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Nunavut

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    • Day 15

      Tundra Hike: Dundas Harbour

      August 12, 2022 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 41 °F

      The storm that kept us on the ship during the first half of the day abated considerably by the time we were back out in Lancaster Sound. We even had patches of blue sky. And sunshine, too. Yay! Time to put the zodiacs in the water and get us ashore for one last landing.

      Dundas Harbour (Tallaruti in Inuktitut; meaning “a woman’s chin with tattoos on it”) was where we were going to drop off our modern-day explorers for their quest to ski across the Devon Ice Cap. So, it made sense that we go ashore here for a tundra hike.

      Once again, we were called down to the ready room by our hiking groups. We tacked ourselves onto the end of the medium fast group to get the lay of the land before deciding to go with the medium slow group instead.

      The plan was to hike towards the south coast to check out some Thule ruins and then hike across a ridge to the site of an RCMP [Royal Canadian Mounted Police] station that was abandoned in 1951. The first part of the plan worked out just fine; the second part not so much.

      Because we took our time walking across the tundra to the Thule ruins, we ran out of time to get to the RCMP station on foot. No problem. We were offered a zodiac transfer to get there instead … similar to the contemplative group. The problem? The ride required going out into open waters and making our way around a headland. The water was rough … the landing beach, even if we could get there, inaccessible due to heavy swells rolling ashore. So back to the ship we went.

      Thus, for all intents and purposes, we have wrapped up our expedition. Yes, we still have several days left before we board the charter flight back to Toronto. However, those days will see us speeding back … no time to stop and explore along the way.
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    • Day 14

      And Just Like That … Everything Changes

      August 11, 2022 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 55 °F

      It was only 10:30a when we returned from our bone-jarring, cold, and wet zodiac ride. Yes, the wet gear had done its job and we were dry under our layers of clothing. But my back was killing me.

      So, I decided to see if Desiree was free for a hot stone massage. Aaahhh! So relaxing. My aches diminished and my body warmed up as she worked her magic.

      While I was being soothed, blissfully unaware of what was going on outside the treatment room, Mui was attending a mandatory meeting. It wasn’t one that had been on the schedule for the day.

      I left the spa and went to find Mui. The ship was eerily quiet. People were huddled together here and there … whispering … some gesticulating wildly. Hmmm … something was up. But what? Mui filled me in when I found him eating lunch at the Balena Restaurant.

      I’ll cut to the chase and just say that we are NOT going to be following “In the Footsteps of Franklin” after all. In fact, we are not going to be exploring much more of Arctic Canada … maybe one more day in the region and that’s it. After that we’ll be hightailing it back to Greenland as we will need about three days to get back to Kangerlussuaq.

      Why are we going back? It’s not ice blocking the way to Resolute, our original point of disembarkation. It’s not an issue with the ship. Nor is there some kind of medical emergency. A worldwide disaster is not the predicament either. The problem is the charter flight that is supposed to return us from Resolute to Toronto on the 16th.

      Only specially-equipped aircraft can land on the short, gravel runway at Resolute. These planes are smaller in size. We need two of them to fly everyone back to Toronto. One of these planes is now apparently down for a couple of weeks due to mechanical issues. There aren’t many carriers that operate this type of aircraft, so another charter from Resolute is not possible. We’re heading back to Greenland because the runway at the Kangerlussuaq Airport is paved … and can accommodate a wider variety of planes.

      Christian, our Expedition Leader, apparently got word of a potential problem yesterday — or maybe it was the day before. That just might answer why we’ve been dawdling in this area instead of heading across Lancaster Sound. Anyway, he was waiting to hear what the resolution was going to be before breaking the bad news to a shipful of passengers who came up to these latitudes with the “hope” of visiting some of the places in the annals of exploration history.

      This was depressing news, but hey … what can you do? Nothing. Got to go with the flow. We have some decent offers from Quark to make up for our troubles. Which offer will we take? That is TBD … we have some thinking to do.

