When we think of Greenland, inhospitable, untouched landscapes, an inhumanly hostile climate, and wild animals come to mind. Of the two million square kilometers of land that Greenland covers (four times the area of Spain), 85% is covered by an ice sheet. So traveling to Greenland must be an adventure. Living there, an odyssey. Proof of this is that its population barely exceeds 57,000 inhabitants. That is why Greenland is a place for fearless hearts, true explorers... and perhaps also for the boldest ARISTOPETERS who dare to travel there.
Because a recent census, compiled by two Spaniards, reveals that there are more dogs than people. The initiative, called “Arctic Challenge,” was carried out by explorers Manuel Calvo and his son, Manuel Calvo Ariza, who, at 17, has become one of the youngest adventurers in the Arctic.
During the 22 days the expedition lasted, the explorers covered 400 kilometers in temperatures between -20 and -32ºC in northern Greenland. This expedition enabled them to create a census of the native dogs to verify that climate change has reduced their population. The census nevertheless shows that Greenland is the kingdom of dogs, since in that region there are a total of 1,420 animals compared with 1,210 inhabitants.
In this inhospitable environment, the canines - characterized by the morphological uniformity of the breed along Greenland’s east and south coasts - and humans maintain a symbiotic relationship to overcome the extremely harsh conditions they face.
The expedition had the support of the University of Málaga and carried the Andalusian flag to the North Pole. The next steps will involve developing an awareness campaign in schools to promote responsible pet ownership and animal welfare, together with education about respect for the environment and climate change.
Without a doubt, this is an ambitious, brave, and interesting initiative that provides us with new and fascinating information about the situation of ARISTODOGS in a remote setting. This fact joins other equally curious details that help create a magical yet terrifying image of this enormous island of ice and snow - which, incidentally, used to be green; hence its name.
For example, there is no right of private ownership of land in Greenland; all land is communal. Nor are there roads connecting two inhabited settlements in Greenland. To travel between villages or towns, you have to go by plane, boat, or snowmobile.
We also knew that Greenland has character, personality, and clear ideas. It was the first territory to leave the European Union club (although it seems the United Kingdom was the pioneer) in order to safeguard its fishing interests. And that is not all. The country voted overwhelmingly in favor of the right to self-determination in a 2008 referendum. It already feels so independent that it celebrates Independence Day on June 21... although it cannot become independent from Denmark. Its current economic structure makes Greenland as a country unviable.
We hope you found this post interesting. If, after reading it, you feel like traveling... to another destination, we encourage you to keep reading here.