Environment | Sustainability
Katrina ‘Ten Years After’: And the band plays on
I guess it says something about where I am on life’s conception-to-compost journey that the phrase “Ten Years After” evokes a forgettable British group from the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. But, hey, let’s at least credit Alvin Lee with capturing a timeless sentiment in his lyrics for the band’s 1971 hit, “I’d Love to…
Read MoreKangerlussuaq: Heart of the Arctic Day 13
Wednesday, July 29, 2015 After sailing up one of the longest fjords in the world, the delightfully scenic Söndre Strömfjord, we disembarked Ocean Endeavour for the last time, to explore the community of Kangerlussuaq. One group went off for a walk on the ice cap and the other on a nature hike, before we flew…
Read MoreItilleq: Heart of the Arctic Day 12
Tuesday, July 28, 2015 We crossed the Arctic Circle at 07:37 today! Early in the day, we landed at Itilleq, a tiny community of 97 people, set in a hollow between two hillsides. Itilleq means hollow. The tiny colorful wooden homes are a complete switch from Canada’s Arctic communities, here arranged as compactly as the…
Read MoreNuuk: Heart of the Arctic Day 10
Sunday, July 26, 2015 We docked in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, around dawn. We had successfully crossed the Davis Strait, formed 65 million years ago by a rift, thanks to a massive movement in the earth’s crust. Our landform today was a peninsula, which is what the word “Nuuk” means, or some would say…
Read MoreSea Ice Along Cumberland Sound: Heart of the Arctic Day 8
Friday, July 24, 2015 The Canadian Coast Guard has given us a strong warning to not enter Cumberland Sound due to the 9-10/10 ice. This sea ice is 9 to 10 years old, with sporadic glaciers that are much older. So we sadly didn’t make it into Pangnirtung.
Read MoreLower Savage Island: Heart of the Arctic Day 7
Thursday, July 23, 2015 Leaving Kimmerut, we headed for Baffin Bay, anchoring at Lower Savage Island just at the end of Frobisher Bay. We spent a couple hours on the zodiacs, not able to set foot on the island due to the possibility of polar bears and walrus. We were hoping to see walrus from…
Read MoreKimmirut: Heart of the Arctic Day 6
Wednesday, July 22, 2015 Kimmirut is a community of about 500 people, with the buildings clinging precipitously to the sloping landscape. The day was surprisingly warm, with a high of 14 C and sunny skies. Children were lining the shore to greet us, and their inquisitive brightness was the highlight of the day. We were…
Read MoreCape Dorset: Heart of the Arctic Day 5
Tuesday, July 21, 2015 Today we explored the Nunavut community of Cape Dorset, also known as Kinngait. Cape Dorset is a meta-incognito micro continent, which simplistically means that there are a lot of different rocks, but mainly glacially-sculpted granite. It is a crag and tail shape landform that the locals think looks like a polar…
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Digges Island: Heart of the Arctic
Day 4
Monday, July 20, 2015 This is the first time we’ve been north enough for sea ice, which reinforces the fact that we are on an expedition, not a cruise. We traveled through 1-3/10 sea ice for 45 nautical miles, starting around midnight with high seas. This means that this particular ice is 1-3 years old.…
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Kangiqsujuaq: Heart of the Arctic
Day 3
Sunday, July 19, 2015 Overnight, we entered Hudson’s Straight, where an immense amount of water comes from the Atlantic Ocean, creating massive tides and whirlpools of mythic proportions. With an early wakeup call, we headed to Kangiqsujuaq, a small community of 720 Inuit, a few of whom joined us on the ship for breakfast.
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