      In the meantime, here’s why we’re regretting this morning’s outing. Had we not gone on the “zodiac-outing-that-made-no-sense,” we would have jumped at the chance this afternoon to go ashore at the Inuit community of Arctic Bay (Ikpiarjuk in Inuktitut … meaning "the pocket" … probably a reference to the hamlet’s location overlooking a wide bay). Hindsight and all that.

      As it is, we’re both drained … physically, and in light of the changes announced, mentally as well. My back is still achy. I just couldn’t face a rough-ish ride ashore. Missed opportunity for sure, but hopefully fellow-passengers will share some of their experiences for the expedition photo journal.

      Now to take a couple of pain killers, get a cup of hot chocolate — laced with a tiny bit of Baileys or Amarula perhaps — and relax so we can be ready for whatever tomorrow has in store for us.
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    • Day 13

      Zodiac Cruising @ Cape York

      August 10, 2022 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 39 °F

      Once we left the orcas behind, Ultramarine continued towards the north mouth of Navy Pond Inlet where it connects to Lancaster Sound.

      The plan? To do a zodiac cruise. “Christian has selected an odd place for a zodiac operation,” I thought to myself. Except for four distant bergs, there wasn’t much to see in the area. The water was quite choppy. And it was drizzling. Nonetheless, when the Fram group was called, off we went to see what we could see.

      We returned to the ship around 6:00p, removed our layers, and hurried off to the daily recap and briefing. Here we got some more news that I found odd.

      Instead of heading further up into Lancaster Sound locations, the plan for the day will keep us in the northern reaches of Baffin Island. Perhaps the heavier winds we’ve been told to expect tomorrow has something to do with this. Or the fact that we need to pick-up some modern-day explorers who will be hitching a ride with us across the sound to Devon Island are impacting the plans. Anyway, the plan is what it is and we’ll go along with it.
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    • Day 13

      Zodiac Cruise @ the Grounded Bergs

      August 10, 2022 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 41 °F

      After our hike at Low Point, we hopped on a zodiac for the promised closer look at the grounded bergs that had been tantalizing us with their presence.

      Our zodiac driver, Lauritz (glaciologist/geologist), had already been out to the bergs and knew when and where to capture the “money shot.” I opted to take a video as that moment approached to make sure I didn’t miss my chance.Read more

    • Day 13

      Tundra Hike @ Low Point

      August 10, 2022 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 41 °F

      Our first tundra hike in Arctic Canada came with a set of new rules. Basically, no meandering off on our own like we did in Greenland. No perimeter hiking here. Have to go with an armed guard/guide trained in safe-handling of guns. Polar bears don’t you know!

      At yesterday’s briefing, Christian (our Expedition Leader) had explained that we’d be going ashore with different groups if the landing involved hiking in the wilderness. The groups would be … chargers, medium-fast walkers, medium slow walkers; contemplative walkers. The goal of the first group would be to go as high and as far as possible. The remaining groups … well, their names pretty much say it all. We would be called down to the ready room by these groups as well, so we needed to decide which group we wanted to go with before we left the ship.

      We like to stop and “smell the tundra” when we are out and about, so a slower pace is optimum. But what if the medium-slow was too slow? We’ve had that happen before. So, we went ashore when the medium-fast group was called to get a better sense of the hiking plan and terrain. After talking with the group leader, we decided that there wouldn’t be enough stops for photos and such, so we waited for the medium slow group to form and joined them instead. Turns out that even that pace on this hike was too fast.

      Normally, once you set off with your group, you can’t jump ship, so to speak. We lucked out, however. When we reached the 500-year old fox traps dating back to the Thule people, the forefathers of today’s Inuit, we found the contemplaters dallying about. After listening to Laurie, who was standing by to explain how the traps worked, we advised our guide that we were leaving to join the slowest group.

