We lost an hour overnight⊠altogether; we would sail through 4 time-zones, Central, Eastern, Atlantic and Greenland. Even though we wouldnât sail that great a distance, lines of longitude and time-zones get squeezed together in the far north. For the entire 12 day cruise, we would be above the Arctic Circle the whole time, except for a few hours on day 11, which is the only time I would see darkness at night. I hope all this scientific stuff doesnât get you frustrated.
Today we were landing at the village of Arctic Bay, but before that, we had lots of Inuit orientation by Kathleen, Heidi and Derrick, who are Inuit AC staff. We had a zodiac landing on a beach about 2 km from the village, where the locals put on a show of dancing, throat singing and food samples. Narwhale blubber was offered, but I declined, as I just had a large lunch on the ship. After that we walked into the village.
So many kids! The Arctic has a very young population â attributed to the long, dark winters. The people are very friendly and love to have their photos taken. Talked to lots of people and Sarah and I had fun in the playground pushing the kids on the swing. With the village being so remote, of course they love to have visitors â 160 odd visitors added to a village with a population of 800!
In the Co-op store I met a musician, Jordon Muckpa, whose CD I purchased. I also met Kelly, who works in the store. Sheâs probably the only white person living there, comes from Nova Scotia, and lived for a while in Clarkson, just down the road from Port Credit (ACâs head office). Note that my branch office, Starbucks, is 3 doors down from there.
Walking around the town today is one of the most memorable things Iâve ever done, and I had a few tears thinking about these kids, watching them and playing with them. Another thing I noticed was that theyâre all playing outside, with âtoysâ! Forgot what that looked like.
[click on any image for slideshow]
August 30, 2016 at 4:40 pm
Great blog Len and fantastic photos!
August 30, 2016 at 4:49 pm
Thanks Bill, and thanks for being such a good host on the Ocean Endeavor.
August 30, 2016 at 8:33 pm
Hi Len!
Yes, it’s a good blog !
But what a testimony of these desolated (or isolated?!) areas…!
So far of our lifestyle…
August 30, 2016 at 8:45 pm
Hi Claire,
This is probably the main reason I made this trip, to see how the people live in these remote areas. It is an eye-opener. In the southern cities, we take so much for granted. Things are much easier. When there have been problems in these remote towns, like water, or whatever, I’ve heard people say “Why don’t they just move?” Where, to Toronto? The Inuit people belong here, and they have a culture that in some ways, is deeper than ours. That won’t work here. Anyway, that’s my rant for today đ
August 31, 2016 at 12:18 pm
Fabulous photos Len, particularly the 2nd and 3rd ones. If the kids were short on toys you should have taken Barbie!
August 31, 2016 at 12:56 pm
Hi Peter, actually, I ran into Barbie later in the trip.
August 31, 2016 at 4:29 pm
You’re right Len!
September 1, 2016 at 9:04 am
The second photo Len, is surreal – almost like a painting – gorgeous.
You are right about the isolation piece…reminds me of growing up in remote NW Ontario. The weather could be your friend or foe, and books, toys, friends, sports, and the outdoors were a godsend. No internet in those days BUT a much healthier, creative and fun childhood. Nice to see these kids active.