!!!A trip to  Nunavut, 2007
by 

__[Elisabeth Ernst-McNeil|Infos_zum_AF/Editorial_Board/Ernst-McNeil,_Elisabeth,_MA_Hons_(Languages)]__

''All photos in this story were taken by the author in 2007 and made available to Global-Geography.org''

Nunavut is Canada’s newest, largest, and most sparsely populated province. It was officially separated from the Northwest Territories in 1999, and its provincial capital and administrative centre is Iqaluit, on Baffin Island. 

We were on our way to Iqaluit and from there to a small island off the north coast of Baffin Island where we hoped to be able to photograph and film polar bears. The island may be small, but the name is not – Qikiqtarjuag, formerly Broughton Island. I had to practice for several days before I could pronounce it properly. Since there are no regular flights to Qik, as it’s often fondly called, to get there you have to take a transport machine from Iqaluit and hope that conditions will enable it to land. This is not always the case! The good news is that, however often you make the attempt in vain, you only pay once. 

We left Iqaluit (in Inuktitut, the Inuit language, this means “Place of many fish”) in bright weather. The passengers at the airport were a motley crew, some in shorts and T-shirts, others obviously dressed for outdoor work in polar conditions. The transport planes have movable partitions, so more cargo means fewer passengers and vice versa. The flight is divided into two legs, with a refuelling stop at Pangnirtung (“Pang” for short.) Apparently every opportunity for a refuelling stop is taken – after all, nobody knows when and where it might next be possible. 

At Pang the number of passengers dwindled and the amount of cargo duly increased. The sky was almost cloudless when we took off again to cross the lower reaches of the Penny Ice Cap before the descent to Qik. There was some sort of announcement about the weather – it didn’t seem particularly relevant in view of the clear skies, and anyway I was concentrating on the Inuktitut that followed the English. To our European ears it sounded rather a monotonous, expressionless language, and we were still remarking on this when the plane suddenly interrupted its steady descent as the pilot pulled it up and away from the airport, veering off in the direction we’d come from. A few minutes later he apologized, saying there’d been a white-out which reduced visibility to zero, “and this plane doesn’t have the technology for landing in conditions like that.” He went on, ”Many of you know the procedure now – back to Iqaluit and after we land I’ll let you know what time we leave tomorrow.” 

To cut a long story short, we reached our goal on the second attempt, having learned just how quickly the weather in the Arctic can change. Later we were told that the Inuit on the islands have the ability to foresee weather change. To us it seems almost uncanny, but of course for them it’s the consequence of always having been aware of minute changes in winds, clouds, and waves (or ice) and in animal behaviour. And if an Inuit tells you, “We have to go now,” he really does mean “now” and not just in a few minutes or when you’ve finished what you happen to be doing. He has noticed something that you have been totally unaware of and which may be potentially life-threatening, hence the urgency.

