Heart of the Arctic October 11, 2011     In September I had the opportunity to take part in Adventure Canada’s “Heart of the Arctic” tour to Greenland and Baffin Island. I received a last minute invitation (four days notice!) to join the arctic journey and jumped at the opportunity. The trip began with a flight from Toronto to Kangerlussuaq in western Greenland where we were met by the cruise ship, Ocean Nova – a converted Greenland ferry – our home for the next twelve days and 2004 nautical miles. We sailed out of Sondre Stomfjordfjord under a full moon and awoke the following morning in the spectacularly beautiful Eternity Fjord where we clambered aboard zodiacs to view the glaciers and bergy bits up close. We also visited the colourful Inuit village of Kangaamiut and Greenland’s capital, Nuuk. After three days in Greenland we crossed the Davis Strait to Baffin Island to cruise the coast looking for wildlife and visit the communities of Pangnirtung, Kimmirut, Cape Dorset and Iqaluit. On board lectures from archeologists, zoologists, Inuit art experts, gallery curators and filmmakers along with print making and carving demonstrations from two renowned Inuit artists, Andrew Qappik and Mattiusi Iyaituk, enriched the entire experience. It was a crash course in Inuit art and culture. Fortunately there was no test at the end, as I kept skipping out of the lectures to photograph the passing scenery. For this photographer, the jaw dropping beauty of Greenland’s coastal fjords was a rare treat, but the warm welcome we received from our Inuit hosts in every community left an impression I’ll not soon forget.
Images top to bottom: 1, 2 – Glacial ice, Eternity Fjord, Greenland. 3 – Inuit elder Annie Ikkidluak, of Kimmirut, poses with a younger version of herself. 4 – Hamming it up for the camera outside Peter Pitseolak school in Cape Dorset. adventurecanada | |
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