      I’m so happy we did, as we had more opportunities to explore as we made our way back to the beach … took more tundra detail-photos. And even found the skeleton of a juvenile reindeer … which we had walked past on the way up … never even seeing it where it lay on the ground.

      A fantastic two-hour hike ashore!

      —————————————

      By the way, I’m very happy that Laurie was ashore to point out the fox traps. Without him standing where he was to tell us how they worked, we would have passed by without recognizing the open-top cairns as being fox traps. Apparently, the design of the trap — narrow with an opening at the top and a very wide base at the bottom made it impossible for the fox to get out once it fell inside … lured there by the meat used to bait the trap.
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    • Day 12

      Welcome to Pond Inlet … Nunavut, Canada

      August 9, 2022 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ 46 °F

      Shortly after lunch, we arrived at our anchorage overlooking Pond Inlet — an 1800-strong Inuit hamlet that is known as Mittimatalik in the Inuktitut language. Names in the indigenous language are meant to be descriptive of the place. This one means “the place where the landing place is.”

      First up, clearing the ship and the passengers for entry into Canada. We had all completed our ArriveCAN apps and our passports were in the hands of the purser’s office. Thus, no action was required on our part. Alex, our Assistant Expedition Leader, went ashore with the zodiac and brought back the authorities. I understand each passport was reviewed and stamped as part of the process.

      At 3:00p, the announcement was made to say that the zodiacs were going into the water. The Fram group was advised to head to the ready room to get ready. And off we went. On the landing beach, we were warmly greeted by the local community members. After our names were checked off a manifest, we joined one of the many locals who would be acting as guides and escorting us around the hamlet.

      Our first stop was at a sod-house still under construction. Here, one of the women had prepared tea, using Arctic willow to build her fire. The fragrant smell had added a smoky flavor to the tea … interesting; would take some getting used to.

      Next we headed to the library where several locals had set up tables where they were selling their handmade wares. Inside the building was also a small museum with exhibits about hunting in the Arctic.

      Our walk continued through the village to a hilltop for views of the mountains on Bylot Island across the waterway of Pond Inlet. And then onward we went to the supermarket … more like a Walmart … very well provisioned. Chatting with one of the locals, we learned that fresh goods are shipped up several times a week and other goods are replenished with once-weekly shipments.

      The highlight of our visit was the stop we made at the community center. Here we were treated to a very special performance … a mini Inuit Games, if you will. These games consist of sport and cultural events. The participants are the circumpolar people who reside in communities/countries that border the Arctic Ocean. The games are intended to showcase activities that build endurance to survive the rigors of living in the harsh Arctic.

      (More info here … https://indigenouspeoplesatlasofcanada.ca/artic….)

      After the performance, we made our way back through the hamlet to the landing beach. Bidding “Tavvauvutit” [goodbye] to the friendly locals, we hopped back into the zodiacs and returned to the ship to wrap up our first day in the northern reaches of Baffin Island.

      We'll be continuing to play around the North Baffin area tomorrow.
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    • Day 3

      INTERNET!!!

      September 13, 2017 ⋅ ☀️ 1 °C

      Internet! Internet! Internet! Yayy! Well, internet lite really since it's only 20gb for the whole month. But, nonetheless, I can actually load this site and upload pics at 5:00pm!! I have no idea how far 20gb will take me, but considering that I can't stream any videos or movies, maybe I won't blow through it in 2 days. Back home, we had so much internet, I didn't even think about it. My phone had unlimited and well, the house had enough that we never went over...so, this 'internet-worry' is something fun to niggle my brain as I cruise through facebook......Jasmine, do you really need to look at ALL 34 pics someone posted? Nope. You get 2. Again, it's all perspective. I arrived in Igloolik mere months after they received 4G service. That's great timing right there!! Plus, I got to fly through the brand new airport in Iqualuit. All 6 gates were gleaming and ripe with new carpet smell. See, it's all coming up roses.

