The high arctic, many people say you'd be crazy to go there.
I've always been fascinated with the polar regions. One of the first dreams I remember having was when I was about 6 years old, the image is still clear in my mind. My grandma, an iceberg and a polar bear. It was a nightmare, but at the same time a certain calmness, it never ended. I've had reoccuring dreams of being surrounded by ice and swimming with bears all my life. A premonition maybe?
After a delayed flight I finally arrived to my Ottawa hotel around 2am this morning, not even 6 hours later to be back at the airport headed for Pond Inlet, a small community located around 70 degrees north on Baffin Island.
From here, we take qamutiq (local Inuit sleds) across the ice for around 5-7 hours before reaching our camp on the floe edge to spend the week experencing what is known to be one of the richest areas for marine activity in arctic waters - especially at this time of year as species like narwhal and beluga are migrating to their annual summering grounds.
So why the arctic? Why go back to winter, when we finally just escaped it?
For me, it's not about the cold weather, or returning to snow covered landscapes. Like my dreams, there's peace here, solitude that you can't find anywhere else. As most people will say, once you go, there's always a longing to return.
Not to mention some of the super cool things to 'check' of the list:
Crossing the Arctic Circle! Need I say more?
Spending a week in 24 hour daylight. I've always wanted to witness the midnight sun, visualizing the earth rotated on its axis...to be a spec in the north where the sun just rotates along the horizon (or high above at this time of year, time will soon tell).
To learn about the local Inuit culture, how they live, their beliefs.
And finally, the wildlife! Two occurrences that have stuck with me:
When I first learned that narwhals existed after watching some documentary, I was blown away. The unicorns of the sea - beautiful, intelligent and highly adapted creatures that only live in these frigid northern waters.
The other pivotal moment that brought me here was 5 years ago at Virtuoso Week - up comes appointment #218 or something like that. Before my eyes is Arctic Kingdom's beautiful brochure filled with imagery and experiences that you only see on something like National Geographic. I was in awe, hooked. I can swim with narwhals and belugas off the floe edge? What was a floe edge? We can camp there? Seriously? When can I go? I returned back to Calgary determined to do this trip...and 5 years later, here I am.
Stay tuned...
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