Resolute, Nuvanut

18 Sep 2008

Resolute, Nuvanut

By Blog.Admin

Resolute, Nunavut - September 18, 2008 5:00pm, Central Time

“Take it all in while your eyes are still fresh,” advised Sarah, a family friend and seasoned arctic traveler, “There are no do-overs; your first impressions are in the first 3 days.”

After landing in Resolute, 80 passengers are whisked by zodiac over extremely choppy waters toward our ship. I’m trying to take in my surroundings but the ride is too rough. An older, soft-spoken woman named Dawn sits across from me and the icy spray soaks her back before it flies overtop her head to hit me in the face. Frozen, salty bits. I begin noticing ice mounds with stunning turquoise bases floating nearby, and I think, “And the expedition hasn’t even started.” They’re like actors hanging around the front-of-house before the performance begins.

As the zodiac pulls up along side the Akademik Ioffe’s long and thin staircase, I realise for the first time how dangerously unforgiving this water could be. Dawn removes frozen fingers from a handle and says she’d never experienced as rough a zodiac ride in the Antarctic. I’m relieved, this ride was not the norm.

9:00pm, Central Time
It turns out Dawn is my cabin mate. She’s recently been to Easter Island, Iceland, and has camped in the desert. We’re mingling among the ship’s guests to find people exchanging stories of snowball fights in June atop Norwegian fjords and forbidden toilet visits on the delicate Galapagos archipelago.

As dinner is served, I’m smiling as I remember Sarah’s offer to lend me her emergency bear flare gun, “You may have to get your own refills,” she had said sincerely. I’m quite sure now that the only refilling will be my glass of Shiraz at dinnertime. – Janet Alilovic

Janet Alilovic, a Massage Therapist from Mississauga, Ontario (Canada) blogs the Baffin Island Explorer tour in Nunavut, which sails the Canadian arctic waters from Resolute to Iqaluit on board the Akademik Ioffe. This is her first far north expedition.

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