Cruise North Passenger Ruth says...

Arctic Explorer: July 3 - 12, 2008
What an amazing day we have had. We started bright and early leaving the ship in zodiacs in the sheltered harbour of Ivujivik. This is a small Inuit community located on the northeastern point of Nunavik where the Hudson Strait meets Hudson Bay. It is a community of very warm, friendly people who are a very creative group. We hiked up to the cliff that towers over the town. We had amazing views of the two waters, islands, the town and the airport, a short strip running across the top of the cliff. There were many colourful flowers along the way similar to those we saw on Baffin Island. As we came down to the road, a man and his young son approached on an ATV and it turned out that he had a soapstone carving to sell. It was a lovely piece that you will soon see as I was the lucky purchaser.

We talked to a number of the community members and then headed to the Co-op. It was surprisingly well equipped and quite expensive. The room of carvings at the back was incredibly popular with our group and Andy and I made a couple of other purchases. The prices are incredible and we are so happy with the pieces we chose. We were blessed with meeting the sculptor and sharing some stories and time with her. Women sculptors are fairly rare so it is nice to have her piece. She was delighted to know it was going to an appreciative home and we will exchange emails and I will send her the photos we took.

We re-boarded the ship and after a short sail transferred to the zodiacs again to visit the cliffs where the thick-billed murres nest. The geography is unbelievable and these black and white birds make do with the smallest amount of space possible on the ledges. There was quite a swell which was a bit better near the cliffs but the photos likely will have a lot of camera shake. It was exhilarating and topped off a special day.

We are now sailing back east in the Strait along the coast of Nunavik with more adventures planned for the coming days. The ice conditions look promising ahead.
Tuesday July 8th 4:15 pm

Cruise North Passenger Ruth says...

Arctic Explorer: July 3 - 12, 2008
We have just returned from a zodiac ice excursion off Cape Dorset. The ice conditions have prevented us from visiting Cape Dorset but we had a lot of excitement when Michael’s zodiac became engulfed in the fast-moving ice. Julio stayed to assist them and the remaining three zodiacs beat a hasty retreat from the encroaching ice. We saw many seals, both harp and bearded, lots of guillemots, murres, and couple of eiders (or perhaps only one on the move). We also saw the evidence of polar bears with the stained ice but it wasn’t possible to tell how recent they were there. Although we didn’t see the bears, it was an amazing experience to be so close to the ice. I even got a chance to dip my hand in the Hudson Strait. It was cold but not jarringly with a just a hand dip, but I won’t get out the bathing suit.

We have only had one landing on Baffin Island but the geography and fauna in the fiord at Nanuk Harbour was amazing. We were capably guarded by two Inuit guides armed with shotguns who nimbly ran up the cliffs to scout out the terrain. All this in Wellies. One of them, Aisa, is a star athlete who was very successful in the recent Arctic games.

Yesterday was rather an uninteresting day as we were mostly in fog, there were lots of lectures, movies, and (as usual) food, to keep us entertained.

There is never a dull day on board!
Monday the 7th at noon.