Time to complete the Bucket List

If it’s light, duck behind a ger; if it’s heavy there’s a tent with a view.

I didn’t think my introduction to Mongolia would see me getting to grips with toilet etiquette and so soon.

Life with the nomads is uncomplicated. Hence there I was hiding behind a ger, hoping nobody would see me during daylight, and keeping far closer to our sleeping quarters at night in total darkness apart from millions of stars to accompany me. Ah, and not forgetting the inquisitive 200 goats, 50 sheep, a few cows and an excitable dog.

During our trip I became very familiar with the different toilet offerings, from ‘au naturel’ (often with not a single plant to hide behind), to the ‘long drop’ – work that one out for yourselves – and the ‘short drop’ once a ‘long drop’ but well passed it fill-by date. Occasionally there may even be a seat, but so low down one struggled to get up again!

One day as we were travelling off road in our UAZ Russian military vehicle we spotted what looked to be a large bird perched in the landscape. Perhaps it’s a vulture or is it an eagle? We drove closer – only to find it was a lady going about her ‘business’. She was lucky – we had not got out our telephoto lenses!

Our trip to Mongolia provided us with so many experiences we had not had before and likely will not have again. They were mostly good, apart from our ger catching fire one night. More about that in a later posting. A ger is a large round tent, known in other parts of the world as a yurt. They are seen throughout Mongolia and have the advantage of being transportable – deconstructed in a couple of hours and reconstructed in a further two hours, it is quite an art form. They are the very essence of nomadic life and all the family or community pitch in with this moving and re-building activity.

During the summer the gers are placed in grassy steppes where the nomads’ animals can feed. Father is the herdsman, assisted by his sons. A common sight is boys as young as four herding the animals alone and very successfully. In the winter the ger may be moved to the shelter of the mountains, or packed away while the family moves to a more permanent house the father may have built, where his penned herd will be fed on hay.

Within 24 hours of landing in Mongolia we were in the heart of nomadic life. Our itinerary included three homestays with nomadic families and a lunch visit. Looking back, these were the most enjoyable, unforgettable and educational experiences of all. Other nights we stayed at ger camps, some marketed as eco-friendly, others plain traditional usually without en-suite facilities.

Our first stay was with a park ranger who, along with his family, lived outside the Khustai Nuruv National Park in his ger. His job, when not herding, was to enforce the law within the park and guard against frequent poaching, particularly marmot and deer hunting. One of the biggest crimes in Mongolia is livestock theft. He was involved with research as well, which included recording plant life. A further role was to ensure tourists were not camping off road, which was a tall order considering the park stretches across 200 square miles. All of this he achieved on his motorbike.

It is etiquette for visitors to bring a gift for the family agreeing to take in tourists. They do, rightly, get paid for the guest stay. We arrived with gifts of vodka and biscuits. Never have I seen a bottle of vodka go down so quickly, but it was shared between hosts and guests – neat, mainly.

We all sat around tables to share the food Pyamba, our hostess, had prepared for us. Generally, everybody eats with their fingers. Our host, Sanjaa tore off meat from the sheep’s cooked carcass for us. This was one of his own flock, as is the norm. This was accompanied by succulent potatoes and what we would describe as homemade coleslaw. Meat is cooked in one large pot (at least 18 inches wide) with onions, carrots and potatoes. The resulting stock at the end of cooking is served as a soup. The meal cooked in this way was very tasty and real comfort food, providing a feeling of ‘just like mum makes’. Homemade yogurt is often served as well, along with fermented milk (more on that another day). Vegetables are sparse as the growing conditions in some parts of the country are not suitable, and all fruit is imported and at eye-watering prices such as £3 for one apple, which is prohibitive for most families.

The Mongolian diet of the past had been wholesome. Herders needed a high fat diet for warmth and energy which they got from a predominantly mutton diet. Today, more sugar is available leading to diabetes and dental decay not previously seen.

Covid incidence in Mongolia, we were told, was very low, but vaccination was mandatory if a person wished to be employed in any job. Just as well really as vodka, or milk, is passed around in a small bowl for each person to drink from.

Another tradition is the sharing of snuff bottles. This is an honour. Our host shared his snuff bottle for us to sniff and pass back to him, each of us in turn. All gifts or items are passed with open hands from one person to another whether it be in a ger, restaurant or shop.

