Lingering jetlag let me wake up a few minutes before my alarm went off which made the start of the day a bit more pleasant than I had planned. Got ready and had the breakfast pack we were given last night before meeting with the group in the reception at 0600. We returned to the airport, did a very short check-in and eventually flew north to Churchill. It was a slightly odd plane; it was a 3+3 but the front half was made for freight so there were only seats in the rear half of the body. But with the limited traffic to Churchill optimizing the freight/passenger transport this kind of setup makes perfect sense.
Other than a 15-minute delay the 2½ hour flight was uneventful and on arrival our luggage was collected by the travel company and we boarded a minibus – our home away from home during our stay here.
We passed by the polar bear holding cells where we got to see the traps they use to catch the bears that get too close to the towns and settlements, followed by a short drive around town until lunch right across the road from our hotel.
While driving around we stopped by the beach where a local guide (who had joined us at the airport) had a little talk about something I don’t remember anything about. But when sitting in the bus half-listening looking out the window I realized that what I thought was waves looked suspiciously not like waves. I noticed others in the bus also looking out at the water but didn’t react to what they saw so I assumed first I was wrong – but with a closer look I realized that I was not. I grabbed my camera and on my way out of the bus the guide confirmed that yes – what we could see close to the shore was in fact a large pod of beluga whales. When realization hit the rest of the bus everybody piled out to have a look and photograph the view.
After lunch we visited the Itsanitaq Museum and the Parks Canada Visitor Center. The former contained a large collection of carvings from the Inuit people, from Pre-Dorset to modern times. At the Visitor Center we were given a presentation by a local girl who talked about the fur industry in and around Churchill and how her family had been involved as the local Inuit people had been heavily included in the trades.
Following this we checked in to the hotel, had dinner and went to rest.
Until the phone rang at 0100 as northern lights had been spotted. Within 5 minutes we were all piling back into the minibus and drove down to the beach. It wasn’t massive, but it was definitely there. It was also at that point I had to accept the fact that I hadn’t taken northern lights into consideration so I hadn’t packed the equipment necessary for such a situation – not even a tripod or gorillapod! A bunch of blurry photos – but it’s there.
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