I Explored the World’s Most Extreme Island (14 Day Arctic Expedition).

Ever since I was little, and even now, I've had an obsession with maps. I've always loved being able to imagine what these places must be like in real life, but there's always been this one spot that has never made sense to me. Every time I look at this place on the map, I have so many questions. Why would people choose to live in a place that seems pretty inhospitable? How do they survive the cold? And also, how do you get around on an island that is mostly ice? So I've been doing a lot of research on how to travel in Greenland, and apparently there's not even roads or trains that connect all of these different areas across the island. So the only real way to get around is either by air or by sea. Opportunity to travel here for myself, but now, thanks to Seabourn, I'm going on this voyage across the entire southern tip of Greenland. Oh, wow. Home sweet home for the next 14 nights. And apparently the best way to see everything up close is by Zodiac. Icebergs are the very first thing I've seen of this incredible island, and I'm already so blown away. After setting sail from Reykjavik, Iceland, the sea became rough, and we were struggling with seasickness for days. We've been in this room for like almost 24 hours, and it has not stopped rocking super intensely the entire time. It almost feels like having like a tranquilizer dart put into you where you're just like struggling to stay awake the entire time. There's like no solution to this type of seasickness. We got some seasickness pills last night, definitely needed them. First thing you read on the seasickness pills, fun fact, is to take them an hour before the seasickness starts. So we were already off to a terrible start. We have no idea how long this is gonna take to get through this rough water. This is epic and terrifying at the same time. The most unsettling feeling is just like captain is just going in a direction and show the people where we're headed. Looking out from the side of the ship, a desolate, lonely landscape began to appear on the horizon. The time to finally explore this place arrived here, the largest town in Eastern Greenland. Honestly, there's not a lot to do in these kind of places. They're pretty sleepy little towns, but I actually went to this workshop that's right behind me and met this sweet little old man who was showing me traditional Inuit sunglasses that protect, you know, back in the day before there were sunglasses, these would protect your eyes from the sun. He showed me that he was working on like this boat carving and I also saw this blade that's used for cutting seal and whale blubber to eat. And wandering up around another corner, we found some dog sled teams. So the dogs, the working dogs that are used for like mushing and these dogs are definitely outdoor dogs. We saw some of them getting fed and that's a completely different breed of animal compared to the chinchillas that we have at home. What are they called? Chihuahuas. Just feels like immediately it's like stepped into an entirely different world. Just came out to catch the last bit of the sunset and this has gotta be one of the most remarkable views in nature that I've ever seen. There's these gorgeous icebergs floating by. The colors, the water is just so still right now that it's reflecting perfectly. Have you ever seen anything that looks this beautiful? Wow. You when you were born. Aw. By the way, that's obviously my dad. My parents were able to join me on this trip as well. Around the world again. Around the world again, we must have cared. Oh, and as usual, there's Lionel, my videographer and editor extraordinaire. Hiking along the beach for the first time. It's pretty cold, a little bit rainy, but I'm excited to see what we're gonna find out here. There's just really like nothing out here at all. I've never been to a place like this in my entire life. So literally 360 views of mountains right now. Isn't that crazy? By the way, I have to say a huge thank you to Seabourn for inviting my family and I to experience Greenland with them. If you're interested in taking a trip like this with Seabourn check out the link in my description to the Scott and Thomas Travel Agency who will help you book your dream vacation. We are about to go on a submersible submarine dive. I think these subs go down to about 300 meters and I'm honestly very afraid. This is crazy. Going under the ocean, baby. I think it's scary, but it's not. Like I'm way less scared now than I thought I was gonna be. We've made it to the top. Mucho gracias for this wonderful daddy-daughter experience. You're raising the bar worldwide, kiddo. Well, they just announced that it's time to do some polar plunges. I am so anxious right now, I can feel my heart pounding. This is gonna by far be the coldest water that I've ever jumped into. That was the coldest water I've ever felt, for sure. That was crazy. It almost like, I feel like I can't even breathe. Wow, like the adrenaline you get from that. My whole body feels like it's glowing right now. The feeling when you first hit the water, your brain can't even wrap it around how cold it is. Wow, that was amazing, wow. Go. That was brutal. Let's do it one more time. Together? Yeah, let's do it. Three, two, one. I prefer warm water. That was sick. Is there a way to tell how old the ice is? Every layer is one year. So you were saying that this glacier leads all the way up to the Greenland ice sheet? Yeah, you start, you climb this wall, you start walking towards the north And there's no rocks? No, one single rock, just ice. This morning, going on an early morning helicopter ride. Landing on a glacier. We landed onto the glacier, and this is actually a part of the ice sheet, the Greenland ice sheet. There's only two ice sheets in the world. One in Antarctica, and one in Greenland. You have to be really careful walking around the ice sheet because there's hidden crevasses, and even just massive holes that'll kind of pop up out of nowhere that you can fall into. And if you fall in there, it's really big trouble. It apparently takes a while for search and rescue to make it out here. So you gotta be really careful, but this is absolutely stunning. Such a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Feels so surreal to be here. We found ourselves in this store that's simultaneously like an outdoor supply store and a grocery store. And the packaging of all of this food, this is