They did what on a snowmobile? Arctic adventure #2

This shows the area we were in

The colours in Sisimiut

This summer we decided to pull out all the stops and take back-to-back trips with Adventure Canada. The one we took in 2015 to Newfoundland and Labrador was to have been a once-in-a-lifetime trip. We really liked it and we're getting to the age where it's better to do things now than later so off we went. The first trip was called an Arctic Safari and we were to visit places in Greenland and the Canadian North where there was a possibility of seeing wildlife. The second trip was Into the Northwest Passage and we hoped to visit the Franklin graves on Beechy Island as well as the national historic site that marks the wrecks of the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror.

I left off with us sailing up the coast of Greenland and I'll pick it up there. We visited the town of Sisimiut twice, once on the Arctic Safari and once on the Into the Northwest Passage trip. The first time it was overcast and grey and the second time it was sunny. We were warned about people in Greenland being crazy drivers but there wasn't very much traffic and I didn't see anything that I'd call crazy. We did try to walk on the sides of the roads and not be stupid pedestrians.

We wandered around town, took photos and on our first stop there Richard and I both bought neck tubes made from muskox wool. They are very soft and very warm. I have a pair of socks that a friend gave me years ago and they travelled with me on this trip so both ends were warm thanks to the muskox.

I decided to go right back to the basics of photography by setting the camera on manual and shooting only in that mode. It was very instructive and, in a way, much simpler than learning what to do with all the whistles and bells on the contemporary cameras. If you like what's in the frame take the picture. If it's too light or too dark change one of the settings. I can't quite do that at lightning speed but it really helped me to make better choices rather than just setting the thing on auto.

We enjoyed the bright colours of the buildings in Greenland and found out that originally there was a colour code. Government buildings and the houses of government workers were painted a certain colour (can't remember which colour was which). Fishermen's buildings were another colour. It made for a good deal of visual interest against the grey sky.

The lake on the first visit

When we returned to Sisimiut for a second visit the sun was shining and the folks from the town were getting ready for snowmobile races. Yes, August and snowmobile races – on a lake – that wasn't frozen over! 

I couldn't imagine a snowmobile skimming across the surface of the water and was convinced they would get a few feet from shore and then sink. I was wrong. I hate to even think how the drivers got good at this but most of the ones we saw successfully remained upright as they took off from one end of the lake, drove to the other end, went around an orange buoy and then raced back and up onto the shore. 

This guy got a little cocky

We had to go back to the ship before the actual races began but it was a blast watching the two or three guys scoot around the lake in preparation for the real deal. I think they may have decided to take a spin because of the preponderance of 'blue penguins'* that lined the shore.

This is the result

The atmosphere was festive and we found a a good lookout spot on a rocky outcrop. As time passed more and more of the local people showed up. Some had coffee with them; others looked as though they had brought a picnic. There were lots of little kids and it was clearly a family affair.

Getting ready to roll

On both occasions in Sisimiut we were treated to a demonstration by a championship kayaker. It was incredible the number of ways he could roll the kayak. He did it with the paddle behind his head, with one hand on the paddle, with the paddle held against the hull of the kayak and at one point he did five rolls in quick succession. He wore a dry suit but had no gloves and his face was bare. I found out later that each kayaker usually makes his own kayak and that they are custom fitted so that water stays out and the kayak becomes a physical extension of the paddler. Although the covering materials have changed the kayak frames are still laced together. The wooden frames are covered with either canvas which is then oiled or nylon fabric which gets a coat of polyurethane. The Inuit used to salvage driftwood that washed up in order to build frames.

And under he goes!

On our first visit there was another cruise ship in the harbour. I got chatting to one of the guys travelling on it. According to him the ship had scraped an iceberg and divers were below checking the hull. I didn't get any more details than that and I wonder still what the whole story was.

I'm not sure how to end this elegantly so I guess I'll fill you in on the blue penguins and then stop. In the hotel in Ottawa one of the staff told us that we could recognize Adventure Canada staff by their white shirts and their black vests, kind of like penguins. Later when we were in a zodiac and a number of us had already landed, our driver commented that all the blue expedition jackets must be blue penguins. The name stuck.

Stay tuned. I'm not sure what I'll tackle next but I do want to get the trip recounted while it's relatively fresh in my mind. The organization may be a bit ragged. Luckily I'm not doing this for a grade. ;-)