Slowly we glide through a living art gallery the work of Mother Nature Sky and sea seamlessly meeting on the glassy waters An impressionist painting by Monet
Sailing past the sculpture garden with icy creations crafted by Henry Moore Chiselled and smoothed into a myriad of forms Constantly changing as they travel in the currents
A Japanese print hung behind the ship The moon peered down on dark water Ice floes instead of white caps The sky painted with pastels
Now I know that Lauren Harris Painted what I saw Polished towers of ice Sculpted by the ocean waters
The golden yellow sun Drenched the hills on Devon Island A surreal landscape by Dali The moon hung overhead
The light paints this open canvas
With an Arctic palette
Ever changing
Ephemeral art of the moment. Adventure Canada trip July 23 - Aug 2, 2010
For more photos: click here
When P and I met we shared our dream of going to the north, of visiting Baffin Island. We sailed into the bay, got on the zodiacs and set foot on the land. Andrew Qappik, who designed the Nunavut flag told us that the gold colour was for the land which was like gold to them. It provided food and a place to live.
Before we went out an advance party always went ashore to check for danger - whether it was the amount of ice or to see if polar bears were present. We were accompanied by staff who had rifles in case of unexpected visitors. Fortunately these were just precautionary.
Moraine left by the retreat of a glacier
The farther north we went, the more barren the countryside - but each area had its beauty - the mountains on Baffin Island with glaciers, the flowers, the cliffs of Bylot Island with the bird colonies, the exposed rock on so many mountains as growth was sparse. Mountains were carved by glaciers, by erosion. The constant in the Arctic is change, though change is slow.
Sphagnum Moss - it offers a spongy, uneven surface on which to walk.
Will it always be slow? There are signs of change due to the climate, of sparser ice, of permafrost melts in some areas, of polynyas not forming. Then there are the mining and oil and gas companies who see profits, not the fragile environment. If the Northwest Passage becomes more accessible will increased shipping lead to oil spills and contamination. Cleanup in this area would be near impossible, with harsh temperatures, ice and such slow decomposition. The more I travel, the more I understand how inter-related our planet is, how what happens in one place affects others. We have to take our stewardship of the planet seriously.
There were times when I was at a loss for words, when the beauty and stillness made speaking an interruption to the incredible peace. As if by arrangement voices were hushed. The sky and the sea were one. There was a sense of reverence.
The play of the ever changing light was astonishing - like an art installation that constantly delights the eyes - changing mood in subtle steps.
I'll let these images speak for me - their voices are more powerful than mine.
Qikiqtarjuak, originally uploaded by susanvg. Adventure Canada trip: July 23 - August 2 2010
Qikiqtarjuak is a small town on Broughton Island just off the coast of Baffin Island. Though the area is desolate it has its own beauty - the mountains, the long range vistas not blocked by trees, the precious arctic flowers and the water with ice floes.
This Inukshuk stands on a hill above the town - a sign for those navigating on the water. Inukshuk may be used as navigation markers or to indicate a cache of food. The people are welcoming. They taught us about throat singing, about life in their village and entertained us with singing by some local popular singers. The children were intrigued by the zodiacs and played on them, some of them getting little rides with our drivers.We also visited Pond Inlet - Mittimatalik in Inuktitut where we were treated to a show of arctic sports (they were designed to be played in an igloo and so take up little space), songs and drumming, throat singing as well as explanations of life in the north and the clothes they wear.
Arctic Games
In Pond Inlet Adventure Canada (the team was made up of guests, staff, boat crew) challenged Pond Inlet to a soccer game. This is a regular event. It was nice to see many from the town show up to cheer their players on.
Life is not easy this far north. Hunting is still essential, both for food and for the furs they need to keep warm. Food in the co-op is very expensive so country food is essential (and healthier). In some areas dogs and sleds are still used, in others skidoos take precedence. Just after we left Pond Inlet the men were going to hunt a bowhead whale - the opportunity to hunt bowhead moves from community to community as all of Nunavut only allows three killed per year. The food is shared among several villages. These are the boats that were going to be used. They told us they would first harpoon the whale so they could attach floats and then shoot it so it would be a quick death. I found this on the Internet. The hunt was successful. People here understand the need to work together and support each other.
