Greenland: On board the Fram

This is a true expedition. There's not a lot of there there to Kangerlussauq...maybe two dozen buildings, including the airport, a pizzeria, bowling alley, swimming pool and a couple of hotels. All are pre-fab buildings; in a place where cold and snow dominate and trees are no where in sight, the usual construction methods don't work.

We wander over to the local museum, a mecca for aviation buffs -- The Husband is enthralled -- but interesting enough even for a non-flyer. Among the many exhibits: Photos of polar bears shot when they threatened the local population (last one, 1998) and the story of Willie the Musk Ox. Willie so adored people that he became a community threat. The local officials lassoed him from a four-wheel pick-up and tried to move him far away, but he returned. When he threatened an air transit passenger and her child, he had to be put down. Sad, but what else could they do?

Boarding time, and a bus whisked us to the harbor, a simple waterfront with a dock, two or three local boats and a single storage building. We donned our life vests and hopped aboard eight-passenger open launches for the 10-minute ride to our home for the next six days, the Fram.

The staff is friendly and helpful. Interiors: Soothing pale woods, copper etchings, wide windows. No balconies in the cabins: This ship goes to the Arctic and Antarctica, and there's no value in freezing. In this wilderness, comfort will be king.