And incidentally, we saw only one bear, far off and from a boat that was bucking on 8-foot waves – hardly ideal conditions for photography!
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!Maps of the area
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[{Image src='1_IMG_5469_2s.jpg' caption='The eastern part of Baffin Island, including Iqaluit and Qikiqtarjuag' alt='Nunavut' height='350' class='image_block' width='525'}]
[{Image src='2_IMG_5472_2s.jpg' caption='A detailed map of the area between Pangnirtung and Qikiqtarjuag' alt='Nunavut' height='350' class='image_block' width='525'}]
%%
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!Iqaluit
%%
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[{Image src='3_Canada_Oct07 022_s.jpg' caption='Coming in over the tundra to land on Baffin Island' alt='Nunavut' height='400' class='image_block' width='533'}]
[{Image src='4_Canada_Oct07 028_s.jpg' caption='Descent to Iqaluit' alt='Nunavut' height='400' class='image_block' width='533'}]
[{Image src='5_Canada_Oct07 029_s.jpg' caption='Descent to Iqaluit' alt='Nunavut' height='400' class='image_block' width='533'}]
[{Image src='6_Canada_Oct07 030_s.jpg' caption='Street scene in Iqaluit' alt='Nunavut' height='400' class='image_block' width='533'}]
[{Image src='7_Canada_Oct07 031_s.jpg' caption='Bilingual road-sign in English and Inuktitut' alt='Nunavut' height='400' class='image_block' width='533'}]
[{Image src='8_Canada_Oct07 033_s.jpg' caption='Houses built on stilts – permafrost makes this a necessity. A red light lit outside the house shows that its water-tank is not yet empty. ' alt='Nunavut' height='400' class='image_block' width='533'}]
[{Image src='9_Canada_Oct07 034_s.jpg' caption='Households are provided with trucked water which is pumped directly into each water-tank. This is done on a fixed schedule nowadays, instead of rather haphazardly as used to be the case.' alt='Nunavut' height='400' class='image_block' width='548'}]
[{Image src='10_Canada_Oct07 036_s.jpg' caption='Nunavut vehicle number-plates are surely unique!' alt='Nunavut' height='400' class='image_block' width='533'}]
%%
%%center
!Pangnirtung (the airport)
%%
%%center
[{Image src='11_Canada_Oct07 042_s.jpg' caption='Part of the runway – pure ice!' alt='Nunavut' height='400' class='image_block' width='533'}]
[{Image src='12_Canada_Oct07 046_s.jpg' caption='' alt='Nunavut' height='400' class='image_block' width='533'}]
[{Image src='13_Canada_Oct07 043_s.jpg' caption='What a back-drop!' alt='Nunavut' height='390' class='image_block' width='526'}]
[{Image src='14_Canada_Oct07 044_s.jpg' caption='What a back-drop!' alt='Nunavut' height='390' class='image_block' width='554'}]
[{Image src='15_Canada_Oct07 045_s.jpg' caption='The Inuit seem to favour colourful buildings at their airports.' alt='Nunavut' height='400' class='image_block' width='549'}]
[{Image src='16_Canada_Oct07 061_s.jpg' caption='The Inuit seem to favour colourful buildings at their airports.' alt='Nunavut' height='400' class='image_block' width='533'}]
%%
%%center
!Qikiqtarjuag
%%
%%center
[{Image src='17_Canada_Oct07 052_s.jpg' caption='' alt='Nunavut' height='390' class='image_block' width='520'}]
[{Image src='18_Canada_Oct07 057_s.jpg' caption='The settlement – about 400 people live here permanently' alt='Nunavut' height='390' class='image_block' width='520'}]
{Image src='19_Canada_Oct07 058_s.jpg' caption='' alt='Nunavut' height='400' class='image_block' width='533'}]
[{Image src='20_Canada_Oct07 059_s.jpg' caption='Seal-skins for export' alt='Nunavut' height='400' class='image_block' width='533'}]
[{Image src='21_Canada_Oct07 066_s.jpg' caption='An inuksuk, traditionally made of unhewn stone. They can be seen in many places inside the Arctic Circle and, in a landscape largely devoid of natural landmarks, they sometimes served as navigational aids or to communicate messages of some sort. They vary greatly in size and shape.' alt='Nunavut' height='375' class='image_block' width='500'}]
[{Image src='22_Baffin Is_1 001_s.jpg' caption='The port, with and without iceberg. The icebergs here come down directly from the Greenland ice shelf.' alt='Nunavut' height='375' class='image_block' width='563'}]
[{Image src='23_Baffin Is_1 004_s.jpg' caption='' alt='Nunavut' height='360' class='image_block' width='540'}]
[{Image src='24_Baffin Is_1 007_s.jpg' caption='' alt='Nunavut' height='360' class='image_block' width='540'}]
[{Image src='25_Baffin Is_1 012_s.jpg' caption='' alt='Nunavut' height='360' class='image_block' width='540'}]
[{Image src='26_Baffin Is_1 015_s.jpg' caption='' alt='Nunavut' height='360' class='image_block' width='540'}]
