Life After Teaching: At anchor in Iqaluit: Arctic 2

Heart of the Arctic 2

We are anchored in Frobisher Bay off shore of Iqaluit. We were supposed to sail out this afternoon. Having travelled with Adventure Canada before, we are used to changes in itineraries. There are a couple of reasons that we are here and not farther up the coast. The first one is no surprise: pack ice. It is choking the mouth of the bay and we will require the services of an icebreaker to help us get out. The second is that one of the bridge party is having difficulty getting here. He will be here tomorrow. I hope that we manage to get out of the bay. Interesting as Iqaluit is, I don’t think we can entertain ourselves for two weeks in Frobisher Bay. Gives a whole new meaning to the refrain line from a song ‘Frozen in Frobisher Bay’ though.

The start to the day went as planned, got up, got checked out, saw our luggage go onto the bus, got to the airport and onto the plane. We both decided that we would have breakfast when it was served on the plane. It was not bad for airline food. For some reason I got a gluten free version which meant I had a couple of strips of French toast and Richard had banana bread. There was also yogurt and juice but they informed us they were out of coffee and tea. How can you be out of coffee and tea when you’re a charter flight and only picking up one load of passengers? Oh well. I had a Coke.

Ashley, who has travelled with us on previous trips, lives in Iqaluit and I got to wave to her from the door of the bus and see her young daughter before we took off in the zodiacs to board the ship. There are a few friends from previous trips with us and it’s a bit like returning to a summer camp that you love.

I got out the camera tonight to take advantage of a very nice sunset. Not sure I got many good photos but it was fun. I ran into Scott, friend and photographer, and we got chatting about gear. My micro 4/3 set up certainly is smaller and lighter (it’s all relative) than the Canon and Nikon gear that seems to be prevalent. [I’m adding this next bit of foreshadowing now that I’m back home.] There are other problems with not having gear that is common to other photogs on the trip.

One of the most frustrating things is dealing with the mask and glasses. The glasses are always fogging up so I can’t see much of anything. At least I was smart enough to bring a glasses case with me. I have strapped it to my belt loop and I put on my glasses when I need to read something. Otherwise I’ve been leaving them off. I suppose I should try the anti fog wipes again but those tend to leave huge streaks. It will be interesting to see how I deal with the little challenges in the days to come. Now for some more photos of Iqaluit.