      Today was mostly moving related business....do a tenant walk-through with the governmental landlords, go by the internet provider office, grab some more necessities at the store, and pay security deposit for power to be put in my name. Such fun I tell ya.

      The shopping really reiterated that my brain is faulty. Yesterday, I was surprised at the chill and wind IN THE ARCTIC (and it wasn't actually cold at all by Arctic standards). Today, I was surprised by the prices in stores IN THE ARCTIC. Despite reading and being aware of the prices, it's still a shock. It's as if all three things that I fight against most in my life have coalesced in one place here: the Cold, the Dust, the Cost. Anyone who knows me knows that paying $28 for a 12-pack of Coke is gonna be the death of me. Anyone wanna send my frugal butt a Soda Stream??!! lolol.

      Getting the internet was a cute little story. I am beginning to see how traveling has really made this move a bit easier and hopefully continues to help me settle in and cope. Long-term, I'm not sure how things will go because when I've traveled, it's only been for at most, a few months at a time. So back to the internet. I had done research before moving and had emailed the company representative here in Igloolik twice before arriving. I got no replies. Today, I asked the housing folks doing my tenant walk-through where the internet place was. They told me, "it's not far, just past 3 way stop, it's up by RCMP and near Northern store in a dark blue building that looks like a house" (there are no street names signed here---don't know if they exist and just aren't signed or whether there are no street names in general). I don't know why I think I can find this place, but I figure I can. I do. It is blue and looks like a house. Plus, you know, it had a sign. Helpful. I walk in and ask about internet. The lady tells me the price. She tells me the monthly is $84. I say I read online that it's $80--what is the $4? She says completely deadpan and apologetically, "I don't know." I say, "is it tax?" "I don't know", comes the reply followed by, "are you going to buy?" Yep, yep I am. So, she gets the modem, no talking, no chit chat, no explanation, and starts setting it up. She logs in and creates an account, prints an invoice (which, even from across the desk, I can clearly see that $4/mo for the $80 subscription fee is labeled as taxes), and tells me I'm ready to go. The end. Yep, definitely like being in a foreign country. Ummmm....I just go home and plug this in?? Yall don't need to come set it up?? Where is my bill sent?? When is my bill due?? You know, just that other, useless stuff related to internet service provision. lolol. And, just like traveling, if you just go with it, it will work on out...
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    • Day 545

      Greasy bones mess up labeling

      March 9, 2019 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ -28 °C

      Before we begin, please allow me to share the good news that my toilet and plumbing have been working with perfection since I last wrote. Yep, turns out getting to the cause of a problem rather than just treating the symptom gets you a consistently flushing toilet!

      Currently at work, there is actually almost a full complement of staff in our group. This is practically unprecedented. It has been fantastic for allowing the jobs and tasks to be done properly. It also has allowed me time to try and work backwards and try to address some of the shambles. It's clear that previous staff were doing their best, but with limited capacity, it is not physically possible to do the job fully. We all know this. Put out the fire and leave the building a wreck.

      Once such shamble relates to bacula. Improperly boiled penis bones, like any bone, seeps oil and grease over time. All those bones at the museums we've all seen are the product of meticulous, tedious boiling/macerating/cleaning/etc. It's not an easy task. So yesterday, I walk in and pull out a big plastic bag of greasy bacula from the "f**cked up" box. Yes, we have a box for all the f**k ups no one knows what to do with. I ask what the deal is and I'm told that the markings identifying the individual bear that the bone belongs to was not properly written on the baculum and thus, got smudged off with the ensuing greasiness. Now, the task is to take each of these bacula and examine them under a microscope to see if we can make out any faint, etched ID marks. Huh. That is what my life is now? Taking greasy penis bones and examining them under microscopes. Cool.

      You just never know what type of "problems" have to be solved here.

