Final days on Baffin Island...
I spent the last few days on Baffin Island organizing my trip home, hanging out with friends, and wandering around the town of Iqaluit - the place of many fish in Inuktitut. I was anxious to start the final leg of this journey, but in all likelihood this would be my last trip this far north for awhile and I wanted to soak it up.
Up until the mid-1980's Iqaluit was, officially, called Frobisher Bay, but on January 1st, 1987 the name changed back to its Inuktitut name. Iqaluit is the capitol of the Canadian territory of Nunavut and by far the largest on Baffin Island at a population of over 6,100 people. Iqaluit is a fast moving city when compared with other community's on Baffin Island and a good place to acclimate myself back into a faster paced world.
Founded in the early 1940's as an American airbase, Iqaluit was previously a well-known fishing and camping spot by the Inuit. After the establishment of a DEW line (Distant Early Warning), radar stations strategically placed in the north to provide early warning of a foreign (Soviet) attack, Iqaluit quickly increased in population and social services. Although south of the Arctic Circle, the climate is still very "arctic." Extremely cold temperatures in the winter and a virtually impenetrable permafrost layer keep trees and large shrubs from growing this far north. Summer months are short and lit with a 24 hour sun for several weeks making for a stark contrast from the 24 hour darkness in late Fall. If you're heading to Baffin island you will undoubtedly stopover in Iqaluit.
I've always been impressed by the assorted collection of building styles in Iqaluit and I focused much of my remaining time taking photos. Covered by snow and ice 8 months of the year, Iqaluit in the Summer was familiar while still being surprising. As long as you remember you're on an island and everything is either brought in by boats or planes, you'll find Iqaluit to have all the modern conveniences you'd expect in any city of its size. Airport, fire department, hospital, schools and grocery stores provide the necessities, while roads called the "Road to Nowhere," license plates in the shape of a polar bear and the ever present signs of a very active Inuit culture give Iqaluit a uniquely northern feel.
My flight out of Iqaluit was on Friday and delayed 2 hours by mechanical issues. Normally this would mean being stuck waiting in an airport terminal, but with the close proximity to town, and the more relaxed nature of a northern airport, I grabbed my daypack and went for coffee and to stretch my legs - two hours and 30 minutes later and I was on my First Air flight south to Ottawa.
A First Air flight conjures up feelings of the "good ol' days" when airlines provided real meals, beverages, checked baggage and a candy to ease your popping ears as you descend. Dinner on the flight was arctic char, potatoes and a vegetable medley, along with two servings of wine, red or white, a warm cookie, and a Cafe' Franklin (Bailey's Irish Cream, coffee and whipped cream) on the final stretch. What a treat, but be careful as a flight with First Air will taint your next flight on "pack 'em in and get 'em there as cheap as possible" airline.
Next update...Ottawa and home.
jim
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"Never stop because you are afraid - you are never so likely to be wrong." - Fridtjof Nansen