In a traditional nomadic home the males herd the animals, taking them away from the ger to graze by day and returning them by night. The men are also responsible for maintenance of the home and surroundings. Meanwhile the females take on what we might know as a ‘housewifely’ role – rearing the children and grandchildren, cooking and decorating the inside of the ger. Following changes in recent years women were given equal rights. This has enabled some to be employed, but they still carry out the ‘housewifely’ tasks.

It is interesting that the contents within the gers are limited. There is not a lot of space. Cupboards are filled with clothing the women have made for the whole family, and kitchen utensils. This is because, when the gers are taken down and moved – often by camel – the contents of the house must move with them, and this is done at least twice a year.

Sanjaa, our host, shared with us his thoughts on the future via our interpreter guide. “For the older generation the nomadic way is peaceful, but for the young it is different,” he said. All children must attend school, these are state and privately-owned, taking youngsters up to the age of 18. From there they will often go on to higher education maybe in the capital Ulaanbaatar (or more familiarly UB) living with relatives, or travel overseas. Once the children experience the life in UB and the influence of social media they do not wish to return to herding. Many move on to the US, especially Chicago and LA. Those males who do want to go back to the family find it difficult to find wives who are willing to return to nomadic life. The nomadic way is declining.

This is a concern for the older generations who see this way of life diminishing – bear in mind that the herd is used as a source of meat and milk and for selling on to others. The goat wool is sold for very soft garment making and the sheep wool for felting (a frequently-used product). The decline in herding would not only affect the family, but the country as a whole.

The nomads also have a great sense of community. Our host told us that he only goes into the capital perhaps twice a year. This is because other community members take it in turn to purchase items for their neighbours. If someone might need to go to Ulaanbaatar for a longer stay, hospital for example, other community members will look after their herd.

Nomadic life seemed very safe for Mongolians and tourists. We were frequently told how there aren’t locks on the doors and a passerby could call at a ger for an unannounced visit and stay overnight if in need. In fact, in one remote area our guide called at a ger to see if we could have lunch within the community. This was readily granted, and we had some incredible experiences, but more about that later.

Copyright: Words and photos Sue Barnard 2022

We are back and as expected wifi was in most places non-existent so we were not able to post daily updates.

That said, for this trip, we have decided to post on various topics rather than specific days. The trip was split into two sections, a circular drive from Ulaanbaatar (UB as it is known to the locals) through mid-Gobi, down to South Gobi and the Sagsai Eagle Festival which was held in the far west of Mongolia in the mainly Kazakh province of Bayan-Olgii Aimag.

Mongolia is not a country I knew much about before going there so I though I would set out a few facts. It is nearly 6 times the size of the UK and has a population of 3.2 to 3.4 million with half of those living in and around UB. UB is a sprawling city with many new apartments being built as more Mongolians desert the nomadic life and move to the city for a different style of existence. Those still out in the vast countryside do continue to embrace a nomadic lifestyle and their wealth is measured by how many sheep, goats, camels, cows and horses they have. Fellow travellers of ours were asked by a nomadic family how many animals they had, and when they said one dog and two cats, they were asked, “are you poor”.

So a very different way of life for many in Mongolia compared to the western world. That said, all the nomadic families have mobile phones and satellite tv so are not as “cut off” as one may think from the outside world. Those who follow the nomadic life live in “gers” for the summer and nowdays move to a small house in the winter when it can get down to -50 centigrade. Living in a ger in those temperatures would be harsh as we found out to a lesser extent when we visited the Eagle Festival.

As you would expect, Mongolia’s history is linked heavily with its two big neighbours, Russia to the north and China to the south. Mongolia had been ruled by the Chinese Qing dynasty for circa 300 years until 1911 when a revolution broke out and on 1 December 1911, Mongolia declared independence. This ushered in the Bogd Khan era (Emperor of Mongolia) which lasted until 1924 after which Mongolia became a socialist state until 1992 under the leadership of the Mongolian Peoples Revolutionary Party. During this period Mongolia had close ties with the USSR. Today Mongolia is an independent country although we were told that many Mongolians are not happy with the current Government, who have a stranglehold on politics in Mongolia. It seemed that people were very sceptical as to how the Government was using tax payers’ money, so nothing new there.

Most Mongolians are Buddists and the Kazakh’s over in the west of the country are Muslims. There were many Buddist monastries dotted around the country, usually at the top of a hill, and in the west many mosques. Islam seems to be much more relaxed in the west with the Kazakh people – no head scaves or other dress code and many people preferred to worship at home rather than go to a mosque. For those muslims living out in the wild as nomads, worshipping at home seemed very sensible.