Seeing animals in their natural habitat is incredible. One morning we woke to "polar bear off the starboard side" This bear put on quite a show, walking on the ice floe, stamping to break through a bit of the ice, starting at us, then swimming to another flow.
We often saw birds, the thick billed murres who take several tries until they manage to take off from the water. Their wings are too small for their round bodies so they have to flap them very fast and fly at tremendous speed in order to stay aloft. We saw them nesting on the cliffs of Bylot Island. The cliff side was packed with murres, kittiwakes and guillemots.
Fulmars and other birds often flew near our ship.
On a sunny day off Devon Island we saw a walrus sunning himself. He did not seem perturbed by our ship, though when we were very close he slipped into the water and kept his head below the surface while his back stuck out.
In the zodiacs we came near seals, once surprising a group of about 15. Andrew Qappik, a wonderful artist from Pangnirtung and a hunter was always the first to spot the animals and would know where they would resurface. You can see some of his work here.
Many of the animals in the arctic depend on the lemmings which have years when they are plentiful and then the population drops to start the cycle again. This was definitely a year of sparse rodent population and so the predators were also less abundant - both the mammals and birds that prey on them.
What will happen as the temperature warms in the Arctic? There are already concerns for the polar bears as the sea ice melts and the ice floes are not thick enough to support their weight. Polynyas (areas that stay open in the polar oceans) may not open or may be blocked by ice jams making it impossible for whales to find places to come up and breathe. Will they move further south or will their numbers decline? The polynyas are areas with a lot of nutrients as the water cycles naturally from the bottom of the sea bringing nutrients to the surface. Losing them could be disastrous. The Arctic is a fragile place. Permafrost melt can mean major changes. The climate has always changed on Earth as the continents have drifted, but now we are contributing and the changes seem to be happening faster. Walk gently on the Earth.
The first wave of people to settle the area that is now Nunavut were the Tunlit or Dorset people. The next group came about 1000 years ago, the Thule. This is a typical grave of the Thule. The permafrost does not allow for digging graves, so rocks are piled over the body.
Left: step to enter the house Right: Sleeping Platform
We think of Inuit people living in igloos, but many lived in sod houses. They would dig as much as they could into a slight hillside, build a step a little higher than the floor of the entry tunnel. This would help keep the cold air from entering. The house would have a sleeping platform with storage underneath, a hearth where they would use oil lamps to heat the area and to cook (though some food was eaten raw). The family slept together on furs or hides and covered by furs. The walls of the hut were often made of whale bone then covered by skins and finally sod.
The site near Resolute has been well preserved. There are the remains of a number of sod houses which were occupied from around 1400 - the mid 1600s. A mini ice age happened at that time and the people may have had to move farther south in order to hunt the whales they needed for food.
Adventure Canada trip July 23 - August 2 / Purple Saxifrage is the flower of Nunavut
Arctic Flowers
Brilliant colours On a barren landscape Ever sparser As we travel north
Tenacious growth In harsh conditions On rocks and sandy soil
Adaptation to defy defeat They clump together holding warmth
Bathing in the midnight sun Of the short summer months Slowly they spread Year after year after year
Time moves differently in the north Tiny trees are decades old Growth is gradual
Arctic Flowers of evey hue persistent, tiny surprises
Growth in the Arctic is slow. Plants find ways to adapt to the harsh conditions, finding micro-climates in the shelter of a rock, growing in clumps to preserve warmth, having small leaves and leaving the growing energy for the flowers. Some flowers have hairy leaves and stems to keep warm; some take more than one year to flower.
In most of the Arctic there is little precipitation, a short period of light, permafrost and poor soil. As bacteria doesn't survive easily, decomposition can take seven years. The farther north, the longer it takes. Lichens take hold on some rocks – black, bright orange, green.
