As well as an expert expedition team, we have on board an amazing team of archaeologists and historians which means rarely a day goes by without a lecture or three. Today was no different.
A chronology of exploration
The Arctic - almost a negative image of the Antarctic
After a morning of lectures (archaeology and geographic research) we went ashore at Pond Inlet (Mittimatalik) which is the largest of the four Canadian Arctic hamlets above the 72nd parallel. We were met by local guides who took groups of us touring the village.
L: one of our guides, a very sweet quiet man
Precious polar bear skin being stretched
The remains of a summer camp. Whale bones form the scaffolding for skin roofs The local guide had a baby bobbing about in her hood
An ambulance on the right
The written Inuit language, Inuktitut, is beautiful, picturesque syllabics
We ended up at the community centre which houses an indoor sports arena. There we were entertained with a marvelous show of dancing, singing, crafts and demonstrations of one of the sports in their Olympics (indoor) - kicking a target suspended above them, with varying degrees of difficulty, including kicking from squatting on one leg. Such beautiful fun-loving people.
Target kicking
This mum and her toddler were enchanting and happy to have photos taken
While the villagers stood in a circle singing, this beautiful man, the drum dancer, played his qilaut - it's a type of frame drum native to the Inuit cultures of the Arctic once covered in seal skin. I was given a set of CDs containing three volumes of Inuinnait drum dance songs; listening to them transports me back to a delightful special afternoon, During the long dark winter the people of the community devise games and things to amuse themselves - they hae a great sense of fun and humour.
The children built a small inukshuk at the end of the show. These are used to signal many things including direction.
An inukshuk on the Nunavut flag
Then it was time to return to the ship through fairly chopping waters - but not before I photographed a few plants of course (I was always getting the hurry on!)
L: Arctic poppy R: Lapland poppy
L: Arctic Black Bear Berry (in red foliage). R: Arctic sorrel used for many things including tea
Overnight and this morning we sailed north to cruise in the Sam Ford Fjord (bit of a tongue-twister). This fjord lies along Baffin Island’s northeastern coast and was named in memory of Sam Ford, one of Canada’s most important Inuktitut linguists who died tragically in a helicopter crash. The region is a traditional hunting area for the Inuit and when you see it, you can understand why – it is magnificent and tranquil sheltered by impressive mountains. We did a little Citizen Science in the fjord – some Secchi Disc observations. This gives a rough measurement of the density of the phytoplankton in the water. Phytoplankton are an essential part of the marine food web and their abundance indicates the health of the water. (They also produce over 50% of the earth's oxygen.)
A diagram of the food web - just for interest
The temperature had been dropping and it is currently zero C and it has been snowing. The cliffs and valleys with their heavy dusting of snow look breathtaking. I leave you to browse and wonder, but never did grey seem so beautiful ....
The vistas were just glorious but once back on board our valiant Captain took us as close as safely possible to the floating 'snout' of one of the fjords larger glaciers. Breathtaking!
This morning we arrived at Qikiqtarjuaq on Broughton Island (near Baffin Island). Qikiqtarjuag or Qik (for those of us who struggle to pronounce the name which is practically everyone) is known as ‘the Iceberg Capital of the world’. Most of the icebergs come from Greenland glaciers, and are carried there on the ocean current, breaking into pieces, forming smaller icebergs and floating ice. Sometimes the icebergs run aground along the coast and the people harvest the ice to use as clean drinking water; it’s a very dry place. We had arrived in Inuit Nunangat, the Inuit homeland in Canada, and I was feeling quite excited. Four Royal Canadian Mounted Police came on board to clear us to enter Canada (and no they weren’t mounted haha). While the Mounties did their job, we had a lecture on Arctic marine mammals and a Citizen Science workshop all of which was wrapped up with a biosecurity check – new land new bio-risks.
