No getting blotto in the grotto

If you believe the tourist boards' publicity, Father Christmas has homes all over the north lands. He is, though, Greenland's most famous son. Cathy Packe set out to find him.

It was probably always a forlorn hope to think I might track down Father Christmas. We know, after all, only what he does on one day of the year and even then it is difficult to know where he will be at any given time. But since I was in Greenland, I thought it might be worth looking him up, maybe joining him for a mince pie and a glass of sherry (only one, mind; no getting blotto in the grotto).

According to Greenland tourist board propaganda, he goes to his holiday home at Spraglebugten, near the northern town of Uummannaq, twice a year: in the early summer so that the reindeer can relax, while he goes out with a team of dogs to get in supplies; and in the autumn, when he has a short break before the Christmas rush.

I asked the receptionist at my hotel how to get to Spraglebugten. Just go up the hill, take the path to the left, and follow the red arrows, she said. Oh, and take this with you. She gave me a key. I assumed it would let me in through the main door of the hotel. But as I put it into my pocket, I noticed the name on the tag: Julmandenshaus. Father Christmas's house!

It took me just under an hour to get there, scrambling over rocks, often wondering whether I would find the next red arrow. And I wasn't really sure what sort of house I was looking for. Would it have a big chimneypot? Would there be reindeer grazing nearby? Would the sleigh be parked outside, as one is at so many houses in northern Greenland?

In the event, there was no chance of confusion. It was the only house for miles around, built in the most perfect spot, on the edge of the fjord, out of sight of the nearby town. It has an uninterrupted view of the icebergs in the bay, and there is plenty of time to spot anyone coming down the mountain for a visit. The house is built in the old Greenlandic style, from blocks of turf, but unlike many traditional homes, this has a green- painted wooden porch and windows.

I waited for someone to answer my knock, but no one came. There were no signs of life, so I took the key from my pocket and let myself in. A hall area opened into one very large room. On the desk by the front door was a poinsettia, and on the wall above it a photo which must have been Father Christmas when younger. He was wearing a red waistcoat and jacket, with red-and-white striped trousers, and he had a neatly trimmed short white beard.

The room was cosy, although I don't think anyone had been in it for some time. There was a stove in one corner. The table and chairs, and the bed, on a slightly raised platform at one end of the room, were covered in sealskin rugs. All around were odd Christmas decorations, some in wicker baskets. There were also several half-made toys. On the wall were paintings and family photos showing Father Christmas with his wife and children - three sons and two daughters.

Clearly I was here at the wrong time of year if I hoped to find Santa Claus. Since the address of his main residence is a closely guarded secret, the only thing I could do was see if I could catch him at his office, so I headed down south to the capital of Greenland, Nuuk.

The sorting office in Nuuk is the centre for dealing with the mountain of letters sent to Father Christmas from children all over the world. The building itself is an unattractive, modern, red-and-white edifice, which mars an otherwise quaint and old-fashioned district of Nuuk. The green metal Christmas tree outside is the only tree in Greenland. Little has been done to make this an attractive place to visit, but, as I discovered, you are more likely to see Santa Claus in your local Co-op than in Greenland.

Inside, the office was chaotic. On the counter were thousands and thousands of letters, all addressed to Father Christmas. Many were still waiting to be opened, but some had been sorted into the pigeon holes down one wall of the office. Lots of parcels were strewn around, with piles of coloured paper and ribbon, and toys lay waiting to be wrapped and put into sacks. I noticed one sack which was already full, with presents spilling out of the top. It was reassuring to see a globe in one corner, so anyone hoping for a delivery to an out-of-the-way place can be sure that every effort is being made to find it.

The sorters in the office told me that they receive up to 25,000 letters each year from all over the world. They try to answer as many as they can, and will probably reply to three-quarters; but if they can't read the handwriting, they can't write back. These days many of the letters don't just ask for a present for the writer. It is now quite common to ask for famine in Africa to be stopped, for example, or for parents not to get divorced. And sometimes, apparently, Father Christmas decides to write to the parents and pass on what their child has said.

But despite the fact that a lot of people in the sorting office were very busy, I never saw the person I was looking for. Someone thought he was around, but might be having a break. As I had now exhausted my inquiries, I adjourned to the cafe upstairs - the Cafe Rudolph - for a cup of tea. I could hardly believe my eyes when the first person I saw was a man with a long white beard. He was deep in conversation, so I would have been too embarrassed to interrupt him. And anyway, I remembered just in time that on the previous day I had been to a barbecue. And I think we might have eaten Rudolph.

ON TRACK FOR Greenland

Arrivals: There are several ways to reach Greenland, none of them cheap or easy.

Cathy Packe flew on the Scandinavian airline SAS (0345 010789) from Heathrow via Copenhagen to Narsarsuaq, using frequent flyer points. If you do not use frequent flyer points to get there, then the fare is about pounds 700 - and anyway, the last flight of the winter operated last Wednesday.

A three-times-a-week alternative is on Icelandair and Air Iceland (booked through 0345 581111) from Heathrow or Glasgow via Reykjavik to Kulusuk. Finally, the Canadian airline First Air operates links from Iqaluit in northern Canada to Kangerlussuaq and Nuuk.

Arctic Experience (01737 218800) is one of the few companies to offer package holidays in Greenland.

More information: The Danish Tourist Board, 55 Sloane Street, London SW1X 9SY (0171-259 5959) may be able to help with basic inquiries. Otherwise, contact Greenland Tourism in Copenhagen: 00 45 33 13 69 75.

Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands (Lonely Planet, pounds 11.99) has a chunky chapter on the country.

Next page: Claus wars - where does Santa really live?