      For the last couple months, we've had a student intern. She is in college for biotechnology and it is solely designed to teach students all lab procedures, equipment, and assays so they can go get a job in a lab anywhere doing most anything. She wanted to come North and cut up teeth to try and age animals. Part of her work has been helping me establish a repeatable, understandable process for inventorying extra teeth. Typically, only 1 tooth is necessary to get an age. But, we ask for 2 because sometimes 1 breaks, etc. Teeth also have dental ligament tissue surrounding them that we've purposefully left on. This is because if an animal is harvested but there is no tissue available to run DNA for identity, the dental ligament could work. So, our student has been pulling off hundreds of old, sometimes rotted, tooth ligament tissue from individual teeth. I walk in the lab and it smells of death. She looks up and grins with a pair of pliers in one hand. "This is SO fun!" she exclaims. "But, I think I have rotted tissue on my sweater cause it sometimes flicks off. But that's okay!"
      Huh. Okay cool. I walk out again.

      Rotted teeth tissue. Greasy bones. I think I'll go run stats.
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    • Day 519

      Toilet travails

      February 11, 2019 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ -33 °C

      It's been a while since I posted and quite frankly, it's because I've been in a sour mood. Why, you wonder? Well, dear readers, allow me to oblige you....

      Toilet troubles.

      That's why.

      Nothing will make me want to leave, quit, fight, burn the house down more than a consistent, unresolved, non-functioning sewer system.

      It started back in January shortly after the New Year. January 6th to be precise. I knew something was odd before then because the toilet wasn't flushing normally. Then, no flush. Frozen. I left the 9th with a toilet that still wasn't functioning.

      I returned on the 21st to a semi-functioning toilet. One that would burble, gurgle, and erupt like a geyser upon flushing. Yep, that's neat. But don't worry, I was told this was normal because they removed a vent pipe. Again, that's neat.

      Typically, the pipes here have a heat trace line that runs alongside them then a thick layer of insulation around them both. Finally, the pipes and insulation are boxed in by plywood. Well, when they "fixed" my pipes, they didn't bother to reinsulate or box the pipes back in. I bet you can guess what happened next!

      Pipes stopped working at all a few days after I returned on the 21st. I did not have functioning toilet until January 31st. It was a damn damn good thing they started working that day because at 5am in the morning, I awoke with a fierce stomach virus. It was brutal. My body expelled all its stomach and intestinal contents violently until there was nothing but bare bags and tubes of organs inside. I have never been so grateful for a functioning toilet as then and I was so scared every time I'd hurl from one end or the other that that flush would be the toilet's last.

      The toilet worked for Feb 1 and 2. I left the morning of the 3rd, still nursing a wounded digestive system (for supreme fun--have a stomach virus and take 4 flights back to back to back to back from Igloolik to Edmonton for 12 hours with no time to stop at an airport bathroom).

      I have just returned from Edmonton last night. I got two flushes in. The third failed. I have no working toilet again. Despite a call to the emergency line, no one came today from the Housing Corp, whose responsibility it is to keep these units working. They didn't call, they didn't leave a note, nothing. Nothing.

      I may burn the whole place down.
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    • Day 483

