Finding Greenland

Never was Greenland on her bucket list, but after this journey, the world’s largest island rose to the top, writes Representative Lucy Torres-Gomez

- Lucy Torres-Gomez

Even in the spaces between a thousand daydreams, I never imagined I would find myself in Greenland one day. And yet there we were, Richard and I, with our happy group of eight—Ben, Miguel, Tito Ver, Tita Ne, Bryan, and Kai. Later on, we would find out that aside from the staff and crew of about 42, we were the only Filipinos on the ship. (Passengers totalled almost 120 plus staff and crew and the 13-man expedition team. As cruises go, this was a fairly small size.)

It has been said that the insatiable itch to travel is especially true for those with moles on the soles of their feet. Ben has always been an adventurer, and as usual, that wanderlust of his that has led us to many places through the years brought us to Greenland in September. Thank you, Ben, for what turned out to be an epic experience. It may never have been top of mind for anyone of us but it certainly will go into that file in my memory of memories labelled “FAVOURITES.”

The Greenland in my mind was one of those places I would only find in the storybooks of my childhood, like a postcard image sent from the edge of the world, or scenes from a documentary in National Geographic. A place lonely, cold, and oh-so-far away. “Why there?” “What will you do in Greenland?” “After seeing all the icebergs, won’t you get bored?” “10 days at sea?!” “Won’t it be too cold?!” “Are you sure to even see the Northern Lights?”

But after being there for 10 days or so, through days that were the same but different, I thought of Greenland more as a journey than a destination. That string of days that always started off-ship with boat rides and treks that brought us to windows of views so beautiful they take the breath away alongside the emotions they stirred in both the burdened and unburdened spaces within, sums up the Greenland you take home with you.