After two full-days of dog sledding, the terrain grew more interesting as I approached Ilulissat.

In the harsh arctic climate, the connection between sledge dog and owner is perhaps one of the most important. Their lives depend on it to survive out here. The Greenlandic Dog is a work animal, and not treated as a pet. The dogs sleep outside, eat outside, and are trained to urinate and defecate while running. There is definitely a bond between the dogs and their Inuit drivers who feed and take care of them.

Greenland sledge dogs work through the snow with a sled in tow.

I've always wondered just how big igloos are in real life. It turns out, they're both bigger and smaller than I would think. While I wouldn't say this is a particularly large igloo, you can see how a couple people could easily fit inside. The openings to the igloos are always a bit below ground level as that helps prevent heat loss when the door is opened by sheltering it from the wind.

There's a magical place not too far away from Kangerlussuaq in Greenland where the glacier movements force the ice into incredible structures. Everywhere you walk in this magical place, Mother Nature's icy secrets are slowly revealed. If you're quiet, and don't move, you can literally hear the water and ice moving!

For my penultimate night in Greenland, I decided to walk over to Hotel Arctic, which is supposed to be the finest hotel in the entire country. Hotel Arctic is more or less separated from the rest of Ilulissat by this small harbor. Over the course of a few days, I saw the harbor completely freeze over and thaw out again. Truly amazing how the variation of a few degrees can change the entire look.

This harbor seems to serve all of Ilulissat. With a population of just a few thousand people, while small it is still large enough to hold a bunch of these small boats.

One of my fondest memories of Greenland is cruising out through Disko Bay and into the Ilulissat Icefjord. As the captain navigates through the icebergs, there's a sense of exploration and excitement that captivates you. You never know what is going to appear before your eyes after you pass the next iceberg or two.