      How not to volunteer

      January 6, 2019 in Canada ⋅ 🌬 -27 °C

      Christmas was surprisingly tolerable by myself, largely because I wasn't by myself. My family and friends made sure of that! I spent a lot of time on the phone and messaging while also bee-bopping to various gatherings at other people's houses that decided to stay through the holidays.
      I also saw a post on the town's facebook page asking for volunteers to help put together the food and toy hampers for needy families and children on Christmas Eve. I thought, "that will be a perfect way to congratulate myself for being a great and caring human while investing little to no time. Perfect!" So, on Christmas Eve I showed up at the elementary gym at the facebook-indicated time and discovered that my little idea of showing up for, ummmm, maybe a half-hour, was sorely wrong.
      There was a TON of stuff that needed to be sorted and arranged and prepared into the gift bags for each of the 900 children on a list that the organizers had. 0_o 900?! The town's population is only 1,500! Holy moly. After about 3 hours of doing more activity than I've done in months, I left to have lunch. When I returned, the food had arrived which was donated by private individuals, companies and groups. Four hundred 20 lb turkeys. Enough so every household in Igloolik could have a turkey dinner. Do you know what 400 turkeys looks like laid out in a school gym? We were like the images you see of volunteers passing sandbags to shore up homes and towns against rising floodwaters. Potatoes were unloaded off pickup trucks in 50lb bags. Turkeys were offloaded in 60-80 lb boxes. Stuffing, cranberry sauce, and rice came in. It was incredible. When I stopped to think about it, it became more incredible given our location.
      The food drive is sponsored by a not-for-profit organization called "Feed Nunavut". Their objective is to ease food insecurity in the North. Surveys find that a full 70% of Northern families skip a meal at least once per month. This organization spotlights every year a few projects to focus donations on for folks wanting to do that sort of thing. Igloolik's holiday food and toy drive is one such project. Most of the toys and gifts came from Southern Canada donations and even a few United States donations as well. But what is impressive is that for the food, people give money and then someone here in Igloolik has to figure out how to buy the food in Ottawa, get it shipped here, pick it up at the airport, store it somewhere, and then bring it to the gym. This is a feat anywhere, but in Igloolik!! Even more so. A company started here in Igloolik, Arctic Fresh, donated their money, time, and resources. They bought the turkeys at cost in Ottawa and stored them in their warehouse in Ottawa. Then, the airlines of Canadian North and First Air (not sure which one donated) donated, or heavily discounted the freight up here. I mean, can you imagine the cost to ship 8,000 lbs of turkeys? It costs $500 to ship 100lbs down south.
      More volunteers met the freight at the airport and unloaded all those potatoes, turkeys, stuffing, etc, by hand. BY HAND. Then, stored it and unloaded it again at the gym where volunteers started putting together the fixins for the turkey dinner. They laid out a turkey every 1-2ft in the gym and then a bag of potatoes which had been prepared by the volunteers divvying up the larger 50lb bags of potatoes. Stuffing and other fixings came next. Finally, there were supposed to be mandarin oranges.
      Ah, the mandarin oranges....such a nice gesture.....if they hadn't been right at their expiration and rotten! One of the volunteers discovered that many of the donated boxes of mandarins were terribly rotten, to the point that the boxes were sometimes leaking putrefied orange juice. Someone in charge made the decision that we could not, in good conscience, give these rotten things to people. So, we had to go through, by hand, every single box and separate the good oranges from the bad. Wow. Tedious. Let me offer some unsolicited advice: when volunteering, do not open the box of oranges. Assume they are good and be secure in your altruism and holiness. Otherwise, you will spend hours hunkered over fruit trying to not put your fingers through one more rotten orange and sneeze from the aerosolizing mold.
      Finally, all the dinners had to be bagged or boxed for delivery. The hamlet agreed to allow their school bus to be driven around for deliveries and the school bus driver volunteered to spend his Christmas Eve driving around house to house.
      It was impressive to see all the work and time that went into the whole operation. I gave up the ghost at 5:30pm and returned home with achy feet and a very tired back. I was sore for 3 days. I laughed at my grand plan to feel good about myself backfiring when I actually had to work. I should have just donated money and stayed on the couch. That's a smarter move. That's your second lesson ladies and gentlemen. First lesson is: no mandarin oranges. Second: write a check.
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    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Nunavut, NU, نونافوت, ܢܘܢܐܒܘܛ, Нунавут, Νούναβουτ, Nunavuto, نوناووت, Nûnavût, נונאווט, Նունավուտ, Núnavút, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ, ヌナブト準州, ნუნავუტი, 누나부트 준주, Nunavutas, Nunavuta, नुनाव्हुत, Náhookǫsjí Hakʼaz Dineʼé Bikéyah, ਨੂਨਾਵੁਤ, نناوت, Nunavute, Nunavuts, நூனவுட், นูนาวุต, 努那活, 努納武特

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