Through the Fog

Through the Fog, originally uploaded by susanvg.

Adventure Canada Trip: July 23 - August 2 2010

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.

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Purple Saxifrage

Purple Saxifrage, originally uploaded by susanvg.

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.
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Clipper Adventurer

Clipper Adventurer, originally uploaded by susanvg.

Adventure Canada and the Clipper Adventurer

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.

More photos: click here