Marilyn's Odyssey

Coningham Bay and Bellot Strait

Tuesday September 5th was indeed an exciting day. After a lecture on polar bears after breakfast we suited up for the cold weather and extended time on the water. We spent two hours in the zodiacs exploring Coningham Bay which is on th southeast coast of Prince of Wales Island in Nunavut. It is a very shallow protected bay where the water is warmer and belugas come here for two reason, to feed and to rub on the bottom. However belugas were not our main attraction today but the polar bears who come here to feed on the poor whales who get stranded on the falling tide were. We were more than rewarded with multiple sightings. We were treated to a sow and cubs feeding on a carcass, swimming bears ahead of our boat, solitary large bears ,a ring seal, a quick glimpse of a female narwhal and sadly a dead polar bear. Despite the cold the time flew but we all returned to the ship with permanent grins.

Cruising on we travelled trough Bellot Strait which separates Somerset Island from Boothia Peninsula.During this passage we passed the northern most point of North America, Zenith Point, which is marked with a cairn. All eyes were on deck watching for wildlife but with none to be seen we enjoyed the magnificent scenery instead.

Beluga whale bones dotted the beaches of the bay

These bears decided they did not want to visit with us

Mother and cubs feeding on a beluga carcass

They are wondering who we are

Love the sitting cub!

This bear was swimming in front of our zodiac

This big guy wandered into the water watching us all the time and then decided against a swim and off he went

This sadly is a polar bear who has come to the end of his life. In the next days he will become food in the circle of life

These three bears just thought there was way too much company for their liking

This ring seal nicely showed us the ring around his neck for identification. These are the favourite food of the polar food

The fin to the left of the seal is that of a female narwhal whale

Was quite special to watch the bears actually feeding on the carcass. The mom seems to be keeping watch

This is an example of part of a narwhal tooth which is hollow as the two rings show

The view looking up Bellot Strait

Beautiful scenery but no wildlife to be seen

Light trying to break through causing interesting patterns in the sky

Crew preparing our toast for our journey past the northern most point of North America

Eric,Bea and I toasting Zenith Point as we sail past

Zenith Point. The cairn is to the left and hard to pick out unless you know where it is

Our ship entertainment.. All very educated guides with great musical talent!

Gjoa Haven

Early Monday morning on September 4th we set anchor just off Gjoa Haven for our visit to this northern town. After a splashy zodiac ride we arrived on the Sandy beach where we were warmly welcomed by the locals. Everyone we saw during our visit was warm and friendly and we felt very lucky to be there. We were in small groups with a local guide as well we had Joe in our group who is an Inuit who is an on board guide. The Inuit here were prolific hunters for caribou seal and Arctic char. The Arctic adventurer Roald Amundsen visited Uquqtuuq during 1903-1905 and named this sheltered harbour for his boat the Gjoa where he spent two winters during his transit of the Northwest Passage. The oral history preserved here played a crucial part in the discovery of Franklin’s ships the Erebus and the Terror in 2017. We visited the cultural Center which had some wonderful displays of Inuit art and culture. The descriptions of Inuit life in the past were very open and honest even describing how they would leave infants outside to freeze to death if they had too many children to feed. There are many carvers living in the community today and many of the carving depict their way of life. All of the buildings are raised off the ground so not to thaw the permafrost. Boats rested on the seashore and the majority of homes had ATVs and snowmobiles outside as opposed to vehicles. The only store in town is the Co-op and major supplies are brought in by freighter only once a year.

The residents put on a cultural display for us in the community Center with singing,drumming and throat singing followed by square dancing by some of the youngsters. During their dance they got some of the audience up and Eric was a good sport and got up and danced with a young Inuit girl. I have video proof! Adventure Canada is involved with a project called Project North and at the end of the program David, one of the guides with Joe translating to the elders presented the community with 50 complete sets of hockey gear which is the sport of choice here for both boys and girls. The children present were so excited and eagerly started opening the boxes. The smiles on their faces as they held a new stick in their hands was priceless and heartwarming. A wonderful way to end our visit to this community.

Our first view of the town from the ship

Welcome sign and homes built high above the permafrost

A sled that will soon be put to use as winter sets in

A street of homes, no fancy landscaping,paving or sidewalks here

The local cemetery

This woman was proudly showing off the outfit that her daughter had made for her. The fur is Arctic fox

A carving in the Cultural Center depicting a drum dancer

The actual bell from the Erebus which was found not far from here

A caribou skin out drying before being put to use

The old Hudson Bay trading post

Every community has a church

The community is built on sand and this tidal area divides part of it with the only real plant colour we saw

Old boats and snowmobiles that no longer work just seem to get left where they last might have

A view across the harbour

A memorial to Roald Amundsen at the top of a hill looking over the whole town and harbour

An elder demonstrating drum dancing

The young people sugared dancing

Eric warming up the floor

The excitement of the kids with the presentation of the new hockey gear

They could not wait to get their hands on some of the equipment!

A woman with her children. We were freezing yet you will notice the baby has no clothes on!

Port Epworth, Qurluqtualuk

We sailed through the night and slept with the motion of the ship as it navigated towards our first landing at Port Epworth. This area is now know as Qurluqtualuk as many places in the Arctic are reverting to their Inuit names. There was a small settlement here once upon a time but other than two grave sites there is little evidence of such. The landscape however is stunning and it is here that has the best display of stromatolites in the world. These are fossilized blue green algae that once lied under the sea 1.9 to 2.3 billion years ago and were responsible for oxygenating the earths environment and making it habitable. Their name is of Greek origin and means stone mattress. The vegetation was vivid fall colours with soft boggy footing. The hills in the background were composed of satiated stone which added to the quiet beauty of this magical place. With guides setting up a bear perimeter we were free to explore though experts were stationed strategically to point out special features. Weather cooperated and we had a wonderful day. The next day was a sea day and was packed with lectures and special workshops to choose from. Learned about things from geology, archeology, whales and tips on using the iPhone for photography. No animal sightings as of yet but we live in hope.

The ship is anchored off and we made a wet landing by zodiac

Beautiful fall colours with low satiated hills in the background. We are of course above the tree line

Last of the flowering plants before the cold sets in

Susie was dressed in the traditional clothes of the area. The fur is fox and the beading is all hand done. The are to her left is where a building would have once stood

Smallest cemetery These 2 died in the early 20s , one a Hudson Bay worker and the other a RCMP officer

These are Stromatolites that have lost most of their layers

A very well preserved Stromatolite of which there were many

Ocean,colourful landscapes and mountains. Stunning

Hearty plants nestle into the rock crevices

Beautiful expansions of stromatolites in various stages. They were truly fascinating

Lovely waterfall tucked into the area

The Northwest Passage

We departed Victoria on August 30th bound for Edmonton to start our journey with Adventure Canada to the Northwest Passage aboard the Ocean Endeavour. Originally we were to begin our journey in Yellowknife but sadly the whole city has been evacuated due to wildfires so a quick change of plans was made which I am sure involved many headaches for the company but they did a great job. After a couple of nights at the Renaissance Airport Hotel where we met up with Bea and Susan from Ottawa with whom we did the Heart of the Arctic last year we set off on Friday the first of September. We flew by the charter air company Summit Air up to Kugluktuk where landing on a gravel airstrip we went by bus to board the ship by zodiacs. Kugluktuk was formerly known as Coppermine and is a predominantly Inuit village of approximately 1400 hearty souls. After boarding the ship and going through the mandatory drills we set off on our adventure.