[{Image src='27_Baffin Is_1 016_s.jpg' caption='' alt='Nunavut' height='350' class='image_block' width='536'}]
[{Image src='28_Baffin Is_1 017_s.jpg' caption='Seal skins drying outside an Inuit house' alt='Nunavut' height='350' class='image_block' width='525'}]
[{Image src='29_Canada_Oct07 047_s.jpg' caption='Polar bear skins drying outside an Inuit house' alt='Nunavut' height='390' class='image_block' width='520'}]
[{Image src='30_Canada_Oct07 050_s.jpg' caption='' alt='Nunavut' height='390' class='image_block' width='520'}]
[{Image src='31_Baffin Is_1 018_s.jpg' caption='Excursion boats come in two different sizes' alt='Nunavut' height='360' class='image_block' width='540'}]
[{Image src='32_Baffin Is_1 020_s.jpg' caption='Excursion boats come in two different sizes' alt='Nunavut' height='360' class='image_block' width='540'}]
%%
%%center
!Huskies
%%
%%center
[{Image src='33_Baffin Is_1 024_s.jpg' caption='Inuit huskies are half wild and their working life as sled-dogs starts when they are still puppies and are teamed with older, more experienced animals.' alt='Nunavut' height='350' class='image_block' width='525'}]
[{Image src='34_Baffin Is_1 035_s.jpg' caption='They are mostly kept at a distance from settlements, in some cases even on small uninhabited islands. Huskies are not necessarily grey!' alt='Nunavut' height='350' class='image_block' width='525'}]
[{Image src='35_Baffin Is_1 242_s.jpg' caption='' alt='Nunavut' height='350' class='image_block' width='525'}]
[{Image src='36_Baffin Is_1 244_s.jpg' caption='' alt='Nunavut' height='350' class='image_block' width='525'}]
%%
%%center
!By boat trip along part of the coast of Baffin Island
%%
[{Image src='37_Baffin Is_1 037_s.jpg' caption='Twilight on the water' alt='Nunavut' height='350' class='image_block' width='525'}]
[{Image src='38_Baffin Is_1 039_s.jpg' caption='' alt='Nunavut' height='350' class='image_block' width='525'}]
[{Image src='39_Baffin Is_1 041_s.jpg' caption='' alt='Nunavut' height='350' class='image_block' width='525'}]
[{Image src='40_Baffin Is_1 042_s.jpg' caption='' alt='Nunavut' height='350' class='image_block' width='525'}]
[{Image src='41_Baffin Is_1 045_s.jpg' caption='' alt='Nunavut' height='350' class='image_block' width='525'}]
[{Image src='42_Baffin Is_1 047_s.jpg' caption='' alt='Nunavut' height='350' class='image_block' width='525'}]
[{Image src='43_Baffin Is_1 049_s.jpg' caption='' alt='Nunavut' height='350' class='image_block' width='525'}]
[{Image src='44_Baffin Is_1 052_s.jpg' caption='' alt='Nunavut' height='350' class='image_block' width='525'}]
[{Image src='45_Baffin Is_1 054_s.jpg' caption='' alt='Nunavut' height='350' class='image_block' width='525'}]
[{Image src='46_Baffin Is_1 055_s.jpg' caption='' alt='Nunavut' height='350' class='image_block' width='525'}]
[{Image src='47_Baffin Is_1 062_s.jpg' caption='' alt='Nunavut' height='350' class='image_block' width='525'}]
[{Image src='48_Baffin Is_1 076_s.jpg' caption='' alt='Nunavut' height='350' class='image_block' width='525'}]
[{Image src='49_Baffin Is_1 077_s.jpg' caption='The amazing colours of ice in dull weather' alt='Nunavut' height='350' class='image_block' width='525'}]
[{Image src='50_Baffin Is_1 078_s.jpg' caption='A bright spot in the dark clouds' alt='Nunavut' height='350' class='image_block' width='525'}]
[{Image src='51_Baffin Is_1 080_s.jpg' caption='Almost unreal colours of ice' alt='Nunavut' height='350' class='image_block' width='525'}]
[{Image src='52_Baffin Is_1 081_s.jpg' caption='' alt='Nunavut' height='350' class='image_block' width='525'}]
[{Image src='53_Baffin Is_1 083_s.jpg' caption='Holding the camera becomes a problem – despite several layers of gloves I soon had no feeling left in my fingers.' alt='Nunavut' height='330' class='image_block' width='500'}]
[{Image src='54_Baffin Is_1 084_s.jpg' caption='Dramatic coastline' alt='Nunavut' height='330' class='image_block' width='545'}]
[{Image src='55_Baffin Is_1 086_s.jpg' caption='' alt='Nunavut' height='350' class='image_block' width='525'}]
[{Image src='56_Baffin Is_1 172_s.jpg' caption='The Inuit know when it is safe to take a boat near icebergs, which may become very unstable.' alt='Nunavut' height='350' class='image_block' width='525'}]
[{Image src='57_Baffin Is_1 210_s.jpg' caption='The sea beginning to freeze over' alt='Nunavut' height='350' class='image_block' width='525'}]
[{Image src='58_Baffin Is_1 239_s.jpg' caption='Relatively well-worn icebergs' alt='Nunavut' height='350' class='image_block' width='525'}]
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