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If you have not done so - check out the posted journals and photos from the team's visit to Kimmirut on yesterday's page!
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EXPEDITION UPDATE: Aug. 9, Day 8
SEA DAY - LOWER SAVAGE ISLANDS - EN ROUTE TO PANGNIRTUNG
Of all the expedition expressions that participants hear on board ... Flexibility is the Key... is the probably the most common! Yesterday, morning it appeared that a full sea day was in the cards, with winds picking up, the ship was encountering a strong head-wind and a landing seemed unlikely if they were to make it to Pangnirtung for Friday. However, one look at the Lower Savage Islands, with its craggy inlets, rocky beaches, and icebergs galore - this rugged, mysterious series of small islands suddenly seemed to good to pass up! Besides, Canadian Museum of Nature botanist Lynne Gillespie was dying to get ashore to collect lichen samples! And others on board knew the Savage Islands were a good bet to spot bears - so yesterday morning, it was a full-stop, lower the boats, zodiac cruising adventure! And as you'll see from the journals below ... it was a cruise well worth taking!
Back on board after a big lunch, the team settled into the lecture rooom for a panel discussion on climate change - followed by a nap, then snack - and then out on deck for some bottle drops!
The seas grew rough as they sailed north through the Davis Strait towards Cumberland Sound, and there was some sea-sickness apparently - but Geoff reported that they 100% attendence to the lectures and to dinners - No body apparently ever misses dinner. All are well, and looking forward to calmer seas tomorrow.
Participant Journals!
From: Rosie Bettle
Yesterday we visited the Inuit town of Kimmirut. I was amazed at how welcoming and warm everyone from the town was. Our guide, Rose Mary (like me!), showed us around the town; where their school, hospital and church were. We were shown right inside the hospital, and I was surprised that it was actually quite hi-tech, although I suppose it would have to be, as the town is very isolated. We then went to see the soapstone carvings, which were very beautiful, and I bought one of a bird. Some of the locals then prepared us some special bread, which was very tasty and warm. We were also offered some raw seal which they were cutting up. Apparently it tastes like sushi. We were then shown to the school, where many of the locals demonstrated throat singing and arctic sports.
In the afternoon, we went on a hike. It was very steep in places, and rocky, so it was quite hard work. However, I made it to the top and the view was amazing.
We then said goodbye to everyone, including all the children and puppies (both of which were really cute) and made our way back to the boat.
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From: Connor Jessup
What other synonyms for the word amazing are there that I haven’t already used? Fantastic, incredible, stupendous, awesome, etc…. Every one of these words describes my expedition so far, today was no exception. Following our exciting day in Kimmirut yesterday we were all exhausted. Once again the Captain and his crew worked tirelessly through the night when everybody else on the ship was sleeping away their exhaustion. Their efforts brought our ship from Kimmirut to the Savage Islands in the period of only one night. The Savage Islands are 2 islands that look as if they were once 1 land mass that was cut in half with a knife. We planned to take the Zodiacs on a 1 and ½ hour cruise through that narrow channel separating the islands. Unfortunately it was a very misty morning with very rough waters so although we did go on the cruise we did not see what we might have been able to see if the day was clear. That is not to say that we did not see some pretty amazing things!!! The first thing I saw was the icebergs, everywhere I turned my head there would be one there. There were also large deposits of residue snow that didn’t melt when winter ended. These piles of snow and ice usually ended in magnificent waterfalls that flowed into the narrow straight. At one particularly big waterfall my Zodiac group (including myself) drank from the waterfall. It was the most pure and most incredibly refreshing water I had ever drunk. We also saw our third polar bear. This one was much larger than the female we spotted on Walrus Island so I assume it was male. I have said it before and I will say it again, Polar bears are magnificently noble creatures. Following the (extremely chilly) cruise we set sail immediately in order to make the 300km+ journey up the east coast of Baffin Island to the Pangnirtung Fjord. From there we will hike to the Arctic Circle!!!! The rest of the day was filled with talks, lectures and movies. We had a lecture on Snow and another on Land Mammals of the Arctic, a 1 and ½ hour open talk on Climate Change; we watched part of the discovery channel series “Planet Earth”. We also watched a documentary film on Caribou. I have talked with some of the Inuit students on our journey and I now feel that I have a better understanding of their culture. I can only hope that the remaining days will get even better!
P.S. Just when I thought it wouldn’t happen I am starting to get seasick.
P.P.S. Dear Family and Friends - I miss you all and am envious of high temperatures back at home. All I can say to my parents and my brother is that I love you more than you can imagine!
From: Mary Simon
The SOI is an amazing project. We have been busy all the time and the learning that is going on is very intensive.
I have been assisting in the learning process with the students. What a bright group of youth we have on board. Yesterday we went to Kimmiruut and they got a chance to experience Inuit culture. An elder skinned and cut up a seal and most of the students tried raw seal liver or meat. They learned that Inuit depend on the seal both for their food, clothing and economic income and how important it is that the bans in Europe are stopped because if they go ahead it will have a devastating impact on the lives of many Inuit living across the Arctic. The students are very open-minded and it says a lot for their generation.
The students (and Geoff) also participated in the Inuit games that were put on by the community. The community really enjoyed their participation.
All in all, this trip is fabulous for all involved, especially the students. I hope more students will get involved in this great adventure. Climate change was a hot topic of discussion today and the students are exploring what they consider to be solutions to Climate Change.
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From Ashley Moon
Over the last few days, we have traveled to many different islands to observe the landscape and the species of plants and animals that inhabit the area. On a few occasions, we have even landed on the islands to further explore the types of vegetation and in some cases, the artefacts that were left behind from people who lived in the Arctic hundreds of years ago.
