More of the North

Photos: March 21, 2016

I just loved this stained glass mural in the Waswanipi elementary school. The sun was streaming in. Part of the school curriculum is given in Cree. There is a strong attempt to instil Cree values in the children



You hear Cree speakers in the area and in Waswanipi itself, all street signs are in both Cree and English.




After a day of giving workshops we headed back to the airport. Here is another glimpse of the many stretches of power lines cutting through the area.



Almost home. It was a long tiring day.

Work Trip

I flew on this plane up to Chibougamau with a colleague. We had a gorgeous view the whole way - with this perfectly clear sky. The star is where we started and the area outlined in black is where we went.

This area is the southernmost reach of the Cree villages. We were on our way to give a workshop to the teachers in Waswanipi, a Cree town with a school run by the Cree School Board.



We flew over many frozen lakes, surrounded by forest.




It was obvious where the forestry industry had been busy.



The area around Chibougamou, Chapais and Waswanipi has mainly black spruce. These are tall thin trees with relatively short branches.



This area is not far from the James Bay Power Project. Power lines criss-cross in many places carrying the electricity south.



It is still winter in this area. Night time temperatures still often drop to the -20s Celsius (below 0 F), though the daytime highs can reach just below freezing.

At the airport

At the airport, a photo by susanvg on Flickr.

Travelling on. With the expectation of early check-ins at airports, there is time to wander. This plane was parked next to the one we would be taking, but I thought the flowing lines on the tail fit in more with the sky.

We flew overnight to London and then on to Edinburgh. I was impressed by how smoothly everything went at Heathrow. Airline travel is not a particularly pleasant experience. The quality of food served has deteriorated and it was never stellar; breakfast of a large, overly sweet muffin and coffee that barely touched any coffee grounds was not very appetizing. A night sitting up while trying to sleep while a group of Spanish students chatted animatedly in full voice did not help the experience. But here we are, safely delivered to Edinburgh with many adventures ahead.