Mongolians drive on the rightside of the road but I have never been to any country that has so many cars with the steering wheel on the wrong side ie the right side. Also, I have never been to a country where the majority of vehicles are Toyota Prius. We were told a politician in the ruling party was able to purchase a vast amount of Toyota Prius’s directly from Japan and sell them on to the populus. It was very interesing seeing Mongolian drivers trying to overtake lorries and having to get the whole car out on the wrong side of the road.

Coming to roads in Mongolia, those who had seen the Top Gear special would probably have got the impression that the road system in Mongolia was very underdeveloped. It certainly is and 95% of our travel was off road on varying levels of rough terain. Lucky our drivers had the UAZ Van, a Russian vehicle that can still be bought brand new today, that is good off road but not so good on tarmac.

More to follow.

If you have any problems seeing pictures on the e-mail you receive, please go to the actual website where they will be in glorious colour.

Copyright: Words and photos John Cruse 2022

The route map – courtesy of Goyo Travel

Our next trip starts this week and we are off to Mongolia for a journey into the Gobi Desert and then to see the Eagle Festival which is held in the west of the country.

As can be seen from the map above, Mongolia lies between Russia to the North and China to the South and I understand it is roughly the size of Alaska. Mongolia is the 19th largest and the most sparsely populated independent country in the world, with a population of approximately 3 million people. It is also the world’s second-largest landlocked country after Kazakhstan.

The country contains very little arable land, as much of its area is covered by steppes, with mountains to the north and west and the Gobi Desert to the south. Approximately 30% of the population is nomadic or semi-nomadic, and 45% live in the capital Ulaanbaatar. There are no other major cities in the country with the next largest, Erdenet and Darhan, having populations of 100,000 and 80,000 respectively. The highest point in Mongolia is Nayramadlin Orgil (also known as Mt Khuiten), at 4,374 meters (14,350 feet).

I am sure that many of us have heard the term Outer Mongolia. Interestingly, Inner Mongolia refers to the northern portion of China that borders with Outer Mongolia which is actually the country of Mongolia as we know it today. This division, I understand, was formed in the 1600s during the expansion of the Qing empire. In 1911 Outer Mongolia declared its independence after the fall of the Qing dynasty.

The life expectancy is 65 for men and 73 for women, the major religion is Buddism and the official language is Khalkh Mongolian.

After we leave the capital, Ulaanbaatar, and head south to the Gobi Desert we will be staying in ger camps which have 2-4 beds each and a traditional wood burning stove. No doubt this is 5 star luxury Mongolian style. We will find out soon.

As there will not be good, or possibly any, internet connections outside of Ulaanbaatar, our postings will most likely come at the end of our trip, so stay tuned.

Copyright: Words John Cruse 2022 (route map courtesy of Goyo Travel)

After our visit to the Inuit community of Artic Bay on the northern part of Baffin Island we were called down to the ship’s lecture theatre for what we were told was a mandatory briefing for all passengers. This sounded ominous but when you go on any expedition in the Arctic seas, plans change all the time due to ice and weather. We had ice along the west coast of Baffin Island resulting in the first part of our itinenary being changed but we had now sailed past that and, whereas the wind had got up as we sailed north, there had been no more mention of problematic ice.

The Expedition Leader, Christian, took the microphone and told us that Quark Expeditions had advised him that our return charter flight from Resolute would not be happening as the airline had cancelled the flight due to a combination of unexpected aircraft technical issues and crewing challenges. We also received a letter in our cabins from Quark explaining that due to Resolute’s short gravel runway which is only suitable for specially-equipped aircraft, and aviation industry-wide COVID and suppy chain challenges, we would be returning to Kangerlussuaq in Greenland for our charter flight back to Toronto. This meant we would be losing 3 days of our trip. Had disaster struck again in our quest to visit the Northwest Passage?

Our Expedition Leader went on to say that we would sail overnight along the coast of Devon Island and go directly to Beechey Island so that we could visit it before making our way back along the Lancaster Sound and through Baffin Bay to Kangerlussuaq. Hurrah we cried, as at least we would be able to visit the most important place in relation to the Franklin story.

As we said in the prologue, our main reason for joining this expedition cruise to the Northwest Passage was not to see Polar Bears, Walruses, Belugas, Narwhals or visit remote Innuit communities, although all of these would add to the experience. We had ticked all but one of these off our bucket list in our trip to the Hudson Bay in 2014. It was the historical narrative that had attracted us to this trip in order to see the remoteness of the area and to get a feel for the challenges that the 1845 ill-fated Sir John Franklin expedition endured with 129 men losing their lives.