Today is the 6th day that we are on the ship, the Lyubov Orlova. Currently, we are making our way up the Davis Strait. Although we had been spoiled for the first few days with calm seas and skies, now, the waves are becoming bigger, stronger, and blacker. A few of the people onboard the ship have been sick but I find the whole experience thrilling and quite amusing. We have just finished a bottle drop, which is part of an experiment to see and record the ocean currents.
Yesterday, we visited Kimmirut, a small community on the southern tip of Baffin Island. The villagers were so welcoming and thoughtful when we came, that I was overwhelmed with happiness. The little children ran up to greet us when we landed on their small beach; a little boy even helped pull up the 2-tonn Zodiacs onto shore! After we had completed our tours of the small community, a village elder performed the ritual of cutting open a seal and sharing the body with the community – which yesterday, was us. As he cut open the seal and started dividing the body parts, he explained what the women ate, and what the men ate. We all got to try little pieces of seal – heart, liver, and meat. Then, we went up to the community centre and were shown the traditional games of the Inuit. When we left, a women brought down her puppies so we could cuddle them if we missed our pets - I do not have a pet, but I held one anyways! I was sad to have to leave the community where I was accepted, even though I was a stranger.
I am having a great time on this expedition, and I have met many new people and made many friends. I sometimes have a hard time believing that I am in the Arctic on this amazing expedition, but it is true. Goodbye for now!
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From: Omar Beg
Today was a great day to get your sea legs! Our ship has started pitching and I have been trying to get used to this feeling.
Our morning started with a visit to the Savage Islands. We were out on the zodiacs going through the channel that divided the island! Half of the SOI people went through the channel first while the ship rounded the island and then, after meeting on the other side, the other half went through. I was part of the first half and I saw my first iceberg up close and personal (yesterday we had just seen some floating by from the ship). We also tried some glacial water; everywhere on the banks of the channel were pockets of snow which melted down into small waterfalls.
I probably have my sea legs now (I am actually having fun in the rolling!) and I am very excited about tomorrow.
From: Carol Francis
Our first real day of Arctic weather! We have had incredibly calm seas so far, but woke today to fog, and later in the day there has been a noticeable roll to the ship. Quiet time this afternoon was good. I enjoyed the zodiac ride through the parts of Lower Savage Islands, where we saw a polar bear resting by the water. He got up as we approached, and then he went towards the water, at which point we wisely backed off. With the arrival of all five zodiacs in the group, he turned around and went away. This polar bear looked skinnier than the polar bear and cub we saw feeding on a walrus on Walrus Island several days ago. Both sightings were thrilling.
The time is flying by. We have a very nice bunch of students, and congenial bunch of education staff and chaperones. I gave my lecture on Roald Amundsen and the Northwest Passage two nights ago, to 17 students and staff, and it was well received. There were actually many lessons from his story: excellent preparation, reading, and interviewing other explorers; picking a small ship with shallow draft for the rock filled crossing; a total crew of seven, and the plan to live off the land; and finally regarding the Inuit as superior teachers. Amundsen learned skills from the Netsilik Inuits that resulted in him beating Sir Robert Scott to the South Pole in December 1914, including wearing native clothing, using dog sleds, and practicing the art of patience, to avoid sweat by taking frequent breaks. The Northwest Passage is currently in the news due to melting of ice in the Arctic regions, but shipping could be disastrous to the Arctic ecology.
The village we visited yesterday was really super. People were really friendly and the kids all seemed to adopt us, trailing along on tours and hikes, whether their parents were present or not. The Arctic games were fun, and we also had Chinese and Russian students show skills. One of the elders had killed a seal, and showed us how to skin it, and eat the different parts. He was the uncle of my group’s guide, Anna. They seemed very happy, and reminded me of Amundsen’s descriptions of the Netsilik Inuit, who live northwest from here. We also hiked to the top of a hill above the town, with a beautiful view of the surrounding bay and national park.
The Arctic is just as fascinating to me as it was to Roald Amundsen a century ago when he made the crossing in 1903-06! I am thankful, however, to be traveling on a very comfortable ship…
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From: John Cortes
Today is my first journal entry for the SOI website. It is also the first normal weather day, as all other days there has not been a single wave. It is quite foggy, though. Today we explored the Savage Islands by zodiac. We saw one polar bear; it went up close to the shore to see us. Usually polar bears will go on ice around this time but it has not formed because of the warmth. Many people are not feeling well with the rocking of the ship. I just came back from a strange lecture about three arctic mammals. There has been a lot of other lectures and stuff like that lately and also experiments like our bottle drop. In Pangnirtung we might get the change to try seal again but I do not think I will go for some (we were already offered seal liver in Kimmirut). All in all we did some fun things on a foggy day.
From: Phillip Iatridis
Well, today we went on a Zodiac cruise through the Lower Savage Islands. We split into two groups for the cruise. The “Polar Bear” group and half of the “Beluga” group went first. They started at the North end of the islands, and worked their way through the channels to the South end. There, they returned to the ship, and the other half of the “Beluga” group, and the “Seal” group, which I am a member of, boarded the zodiacs. Our group worked our way to the Northern end of the islands.
In the islands, we saw a polar bear, and an old Thule Inuit archaeological sight. Fritz says we got lost, but he doesn’t know anything anyway so… Anyway, right now, we are having some quiet time on board before we have another lecture. We had a discussion about climate change before, and I think everyone was feeling the sea. The ship is really rocking now that we are on the open ocean, and the winds are pretty fast, so the water is pretty rough. Well, talk to you again next time I write!
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