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leaned against the railing and watched a seagull bobbing in the boat’s wake.
    In Disko Bay proper, there was lots of ice, mountains of it, but there was enough open water to maneuver, so the crashing thuds against the hull had ceased. The thing that had drawn Kelly’s eye from the moment she had arrived in Greenland and the thing that continued to do so every day since was Disko Bay. From almost anywhere in Ilulissat, you had a view of it, a body of tranquil water stretching off to the horizon. The changing light throughout the day and night created a wide range of colors on the ice from the most brilliant white to pinkish golds and bluish purples. The entire scene was stunning. No photograph could have prepared her for this, the clarity and three-dimensional exquisiteness. Nevertheless she, like all visitors, took photo after photo trying to capture that elusive beauty.
    Pippa scanned a document on her clipboard. “Seven today, plus you. Three Americans, a British couple, two Danes.”
    “Three Americans? I’ve only seen the Coopers.”
    “There’s another woman, Sonja Holm. She’s standing at the stern.”
    Kelly nodded. “What about the old woman? You don’t have her on your list?”
    “Old woman?”
    “She’s a Greenlander. I think she’s in the cabin.”
    Before boarding, a woman wearing a man’s cotton work shirt and sealskin pants had stood on the dock speaking to Amaalik. She had a perfectly round, weathered face, narrow eyes, a wide nose and yellowed teeth. Her black and silver hair was thin and straight, lying flat on her head, cut off unambiguously just under her jawline. The top of her head had been level with Amaalik’s neck, and he wasn’t a tall man. She had carried a bulky canvas bag over one arm like a purse.
    “I’ll go check,” announced Pippa.
    She walked back to the cabin and disappeared inside.
    In the distance, the closely-packed wooden buildings of Ilulissat receded. The colorful little houses on the hills faced all different directions with no garages, no driveways, no roads leading to them. What became immediately apparent to a woman from Colorado were the odd-looking spaces between the houses. No grass. No trees or shrubbery. No fences. These cheerful little houses struck her as touchingly vulnerable, as if a strong wind could blow them away. But somehow they endured in the toughest inhabited climate on Earth.
    Three or four short roads ran through the main section of town, the business district. No roads led out of town. Out here, there was nothing but wild, solid bedrock. No sign of agriculture or industry or anything to suggest a human had ever set foot on any of it.
    The ice and extreme northern remoteness reminded Kelly of Alaska, but this place was also significantly different. It was harsher, less green and less populated. Ilulissat was the third largest city in Greenland, but back home it would be a small town. The entire population of Greenland would easily fit in one medium-sized American city. Most of the country was uninhabited and uninhabitable. The towns and villages that did exist were cut off from everything. Even in the middle of summer, Ilulissat seemed far from the rest of the world. She couldn’t imagine what it was like in winter.
    “Kaffe!” Nuka announced, standing in the middle of the deck, his golden brown face flashing a cheerful smile. The boy was the only crewmember on this vessel and his duties were to hand out cushions and blankets, to make coffee and to tie and untie the guide ropes whenever they docked.
    The Coopers dashed toward the cabin. A hot cup of coffee was the extent of amenities on this ship, but it was a welcome one. Kelly was ready for a cup herself, her ears and nose partly numb from the freezing wind.
    Pippa returned with two cups and handed one to her. “I added hot water to yours.”
    “Thanks!”
    “The old woman isn’t a tourist,” Pippa reported. “Her name is Nivi. She lives between Ilulissat and Rodebay. She’s