For us, the most poignant moment in the trip would be to sail down the Lancaster Sound and land on Beechey Island where 3 of Franklin’s crew were buried along with the grave of another unfortunate sailor who died and was buried there on a later mission in the 1850s to find out what happened to Franklin and his crew.

The dissappointment of losing 3 days of our trip would be negated, for us at least, if we finally got to Beechey Island. So when the boat set off overnight all looked positive. That night the wind got up and the sea became very rough but Quark’s newest ship in it’s fleet, the Ultramarine, dealt with the conditions very well.

After a good night’s sleep we woke to find the wind had subsided but the ship was stationary. The Expedition Leader came on the tannoy to advise us all that due to 100mph winds overnight the Captain had decided that his only option was to rideout the storm in a stationary position. This meant that we were still at the eastern side of Devon Island near Dundas Harbour and 70 nautical miles (roughly 80 miles) from Beechey Island. He also advised that this meant that our schedule did not allow us to get to Beechey Island and make it back to Kangerlussuaq. Instead we would cruise up to Croker Bay and make a landing at Dundas Harbour that had a Royal Canadian Mounted Police post, which finally closed in 1951. This site had also been used by the Hudson Bay Company in the early 1930s until fur prices collapsed. Dundas Harbour also had the remains of some settlements of the Thule people who are the ancestors of the modern day Inuit.

Yet again so near, but circumstamces beyond our control have scuppered our completion of this bucket list item.

Three days at sea now with not much to view as even the sea birds seem to have deserted us on this trip. The expedition staff are giving some lectures, which have been very interesting and informative but do not remove the disappointment of not reaching Beechey Island.

We have been lucky that we have two historians on this ship, both whom we have met before. Laurie Dexter who was part of the Expedition Team for our Hudson Bay trip and Ken Burton who was part of the Expedition Team on our last ill-fated trip to the Northwest Passage where we ran aground. Both have given excellent lectures on the Franklin story from his start in the British Navy, being govenor of Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania) to his last expedition, death and the many expeditions that followed to find out what happened. They also talked about the Erebus and Terror being found and the theories as to how the ships moved to their final resting places. The investigations are still ongoing and as bodies may still be on the ships, they could be declared British war graves. Time will tell on this aspect. Ken had even sailed the Northwest Passage in his capacity as a Royal Canadian Mounted Police ship’s captain and took Michael Palin onto Beechey Island when Michael was there researching his book, Erebus – The story of a ship.

Therefore, apart from a few lectures, we have to look forward to a charter flight from Kangerlussuaq to Niagra Falls, New York State, with a coach ride across the border to Toronto where we overnight and then home to prepare for our next journey, details to follow.

Copyright: Words and photos John Cruse 2022

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

Our next high point was a Zodiac ride to Low Point, on Baffin Island, a little further north than Pond Inlet our destination yesterday. To ease congestion on the various land and sea trips we had been divided into four groups to leave the vessel, which were all named after ships. 

Our group was the MS Fram, a ship launched in 1892 and used in Arctic and Antarctic expeditions, one familiar name being Roald Amundsen. Other groups were the Gjoa (1872), the first vessel to pass through the Northwest Passage taking three years to complete; the St Roch (1928), a Royal Canadian Mounted Police schooner, the first ship to fully circumnavigate North America and the second to successfully pass through the Northwest Passage; and Maud, named after Queen Maud of Norway launched in 1916 and built for Roald Amundsen’s second exploration of the Arctic.

On this occasion, however, to cater for passengers’ stamina, aching muscles or preferences, we were divided into the ‘chargers’, those delighting in running up the peaks; the ‘medium fasts’, the not so energetic, but liking a fast walk; the ‘medium slows’ (just my cup of tea, although no tea provided on this occasion); and the ‘contemplatives’, a polite term for the plodders.

Being in the ‘medium slows’ I did at least get the chance to take some photos of what I was trying not to step on – the plants and attractive-looking rocks and stones. But we were also looking at history.

Our other historian and Polar expert was Scottish-born Laurie Dexter who served for 13 years as an Anglican Minister in the Diocese of the Arctic, the most northerly parish in the world. During this time he learned to speak fluently the Inuit language (Inuktitut) – a most complex of languages. He has since travelled the Polar regions hundreds of times and taken part in extreme sports.