Despite the harsh conditions there are beautiful flowers – small but bright.
For more photographs: click here
Icebergs loom
Glistening castles of the sea
Mountains meandering
along the currents
Woken from a long sleep on the land
Pushed from the ice field
With cracks and splashes
Set free to roam
What voyages lie ahead
As they bob and roll and twist
Breaking reshaping
Lapped by the waters
Light and shadows
Dance on their walls
Exquisite moments
Up Iceberg Alley
The icebergs calve from the glacier at Ilulisaat and slowly free themselves from the sea floor to start their journey through Disco Bay. They then catch the current up the coast of Greenland, swing across to Baffin Island and then catch the current south to Newfoundland and Labrador. It takes about three years during which they are constrantly resculpted by the sun the wind, by storms and by their rolling as their shapes change. By the time they reach Newfoundland they are considerably smaller.
As we sailed up the coast we passed iceberg after iceberg – each a marvel – a trip past a sculpture garden fashioned by Mother Nature. Iceberg Alley. Off Baffin Island we saw fewer icebergs, but each was a spectacular treat – sometimes looming mysteriously through mist, other times catching the sunshine. As the light changed so did the icebergs – a magical transformation
Our trip was run by Adventure Canada. They do a great job of organizing and providing experts who greatly enhance the trip. Our leader had to be flexible as ice conditions, winds and other obstacles sometimes precipitated changes in plans. Instead of going to Clyde Inlet we went to Qikiqtarjuak. When we couldn't land in one bay, we continued to the next. On our ship we had a geologist, archeologist, environmental scientist, an Inuit artist, an expert in Inuit art, a film maker whose film on birdlife was shown, a team of interns from Nunatsiavut (the Inuit part of Newfoundland and Labrador). So much to learn. Walking on the tundra, we learned about Inuit history, the plant and animal life, life of today's Inuit...
Our ship, the Clipper Adventurer, has a hull built for ice conditions. As our captain picked his course through sea ice, which at times was quite a challenge, we heard grinding and crashing when we hit the edge. At first unnerving, it just became part of the sounds of our environment. The ship would occasionally shudder when we hit a thicker piece, but we sailed on safely, as times seeming to inch through. We had mostly calm seas, though crossing the Davis Straight sent many of us for motion sickness medication, and even then we spent most of one evening prone. But we woke to calm seas and incredible scenery.
The food on the ship was wonderful, as was the staff. We were sometimes offered fresh fish, picked up in the villages we stopped at. Arctic char does not get much better than this. We also had reindeer, muskox and fish from Greenland. And there is nothing like hot chocolate laced with Bailey's served on the beach on Baffin Island after a hike.
Our daily outings on the zodiacs, sometimes to shore, sometimes to see what the sea had to offer – close views of bird colonies on the cliffs of Bylot Island, searches for marine wildlife, and of course, our trip among the icebergs. So much now to assimilate.
A walk around town - it felt deserted at 8:30 on a Sunday morning. We went into a gift shop but goods are very expensive – they had hats made of muskox wool that were hundreds of dollars. It is the softest wool I have ever felt – softer than angora.
Ilulisaat
At 10:00 we joined the hiking group – through town, past an area with many dogs tied up, some with puppies. There were sleds scattered around as well. Uphill some more and past a camp ground.
By now we were on a long boardwalk over terrain that was at times boggy and at times dry – with the same cushiony grass. We turned a corner and saw huge icebergs in the bay framed by hills with a grassy meadow leading up to it. Incredible! This is where the icebergs start – calving from the large glacier.
We saw more evidence of sod houses and were told that in a nearby bay people had lived in sod houses until the early 20th century.
We hiked up a rocky hill and were able to look over the edge of the glacier from which the icebergs calve. A hike back the way we came and then onto the ship where we ate our bag lunch on the deck.
Then onto the zodiacs for a trip through the icebergs – awe inspiring – no words as we slowly floated by ice towers shining in the brilliant sun.
