Greenland is one of the least spoiled regions of the world. The air is clean and clear, as are the waterways. One can see for miles in all directions on a clear day, and a sunny day there takes one's breath away. The island's isolation, sparse population, and lack of natural resources has preserved it from development seen in other arctic areas like Alaska and Siberia.

I experienced Greenland's wild side often during my stays in 1998 and 1999. In 1998, I trekked 180 kilometers between the coastal city of Sisimiut and the old U.S. airbase of Kangerlussuaq, known previously as Søndrestrom Air Base. My hike brought me in touch with Greenlandic wilderness, a land filled with mosquitoes and wet, hard-to-walk bog. (See this map of Greenland's west coast, courtesy of the of the Greenland Tourism Office.)

In 1999, I made another trek from the old Norse ruins of Gardar, known as Igaliku, to the coastal city of Qaqortoq. My trip in southwest Greenland, which I called "Viking hiking," stretched 60 kilometers and offered historic ruins of Norse Greenlanders, waterfalls aplenty, and scenic vistas onto rocky mountains and ice-filled fjords.

I also visited several of Greenland's stunningly beautiful fjords. In 1998, I sailed down the third-longest fjord in the world, Søndre Strømfjord, in a state-run ferry. I also visited Kangerluarsuq Ungalleq, a fjord north of Sisimiut, with a Greenland family on a hunting and fishing trip.

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Blue Ice, Greenland

Compressed ice, often thousands of years old, creates a unique phenomenon of blue icebergs, which are common in coastal waters.

Wild Greenland

Near the Redekammen mountains in southwest Greenland, waterfalls spill from upper valley lakes.

Greenlandic Icebergs

Fjords of Greeland present a dizzying array of icebergs, many a brilliant blue due to ice compression over tens of thousands of years.

Full Moon Over Nuuk

A full moon rises over the harbor outside the Greenlandic capital, Nuuk.

Beach Stones of Southwest Greenland

Stones, not sand, cover the beach along Qaqortukulooq.

Redekammen Mountains, Greenland

Clouds cover the Redekammen Mountains, a highlight on the trek from Igaliku to Qaqortoq, in southwest Greenland.

Greenland Highlands

A lone lake sits atop a high plateau near the Redekammen Mountains, in Southwest Greenland.

Ice-Choked Fjord, Greenland

Ice in fjords like Tunnulliarfiq closed down trade between Norse Greenland and Europe by the 15th century.

Eriksfjord, Greenland

In 982 A.D., Erik the Red first sailed up Tunnulliarfiq, calling the stretch of water Eriksfjord.

A Rock and a Hard Place

A late evening sun lights up "flower valley" just outside Narsasuaq, Greenland.

Greenland Waterfall

Many waterfalls and pools can be found on the hike from Igaliku to Qaqortoq.

Nuuk Sunset

A final ship comes into Nuuk's harbor as night turns to day near 11 p.m. on a stunningly gorgeous July evening.

Greenland Pack Ice

Icebergs and pack ice fill the waterways in southwest Greenland.

Iceberg Navigation

Near Narsaq, in South Greenland, a tugboat heads out in the early morning fog.

Flowers and Fog

Buttercups cover the hills outside Narsaq, in southwest Greenland.

Flower Valley

Near Narsasuaq, flowers summer flowers light up a valley.

Sisimiut Mountains

On the trek between Sisimiut and Kangerlussuaq, the mountains near Sisimiut break out of the clouds.

Kangerluarsuq Ungalleq Fjord

Morning light fills Kangerluarsuq Ungalleq fjord, just north of Sisimiut.