mushrooms. It's just like liquid, and everything seems to be in bulk. I don't know if this is like a normal grocery store, but. No, it seems like that. This is what I would imagine like astronaut food, didn't it? Yeah. Right? It's like astronaut food slash like apocalypse food. Tasanakuniratamasa. Let me know in the comments if that sounds right. It does. It kind of looks like falling into one of those ridiculously scenic Instagram pages for hiking things. I've never really, and every single direction is like gorgeous. Doesn't even make sense. This is actually the first time that this ship has ever come to this spot. So, who knows? Like the last time there were people here. So I just found out that there's actually like graves in some of these giant stacks of rocks, which I don't even understand because there's nobody who lives here. There's not a bad view here. No. Everywhere you look is picturesque. What are we doing? Lexi, what are we doing? I don't know. This is insane. There is certainly more to this place than just ice, but there was something missing from my time here. Real human connection. That was until I met a 23-year-old girl from the most northern town in Greenland, Halloumi. What is it like being like a young person here? Because it seems like there's not a lot of people around. I grew up in Ghana, where they have like a very strong traditional mindset. And then like, I'm also, I also grew up in Nuuk, where they have more like innovative way of thinking. So I would say like, being at this age in this generation, it's very mind opening because you have like both... Like the traditional way of doing things and like the modern. Everything else. Me, I do a lot of traditional things. Like I'm learning to go narwhal hunting and learning about the farming here. And I know how to go reindeer hunting, seal hunting, but also on the side, I, in the everyday life, I work with like tourism. Narwhal hunting, that's crazy. You said it so casually. Yeah, I saw some narwhals, some reindeers. Wow. What's your favorite part about living in Greenland? I would say the nature, but also the people as well. I have to go back to where I currently living. Okay. How far is that from here? It's around 15, 20 kilometers. And it takes about two hours by boat. How many people live in that town? 13. In total? 13. But currently eight to seven people. Also, it was only five years ago I first came to South Greenland and people were like in the street, oh, are you this Penny's best daughter? And they could recognize me by my father as well. People I didn't know. It just seems like Greenland is one big, small town. Yeah, one big, small family. Where I'm coming from, there are most of the places, they don't have running water or electricity. They have electricity, but they don't have a signal, like where you can call. They only have like satellite, wifi, and it's very limited. You must have seen some crazy northern lights growing up. You've seen all the colors. We've still never seen that. So high on my bucket list to see them. It's actually possible to see the northern lights now. I've seen one last year, but I don't know if there's gonna be northern lights because of the skies, but when it's clear and when it's dark, you can see it. I hope we see it. I wanna see it so bad. Aw, good to meet you. It's nice to meet you. Hi. Yeah? Nice to meet you. I've officially made it to the capital city of Greenland. We're in Nuuk today, and our friend Halumi from the other day introduced me to a guy who's from here and he's gonna be showing us around. Got some freshly made caribou, some salt. Yep. Wow. This is great. It is a perfect hiking snack. Wow. Fresh mountain water straight from the source. What is like your favorite thing to do in Greenland? Long distance kayaking. Okay, nice. And caribou hunting. And just being in the wilderness, it just feels wonderful. The long distance, it's my specialty. Like the longer it gets, I like it more. Okay, nice. How long do you compete? The longest we have was, when I won the longest distance, it's 120 kilometers, 12 hours and 44 minutes. Whoa. And are those the ones that you went to the championships for? Yeah. And you've won how many? 11 times in the competition, like a national champion. Wow, wow. Was it 11 years in a row, like back to back, you won? Let's see, there's some a few years I didn't compete. Okay. Except for those years, yeah. So every time you competed. Yeah. Okay, you won. I know the way to say it, I never become a second. What? I've never seen the Northern Lights before. It's almost one o'clock in the morning and they just came on the loudspeaker and said they are seeing the Northern Lights. So let's get out there. We just came across this old mining town and it turns out that this area of Greenland was really important during World War II because in this quarry here, this was one of the only places in the world where they could find a mineral that was like necessary to make aluminum. So apparently the Americans and the Germans fought all along this coastline and there's a bunch of shipwrecks here from that time and it's so bizarre. And there's so much stuff left behind. It's like a time capsule. We are going kayaking at a place called the Eternity Fjord. And these are already the most spectacular conditions. The water feels like glass and it's so quiet. It's gotta be some of the best kayaking in the world. How'd we fall? You can't beat this. No. You can't beat this. Not a bad way to finish the trip, right? No, not at all. Today's our final day in Greenland. And I got to say, or have to say, we definitely saved the best for last. This is pretty cool. When I first arrived in Greenland, I had no idea what to expect. Each place's name felt like a mystery and every experience brought its own surprises. What started as genuine curiosity, a desire to fill that blank space on the map that so few people explore, has become one of the most unique travel experiences of my life. I came here to answer my own questions about this place, but somehow I'm leaving with even more. This isn't an empty, desolate landscape in the slightest. It's a wild land full of untamed spirit, of culture, and of people who want to make it their own. I'm grateful for every adventure, every story shared, and I'm already certain I'll be back again to discover even more of what lies beneath the icy surface. Yay! We're pouring so much love into making these videos. We hope you enjoy them. Right, Lionel? Right.