Our two hour hike, which was a little rocky under foot, but a gentler climb compared with our previous exhausting experiences, enabled us to appreciate just what we were walking around. Laurie pointed out that the rings of rocks around us did not arrive naturally, but were the bases of cool places (literally) for storing the meat hunted by the Dorset or Thule people.

As he took us higher up the landscape we staggered over loose and shifting rocks to view inside mounds of stones, pyramidal in shape, about four feet high with an open top. These were fox traps, or rock cairns, in which pieces of meat would be placed as bait. When the fox came sniffing it would enter the cairn at the top opening, get its prey, but would not be able to get out again. Ingenious, but not for the squeamish.

There were several more rock outlines nearer to the shore indicating that these could have been houses or other buildings. 

As if this wasn’t enough excitement, in the afternoon we went looking for icebergs passing the tiny Adam’s Island, off Baffin and Bylot Islands. On the map above, this is located by a tiny dot in the channel to the left of Cape Hay, near point 10.

Adam’s Island lies in the Lancaster Sound where Franklin’s ships would have passed on their way through the Northwest Passage. The island is uninhabited, but small rock cairns on the top of the rocks showed that human life had clambered onto it. From this point we sailed around some beautiful and huge icebergs.

When we returned to the ship we had the greatest sighting of Orcas (Killer Whales) which swam alongside us for at least an hour and comprised an estimated 40-50 Orcas. 

But our day was not to end there. We had asked if we could meet with the Captain during our voyage. Due to Covid, passengers were not allowed on the Bridge so we were unable to visit him in situ. The Expedition Team did not disappoint, however. The Captain came to see us. 

Ah, of course this was my opportunity to ask… is it a ship or a boat? “IT’S A SHIP!”, he bellowed as he pointed to the four gold stripes on the epaulettes of each shoulder, indicating he is of the highest rank of a cruise ship. “A ship can carry a boat, but a boat cannot carry a ship!”, he added. 

Well I had heard that before and I had done my research which didn’t really give me the definitive answer. I was expecting something in more detail than the boat-on-ship description, hence my questioning. Now I know that our world-circumnavigating sailing friends Nicole and Jeremy (who also read these words and I am sure will be sailing at this point) would be able to enlighten me, but in stepped our Aussie friend Eric (who we first met in Vietnam many years ago) who sent me a WhatsApp mid-sailing to put me out of my misery. So I share his words of clarification:

Eric advised: “Ships are big. Boats are little. In the old days, any vessel over three masts was a ship. A boat becomes a ship after it exceeds 197 feet in length.

“With me so far? Then I shall add some more…

“A ship has a commander [or in our case a captain] and crew. But beware. Explanation from an old pusser [naval slang for purser] will leave you bewildered. To explain, they call a submarine a boat, although it has a commander and crew and is flat bottomed. Then there is a landing ‘ship’ with a flat bottom.

“Get my drift? Good. Then I will give another example. President Kennedy’s WW2 craft, the PT109, was a boat. That had a commander and crew and a pointed hull. 

“So I hope that has made it clear, and you are not still at sea – pardon the pun… well, hmmm, I hope you are still at sea!”

Thanks Eric, that has cleared it up nicely!

If truth be known I was actually seeking a photo opportunity with the Captain and Ted in his new Franklin outfit his mummy had made him specially for the trip. I am pleased to say the Captain did not disappoint.

Copyright: Words and photos 2022 Sue Barnard

After two days of sailing we reached the top of Baffin Bay where we headed onto the zodiacs for a visit ashore, to Pond Inlet in the Nunavut territory. Sir John Ross (1777-1856), the Scottish explorer, named the waterway between Bylot Island and the top right of Baffin Bay as Pond’s Bay. In 1921 the Hudson’s Bay Company set up a trading post in the area, which became Pond Inlet. Today it is a small hamlet with around 1,500, mainly Inuit, people. 

Our first stop was to drink tea, prepared on a fire fuelled with Arctic Heather. When I asked if this was a hot drink made with Greenlandic flora, our host replied: “No it is Tetley’s finest,”. I think she was kidding as the ‘cuppa’ tasted of rather smoky hot water.

She then walked us to the local museum while explaining that the temperatures can reach as low as -75 degrees Celsius, and that 20 degrees is rather warm for those living in the area. She also told us her son was working at the nearby iron mine. Mining is a controversial subject. It provides jobs, income and sometimes improved amenities, but recent attempts to expand the mine have proved a hot issue not least for its environmental impact on land and marine (with its need for increased transportation by ships). Keep in mind also that hunting on land and fishing are major sources of food for the Inuit communities.

