Cruising in the Arctic

In August, my husband, Don, and I had the privilege of taking an Adventure Canada trip to the Arctic … Baffin Island and Greenland were our destinations. It turned out to be a meaningful experience that I wanted to share with my readers.

Cruising in the Arctic is inspiring in many ways. Mountains rise out of the ocean, rocky and barren but for the snow-covered peaks surrounding us.  Being north of the tree line was a foreign experience for me. The absence of trees and man-made structures threw off my perspective until a flock of birds danced on the wind into view, and I realized how small they appeared against the backdrop of the mountains.

Our excursions were done by zodiac as there are few docks in the remote areas we were visiting. Seeing icebergs from my perch upon the side of the zodiac was awe-inspiring as they towered above us. Always mindful of the danger of one of them rolling or calving, our drivers were on high alert. There were so many icebergs entering the ocean from the Illusasat Glacier that it makes one wonder how the glacier is not already totally melted. But a guide we had on the last day of our trip told us that the best way to describe the size of that glacier is to tell people that if everyone on earth were to receive one ice cube from that glacier, the ice cube would be 70 meters by 70 meters by 70 meters. That makes it sound like it will last forever. But it won’t. It is melting at an unprecedented speed and will one day be gone. The sheer volume of icebergs coming from it cannot be sustained indefinitely. It is a marvel to experience but a worry for the future of our planet.

The first sighting of a polar bear fleeing into the hills, likely disturbed by the noise of our ship anchoring nearby in the ocean, brought out a childlike excitement in me, making me want to run and tell all the other passengers what I’d seen. But it was the viewing of a polar bear floating on an ice flow in the Davis Straight that became my favourite animal sighting of the trip.

Did you know that polar bears have black skin? From a distance, when lying still, they look like a dark mound against the whiteness of the ice flow. I struggled even with my binoculars to spot the bear until I snapped a picture of the area the onboard mammal expert said the bear was lying in and asked him to point it out. She lay behind a pile of snow, with only a semi-circular mound that resembled a pile of dirt visible. How the wildlife spotters had seen her, I’ll never know.

The announcement of her presence brought everyone out to watch as she, or perhaps he, having been disturbed from sleep by our presence in her world, first tested the water, as if she wasn’t sure she wanted to dive into the cold depths of the ocean, then paced on the ice flow for a bit before taking the plunge with a smooth glide into its depths.  The low angle of the sun in the Arctic, coupled with clouds that distributed its beams in interesting patterns as the light reflected off the smooth surface of the water, created an other-worldly glow that enhanced the experience.

Throughout the trip, the plight of the Inuit people tore at my heart. Through the cultural facilitators on our ship, Inuit people themselves, we learned of the abuse they’d endured as their lands were invaded and taken from them. Their very existence was threatened by the white man’s overfishing of the many sea creatures they depend on for food. Adding to the threat is the more recent movement to prevent the hunting of seals and the restrictions on the harvesting of whales to prevent their extinction. In a world where the growing season is so short, the only source of food is the sea, and the right to harvest from it is an essential component of the Inuit existence.

Mary, one of the cultural facilitators on the ship, showed a movie that told the story of her family’s relocation to the northernmost part of Baffin Island when she was a young child. Her family was lured away from their home in a more southern part of Quebec with promises of being moved to a land where an abundance of animals made hunting easy. They were told they would be relocated with their friends and other relatives to a place that would be better for their future. Yet, individual families were dropped in separate locations in the north, separated from their long-term friends and neighbours. They were left with no supplies and serious hunting restrictions as winter approached. Children who tested positive for tuberculosis were ripped away from their families. Mary’s sister was one of them. She was not reunited with them until years later, after having been dropped off at the wrong settlement twice in the previous two years. The trauma made her doubt whether she was with her real family when they were finally reunited. Yet, when I spoke to Mary about it and expressed my shame that my race had done this, she reached out, took my hand and said, “It wasn’t you, Marie”.

The warmth of the Inuit people toward us was heartening. When we landed at a small village on Baffin Island, everyone greeted us with enormous smiles that completely took over their faces, before offering us a share of their precious food resources so we could experience what their diet was like. Their hearts appear to be full of forgiveness.

We were privileged to have a group of 20 youth on the ship who were part of a program called Students on Ice. Many of them were Inuit and likely future leaders of their communities, judging by the passion with which they spoke and the leadership they showed.

One of the young women wanted to become a health professional to help her northern Labrador community. She was interested in exploring the options of medicine, as well as physio and occupational therapy. As a former therapist myself, I spent some time discussing the options with her. When she said farewell to the passengers, on behalf of her group, her words brought me near to tears. As I said goodbye to her on our last day, I gave her my contact information and told her I thought she would do great things one day. She expressed her appreciation but added, “I’m so angry”. There was no time to explore what caused the anger. I had not heard her personal story beyond her career plan. I hope I get the chance to find out. And to help in some way.