intending to return and smash that final leg – at the time , I felt like I ’ d had a good stab at it , and circumstances beyond my control had stepped in – perhaps I was content with passing it off to fate .
But . Way back at the start , I ’ d been given a bundle of letters from mostly elderly Inuit to deliver to their families way up in the north . At the time , I knew that letters and parcels had been delivered using a qajaq and dog sled relay system all up the west coast but had no concept of what these old traditions still meant to people here . Greenland is a country with one foot firmly rooted in ancestral traditions , and its connection with its environment is very solid . And it was that small bundle of letters that started to weigh on my mind . The people of Greenland had supported me unconditionally throughout the expedition , and that increasingly vocal little voice in my head was telling me to deliver the bloody letters . Not that they contained anything particularly important or , perish the thought , anything time-sensitive ( paddling isn ’ t the fastest mode of transport , after all ).
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