A favourite type of entertainment for visitors and the community is a display of Arctic Games exercises. These are performed competitively but also to provide physical activity and strength, essential for hunting and general wellbeing. The Arctic Winter Games were set up in 1969 and the ‘games’, as demonstrated, are tough. They include extremely high kicking where the foot touches a hanging object at least 5 feet in the air. The record is 8 feet 8 inches using two feet, and 7 feet 10 inches using one foot while the hand holds the other. There were no volunteers from the audience!

Also demonstrated was a head pull where two competitors try to pull the other’s head around. This is worsened when one realises they have their fingers in each other’s mouths to pull via the cheek. I feel uneasy just recalling the memory.

There are finger pulls where two competitors pull each other’s fingers at the same time and use their strength and pain tolerance to see who gives in first. Then there is the race across the floor, easy until one realises this is to be done lying on the floor holding the plank position and resting on one’s clenched fists and toes. This is referred to as the knuckle hop. On the word ‘go’ or the Inuit equivalent, competitors race across the floor to see who comes first. Again this is an exercise of extreme strength and pain. All of these exercises and more were demonstrated to us with pride and excitement.

We were then entertained with drum playing and traditional dancing. The drum playing was a continuous beat, somewhat soporific and again is strenuous for the player who has to dance, bend the top half of his body over the drum, and play. This is always carried out in the same way and the drummer explained to us how difficult it is to do and a strain on the back. Children often start playing this style of drum from around six years old and one youngster of 10 years was following in his community’s traditions during the performance acting out some of the exercises and drumming techniques.

These activities were all carried out by the males. The females entertained us with group singing and, as pairs, throat singing. The latter we had heard on a previous trip to the Arctic, but is always a source of amazement. It is carried out using short rhythmic inhalations and exhalations of breath, deep within the throat. Two women face each other when performing throat singing, their rhythmic tones being influenced by one another. A performance, lasting two or three minutes always ends when the first person laughs. One of the entertainers said she had been performing for the past three days and was a little hoarse. 

This is a traditional form of entertainment originally played by women during the long winter nights while their menfolk were away hunting. It was banned by Christian missionaries in the 20th century who saw it as satanic, but eventually lifted in the 1980s. It was enlightening to see that the Inuit communities are trying to keep their traditions alive. 

Some of the entertainers wore the amauti, a parka-style coat. This includes a large hood, which can appear to hold a child. Actually, the child is carried on the mother’s back in pig-a-back style. The enlarged garment is secured at the waist and other areas with a tie to prevent the child slipping down. The amauti is big enough for the mother to manoeuvre the child to the front for feeding, keeping her offspring safe from the cold and frostbite.

One of the ladies performing had a child on her back throughout and despite her bending and shaking the child was held firmly. The mother later told us her daughter was four and a half years old, and preferred being transported this way. That was exceptional and must have felt like a daily workout. Most children are held like this until they are two years old. 

Copyright: Words and photos Sue Barnard 2022

It was time to head much further north to reach Lancaster Sound and our ultimate destination of Beechey Island where some of Franklin’s men are buried. Achieving this meant the captain had to put his foot down and we had to be at sea for the next two days. This took us away from Davis Strait and into Baffin Bay.

We tried to imagine what Franklin’s men would have felt as they sailed the seas northwards in the 1800s. Weather conditions change from hour to hour in the Arctic, from wet to sunny with fairly mild temperatures (today 2-6 degrees Celsius), and calm clear waters, to freezing temperatures, surface ice, icebergs and fog.

We do know that Franklin called into Disko Bay for supplies, which is where we were located on days three and four on the map above. It was at Disko Bay that it has been recorded a few members of the crew were sent back to England. Different stories have been told that this was because of ill health or perhaps too much rum. Whatever the reasons, they may have ultimately felt very lucky that their outcome was more fortuitous than their shipmates.

The Expedition Team was always keen to keep us occupied with lectures several times daily when we were not on the zodiacs or on land. These were always of a high quality, presented by two historians, zoologists, botanists, two marine biologists, two ornithologists, and two glaciologist, who were all part of the 31-person team. Each day would also include a recap of what we had achieved in the previous 24 hours.

One of the historians was Captain Ken Burton who had many awards to his name. He spent more than 25 years working in different top level capacities in the Arctic including Vessel Commander on various RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) patrol vessels. In 2000, as Captain of the St Roch II ship, he retraced the original St Roch voyages of 1940-42 circumnavigating North America via the Northwest Passage and Panama Canal. This took 169 days, covered 24,000 nautical miles and was the 73rd ship to navigate the Northwest Passage. Times have changed since Franklin’s day. Today more than 300 ships have passed through the Passage.

