What is life like for you right now?
I live between two very different places: Kullorsuaq, a small village located in northern Greenland, and Sarran, a quaint town in the rural department of Corrèze in southwestern France.
Where are you working from these days?
I was in Greenland, but now I’m back in France.
What’s your typical day like now?
I wake up around 5:30 a.m. to go for a two-hour walk in the forest. After a hearty breakfast, I help my daughter with her schoolwork before participating in conference calls with colleagues in China and Russia. Later, I take a one-hour break to train on my bike at home. To wrap up, I have more calls with the Ponant teams in France, the U.S., and Australia. My day ends around nine.
What do you do to stay sane?
I love walking! Walking in the forest is my favorite wellness activity. I can spend all day in the woods observing animals and trees. I take advantage of every opportunity I get to be out in nature. In Greenland, I spend my days on the ice floe – on skis or by sleigh.
What are you watching, reading, listening to?
During this kind of quiet time, whether related to Covid-19 or during a storm out on the ice, I take the opportunity to write. I recommend it to everyone.
What travel plans have you put on hold for the pandemic?
To quote French novelist Joseph Kessel: “Great journeys are marvelous in that their enchantment begins before the actual departure. We open atlases, we dream on maps. One repeats the magnificent names of unknown cities...” I take advantage of this period of confinement to dream: reading, browsing maps, writing, and looking for new destinations and mysterious places.
