We ventured out to the blustery ship’s decks this morning and found, unusually, we were not alone. Three medium-sized fishing boats were not far in the distance. They were looking for what the guests on board our ship were looking for… Narwhals. Unfortunately we had rather different reasons.
Guests aboard wanted to seek out these beautiful creatures with their unique tusks, rather like unicorns of the sea. The fishing people on the boats wanted to seek them out for lunch, and their tusks for decoration. It is not what we wanted to see but we have to appreciate we are of different cultures and have different needs. Perhaps it is something we should not delve too deeply into, especially when later we will be tucking into our chicken or beef dinner with shrimp starter.
Instead we turn to those mariners’ community living in Arctic Bay where we are moored. It is the third most northerly community in Canada, a hamlet housing less than 1,000 people. It’s location is nestled into surrounding peaks and has the Inuit name of Ikpiarjuk, meaning ‘pocket’.
Nomadic Inuit inhabited the area over thousands of years, but in 1959 a schoolhouse was built which led to the slow move to Inuit permanent residence. The oldest building is a joint Canada-US weather station erected in 1941.
Our trip to the town was via the Zodiac and a rather wavy, splashy, sea. At the shoreline was a welcoming committee… dozens of children, mainly boys, who excitedly showed us part of a daily catch – two seals. I too wanted to see seals, but not in this fashion. And we never did see any Narwhals.
The children were clearly delighted to see us and rushed over to each Zodiac as it came up to the shoreline. The area does not have too many visitors, let alone a small cruise ship. The roads here are tarmac-free which results in the throwing up a lot of dust as vehicles pass by, much of which had landed on the children’s hands, legs and faces.
The town’s adults too were excited to see us. Just as in Pond Inlet they wanted to entertain us with singing and drum playing, and to feed us with bannock – a flat unsweetened cake tasting rather like doughnut without the sugar coating.
We were given a front row seat which was great for photographers and we settled down to hear some more throat singers and drum players, but also two guys playing guitar and singing. They had performed for many years in different parts of the world and were hoping their music would get onto Spotify. Inuit towns may be remote but as one of the throat singers pointed out, “We got internet connection a few years ago and now everyone has a mobile phone!”
After the performance we talked with the entertainers and the young throat singers spoke of their traditional outfits, the amauti (parka). Those of the two ladies were made of Caribou and Seal skin. The different coloured skins are cut in shapes and mixed to produce a pattern. The makers, in this case their grandmothers, do not use scissors, but instead a ulu, which is a multi-purpose crescent-shaped blade. One young lady showed me the inside of her parka which comprised minute stitching of multiple pieces of skin.
We were then off to our ship again, but the day did not end there. In the evening, the Expedition Leader had arranged to meet and bring on board a real life modern day explorer. This was Borge Ousland, a Norwegian Polar explorer who had carried out incredible feats including being the first person to cross Antarctica solo, covering 1,864 miles, and using kite and skis for assistance.
Borge had started his career as a Norwegian Navy Special Forces Officer and later as a deep sea diver for the oil industry. He clearly likes adventure. In 1990 he, along with fellow explorer Erling Kagge, were the first to reach the North Pole unsupported. The 800km (500 miles) trip took 58 days. In 1994 he made the first solo unsupported trek to the North Pole from Arctic Cape, Russia.
As if that didn’t already fulfil his dreams, he holds the record for the fastest unsupported journey to the South Pole taking 34 days; and in 2006 he, together with fellow explorer Mike Horn, took two months to travel to the North Pole in Arctic darkness.
He has many other trips and successes to his name, and during his talk told us how he was planning to ski across the world’s 20 largest ice caps with French explorer Vincent Colliard, during which time they will be looking at various aspects of science, climate change and the importance of ice to the planet.
Asked what drives him, Borge replied: “I grew up in the 1970s and 1980s. Everything was possible. I had two hobbies – nature and diving.”
Regarding the trips to the Poles he said: “They are completely different. The Antarctic is a mental challenge because of the landscape. It all looks the same from when you wake up to when you go to sleep. In the North Pole region there are boulders to look at.”
And Polar Bears. He explained that while he can keep an eye on the bears during the day, that is not so at night. One morning he woke to three Polar Bears around the tent. Quite a wake-up call, and in smelling distance. It is said that bears can smell prey from 1 km away.
He said the solo expeditions especially taught him a lot. “I grew and learnt, and was inspired to be a full-time Polar explorer. It is great to do something that has not been done before.”
Needless to say, we won’t be joining him on the next trip. A step too far, I think.
Copyright: Words and photos Sue Barnard 2022
I’d recommend the book “Silence” by Erling Kagge. There is a particularly poignant part where he shares a moment with a whale whilst sailing. I long for such a moment every night I am on watch.
Thanks Nicole and Jeremy we like a good book recommendation. Shall look for it. Wishing you many calm watches and wildlife during your mighty sailing trips.