Ken stressed to us how Franklin’s team would have met unimaginable obstacles with continuous fog, seasickness, tiredness, increasing illness, frostbite, hunger at the latter stages, desperation, and nothing like the equipment mariners have today – just think of the advances in clothing alone. He said: “These were unchartered waters. The men took on a duty and an oath, for which they ultimately paid with their lives”.

The search for a shorter trading route through the high Arctic between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans was a major initiative for the British Admiralty. The search for the crew that followed was the most intense apart for the more recent search for the Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 which disappeared in 2014.

The mystery of what happened to the Franklin men continues to this day. According to Ken, the finding of the Erebus and Terror “raises more questions than answers”. The wrecks, found in 2014 and 2016 respectively, are still being studied in situ at the bottom of the ocean and with great sensitivity as some of the bodies may have gone down with the ships, which raises ethical issues. There are still more than 20 bodies that have not been accounted for.

Moving on to our second day, sea conditions were calm enough to take to the zodiacs to see icebergs, ice and some wildlife.

Copyright: Words and photos Sue Barnard 2022

Today we headed back down south as the weather was improving. Our destination was Sisimiut just above the Arctic Circle. It is the second-largest city in Greenland mixing modern methods with traditional ways such as hunting. The area has been occupied for an estimated 4,500 years, first by the people of the Saqqaq culture, followed by the Dorset culture and then the Thules.

The current population is a mix of Inuit and Danish – the latter settling here in the 1720s. This city too has a large population of Greenlandic sledge dogs which is evidence of the hunting tradition.

Sisimiut was our first (and only) dry landing, with the ship being able to dock at the quay. We took a walk around the area passing a new form of graffiti. A local artist had been commissioned to engrave the rocks with a range of sea life. It would have been interesting to see the end result.

We took a short walk up the steep hillside to get a wider view, then headed down to visit an interesting museum of old buildings retained to keep Sisimiut’s architectural and cultural history alive. This included a turf house being a reconstruction of a dwelling typical of the early 20th century. It comprised layers of turf and soil interspersed with rocks. Remains of this type of construction can still be seen along the coastline of Sisimiut.

The turf houses can be roughly dated. During the earlier days of construction, they would accommodate several families in the one dwelling. When the Christian mission later arrived in Greenland this way of living was dissuaded because of possible ‘indiscretions’. We were to learn that this is just one example of how ‘outsiders’ have thrust their attitudes onto other cultures. The design of those multi-family dwellings was later changed to housing two families.

A Colonial Manager’s house dated from 1846 as a two-story building and was greatly extended, including adding a further floor. This was the home and office of the manager of the colony of Holsteinsborg (now known as Sisimiut). In the early 1900s Arctic explorers would visit to collect provisions and await better weather conditions. These are said to have included polar explorer Knud Rasmussen, aviation pioneer Charles Lindbergh, and Scottish botanist Isobel Hutchison. 

Inside the Colonial Manager’s house was a display of office equipment including telex, duplicating machines and an Olympia typewriter – gosh, I remember working with a brand new one of those a long time ago. I would add it didn’t date back to the 1800s when the house was erected!

There were some interesting points about the nearby Bethel Church. It was built in Denmark in 1771, paid for by Sisimiut residents for the grand sum of 60 barrels of whale blubber. Once built, it was disassembled in Denmark and re-erected in Greenland but was not consecrated for two years because of storms and epidemics. The delay is still evident. Its weathercock has the inscription 1773 rather than the consecration date of 1775.

After the trip around the historic houses we were invited to a food tasting. It was good to talk to the local people about just some of their food. First up was dried whale, which was black and had a meaty taste and texture. It was nice but I had to put any thoughts of whale hunting out of my mind. Its appearance was just like meat with a fibrous texture although it was black. 

Then we tried whale skin, also known as mattak. Yummy. Actually it was very chewy, a bit like eating a rubber eraser. The outer skin was fibrous and very fishy and the inner layer was rubbery. This is a delicacy and often served on festive occasions with mustard or garlic.

Next up was caplan, known locally as ammassak. This was like large whitebait and had a strong fishy taste which was improved by adding soy sauce. 

