August 6, 2008

Southeastern Baffin Island - Cumberland Sound:

Evening update!

Good evening! We have just posted some incredible photos and journals from yesterday's adventures - click here to read all of them!

You can find two new expedition videos posted here!

The team had a remarkably busy day today as the ship make its way north towards Cape Mercy along the Cumberland Strait. The seas are calm and icebergs of every imaginable size abound. Dr. Eric Galbraith led his famous "Ice is Nice" lecture - before everyone bounded into zodiacs to travel out on to the water and see it first hand. Whales were spotted at a distance, and countless Ring and Harp seals were spotted sunning on ice flows.

Read all about their adventures below!

Photo by Lee Narraway

Student Journals

Alexandra Polasko, Student                                                                                      

Previously, I have never kept a journal. I have never been able to express my true feelings in writing. I now realize that writing one’s feelings and thoughts opens up new doorways in the mind to future ideas and future action.

I would like to share a moment that impacted me enormously and will for the rest of my life.  Today started out unusually: fairly calm. First we had breakfast, then a lecture on sea ice and Arctic mammals, and then some free time.  It was at that moment a new doorway opened. I decided to go up to the seventh deck on the ship to catch a glimpse of a great view and take in some fresh air. While on deck, I started to see a few sea ice sheets floating by one by one – more and more of them as we travel further north. Suddenly the ship stopped, and right before my eyes lay hundreds of pieces of ice. What made it so spectacular was how the grey sky matched the water almost exactly. Where I come from, in Scottsdale, Arizona, the sky tells one story and the land another, never matching each other.  I never thought I would see the day that the sky and land told the same story. I never thought the day would come when the horizon did not lie before my eyes clearly.

Once again, my expectations were exceeded; this whirlwind of inspiration came to me, telling me that, “Yes, I can make a difference in this world.  Every move I make affects both what I can and cannot see.” I may only be 15 but that doesn’t mean I cannot make a difference. My time to start change happens now. Whether it be on a ship, at a computer, or exploring new places I will do whatever it takes to protect the poles, and to the protect the planet.
Photo by Lee Narraway
Photo by Lee Narraway

Benjamin Tur, Student

Quand je suis arrivé à l’université de Carleton, la première personne que j’ai été amené à rencontrer m’a prévenu quant à la beauté de ce qui nous attendait, là bas, au Nord. Ce qu’elle ne m’a pas dit, ou ce que je n’ai pas voulu entendre, c’est à quel point ces images me toucheraient au plus profond de mon âme. Tentez d’imaginer pendant un court moment, être sur le pont supérieur d’un navire transportant des gens du monde entier, et découvrir soudain, à travers la brume, de timides montagnes cachées derrière d’épais nuages, devant lesquelles se prosternent des centaines de glaces brisées par une bien trop rapide fuite du temps. Tentez encore, pendant un court instant d’imaginer une lumière inexplicable, presque divine, ainsi qu’un vent glacial frappant avec douceur votre visage; si une larme coule maintenant le long de votre joue, jusqu’à  tomber de votre visage, c’est que votre imagination a suffi, pour se représenter un quart de ce magnifique spectacle qui nous a été offert ce matin.

L’après midi n’a pas encore touché à son terme, à l’heure où je noircis ces quelques pages, mais je pense qu’il est inutile d’ajouter quelque chose à tout ça, par peur d’atteindre à la perfection de ce chef d’oeuvre de la nature.

Photo by Lee Narraway
Photo by Lee Narraway

Ophie Snyder, Student

Out on the ocean, in the middle of nowhere there are no traces of human contact. Today, even though it was overcast, you could see the amazing turquoise and sky blues radiating from inside the ice. The ice rises out of the fog, accompanied by mountains breaking the never ending grey of the ocean.

It is this most magical place that makes you decide what kind of student, what kind of person, you want to be. It feels as if we lowly humans are intruding on the solitude of a place that existed thousands of years before we were even a thought and will continue to exist until we are nothing more than dust.

In truth, we have an obligation and a responsibility not to interfere with this place but to respect and revere it. As humans we are proud enough to assume Mother Nature needs our help, but in truth, if we leave her alone, stop emitting and reduce our impact, she can take care of herself. People have lost touch with reality. We exist on earth for less than a moment in the grand scheme of things. In that moment we must respect the world and thank it, not destroy it. It is places like the arctic that make you realize how little time you really have on the third rock from the sun.

The ice is magic. I can’t say it enough and it’s changed the way I myself my role in the world.

Photo by Lee Narraway

Stay Tuned for Further Updates!