There was a welcoming committee of smiling faces
This grandfather brought a string of little ones to say hello
After lunch and with us all cleared to enter Canada, we hopped into zodiacs and went ashore to meet our local guides - many of the local people were lined up at the beach to welcome us where we landed. A grandfather with a string of little ones in tow, thanked us for bringing good weather the dear man.As we wandered through town we were followed by kids and young adults curious to ask us questions. The landscape is barren yet I found some wildflowers – when I was able to stop to look around.
This is one of our guides
The area is bone dry and rather desolate looking
We were curios and were pursued by happy youngsters keen to touch, keen for us to photograph them. It was quite delightful. We trundled around, in our gumboots, and got a very good look at the village. It must be quite spectacular in winter or at least with snow.
The tusk from a freshly-killed Narwhal
We met a hunter who was keen to show us the tusk of a narwhal he had killed that morning; the meat had already been distributed to the village. He told us that he had recently killed a two-tusked narwhal, a very rare creature. He sold the tusks/head for $US60,000. Only the Inuit can kill Narwhals and I think they are rare. Seal are different and thee Ring Seals are among the most important species in the culture of the Inuit people of this place. In the museum we saw beautiful clotging made from Ring Seal skins. They harvest the seals in open water, or through their breathing holes in the ice.
Beautiful clothing made from Ring Seal skins
A beautiful mandala of the Inuit calendar of the seasons
Another display which caught my eye was the Inuit calendar of seasons. It has at least six seasons (some versions are even more complex). They use the moon to keep track of the 'calendar year', counting thirteen ‘moon months’. Each month is named for a predictable seasonal characteristic, mostly related to animal behavior, which coincides with a particular moon. This beautiful ‘mandala’ reminded me of the Australian Aboriginal season mandala we saw in East Arnhem Land some years ago.
We spent quite some time in the museum and community hall but then it was time to head back to the ship. It had been a very interesting visit.
We arrived back on board in time for cocktails and canapes! But then it was time for the precap and recap. These often included a mini-lecture about what we were about to see or a little snippet of history of the NW Passage. After dinner they screened a movie as they did many nights (but we were too pooped to stay awake). This one was a 1922 silent docudrama (in the style/tradition they refer to as salvage ethnography. It followed the struggles of an Inuit man and his family in the Canadian Arctic. We were asleep before it finished!
The sun went down in a glorious pageant as we traveled northwards
Today we were to have been landing on South Baffin Island and so entering Canada but the weather gods thought otherwise. The approaching weather pattern looked a bit rough so the EL decided to head for Ataa Sund a little north of Disko bay where the synoptic chart promised calm waters. And it was – totally delightful.
Our ship, Sylvia Earle, hiding behind an iceberg.
Sky sea and ice - exquisite tranquility
We were out early in zodiacs (and some in kayaks) exploring the shoreline, weaving between icebergs, and visiting an abandoned settlement of Ataa but we didn’t land. The settlement was established around 1830 and by 1900 it housed ~100 people.
This berg had grounded and had rock incorporated into it
Our crazy leader posing for a fun shot.
The settlement of Ataa. Some 'local' people holiday here in summer
The settlement once engaged in the most bizarre industries – yarn making and bacon processing (where the meat came from is anyone’s guess). The settlement was abandoned in 1960 but I think it might be used as a summer camp these days. We were in the EL’s zodiac which was fun but I wished I had been in Alex’s because the rocks along the coastline were intriguing. C’est la vie!
Fascinating patterns in the rocks caused by volcanic intrusions
Massive waterfalls cascaded over the cliffs
Reaching way over the side to capture samples of the crystal waters
Ashley clambered ashore to collect this rope washed up and tangled in the rocks
Aurora has a commitment to the environment so no rubbish found is left uncollected, that goes for everything from the tiniest fragment of plastic to large stuff washed off ships and fishing vessels (if it can be moved.)
The face of the glacier Eqip Sermia
Back on board we did a ship cruise to see Eqip Sermia, a huge glacier draining Greenland’s massive icecap. Then we headed back to sea to head westward to Canada (with slowly building seas).
Someone brought back a lump of iceberg ice for the Bar.