The dried cod (nutaaq) which is left to dry in the sun and wind, was a cream colour, very fibrous and difficult to chew and soften. It is often eaten with mustard. Then we were on to the delicately-flavoured shrimps and snow crab claws, the latter being large and meaty although we had to borrow a Swiss Army knife to crack the shell.

We also tried the musk ox (moskus) sausage, which was similar to salami but a mild flavour. Overall my favourite, apart from the more familiar crab and shrimps, was to my surprise the black whale meat.

On return to the ship we were welcomed by an Inuit kayaker. We think he was the same chap we saw when in this area in 2014. He performed for about 20 minutes, displaying various turns each involving flipping the kayak so that he went down into the water and up again. 

Children learn these techniques from around six years old and before they are let out into the deep water they have to be able to perform 60 different types of turn holding their paddle and sometimes a wooden spear or other items to catch their prey.

Once back to our cabin we were introduced to the art of towel folding by our talented cabin attendant. This evening was the hippo.

Copyright: Words and photos Sue Barnard 2022

The dogs aren’t friendly, they smell and they have fleas, but despite that they serve a very important purpose in Ilulissat, a ‘city’ (it is quite small) 350 km north of the Arctic Circle. 

The Huskies are working dogs. They pull the sledges, which form an important means of transport for the Inuits who live here. Ilulissat is the first community above the Arctic Circle to have working dogs – only those living within the Arctic Circle are allowed them. Why, you might ask. Because of what they eat – fish. It smells before they consume it and afterwards. Basically, they smell from both ends. The reason people must not pet or feed the dogs is because they may then become friendly with humans and, we were told, will not be effective as a working dog becoming more domesticated. If they are not effective, they are no longer of use and, without putting too finer point, their days are numbered.

The dogs live outside in all weathers. There used to be more dogs in Ilulissat than humans, but this has now changed. The population of 4,500 people is, today, favouring other means of (fuelled) transport, plus their diet can now be supplemented with imported – rather than solely hunted – food.

Ilulissat is the third largest city behind Nuuk and Sisimiut. It was founded as a trading post in 1741. Today it is known for its shrimp fishing industry in which many of its community are involved. The shrimps are distributed worldwide, including to the UK. A famous name from this town is Knud Rasmussen, polar explorer and anthropologist. The house in which he was born in 1879 is now a small museum dedicated to his achievements.

Due to re-routing because of ice, it was our first port of call today. Unfortunately, it was all too familiar for John who had visited on business many times over the past 30 years, and I had visited once previously.

Undeterred, we took off for a bracing walk along the conveniently-placed boardwalk to the Illulissat Icefjord, now a UNESCO World Heritage site. My leg muscles were certainly pleased that clambering over rocks was not a requirement. The boardwalk was a great idea. As well as it making the walking easier, it meant that the delicate vegetation that fights hard to survive in these cold, icy, conditions, was not trampled on. Some plants in the Arctic have a growing season of only a couple of weeks and they have to root in shallow depths because of the permafrost – a permanently frozen, hard, layer of soil, gravel, sand and ice a few inches beneath. They also have to face strong winds. Consequently, the vegetation seen in the Arctic is predominately shallow-growing, with few leaves. A willow, for example, may be spreading just a few inches above ground, but in other climates may be several feet tall. In some parts of the Arctic, as temperatures become warmer, exceptional willow growth has become a problem for the Inuit. Some of this same plant can be 6 feet tall, and has been known to reach forest height, which has seriously impacted Inuit traditional hunting routes.

A 20-minute meander along the boardwalk led us to the Icefjord where the ice gathers. The glacier from which the ice has calved is many kilometres further inland. It is estimated this glacier produces around 10% of Greenland’s icebergs. Up to 20 million tons of ice calves off the glacier each day!

Then we were off to see the recently-built ice museum in the town, the Icefjord Centre, which also provided access for a walk over the roof. The appealing architecture fitted nicely into the landscape, and its design by female architect Dorte Mandrup would be a draw for tourists. The design was inspired by the wingspan of the snowy owl in flight.

Within the museum we learned about ice and its different forms (there are 200 Inuit words for ice), the sea and wildlife in the area, and the history of the people. A high point for me was a room with a most unusual audio presentation. There were around 10 sets of headphones each transmitting recordings from within various Greenlandic glaciers. Different levels of cracks and squeaks could be heard, each quite different from the other. It really gave a different prospective about the glaciers and how they are almost a living entity.

In the afternoon we got up close and personal to some of the icebergs via the zodiacs, admiring their unique colours and formations. 

Copyright: Words and photos: Sue Barnard 2022 except as specified above