Tag Archives: Canada

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Small Town Ontario

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(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

Last weekend, we decided to take a short drive to some nearby small communities.   We were only gone for a couple of hours but it was time well spent:  we ended up making some important decisions about our summer holidays.  More on that later.

We started out in Inverary, a village about 15 minutes north of Kingston.  The photo at the top of the post shows the main intersection:  of course, it has long been home to a general store.  Not long ago, almost every village had one of these.  However, this store, like many others, has now closed.

Inverary United Church...and our car
Inverary United Church…and our car

Our next stop was in the larger village of Sydenham.  It’s just a bit farther from Kingston and is able to sustain more local businesses.  In the warmer months, it probably also helps that a lot of cottages and outdoor attractions (Frontenac Provincial Park, Gould Lake Conservation Area) are nearby.

Saturday afternoon football on the shores of Sydenham Lake
Saturday afternoon football on the shores of Sydenham Lake

When we arrived, we stopped by the local soccer/football field.  It’s got a great location right on the shores of Sydenham Lake.  I used to play minor soccer and high school soccer games here from time to time and always enjoyed the setting.   It was good to see the field in use:  on this weekend afternoon, a minor football game was in progress.  It seemed like everyone in the village had come out to watch.

Local store in Sydenham, Ontario
Local store in Sydenham, Ontario

As it was unseasonably warm, we decided to visit Ronnie’s restaurant for some ice cream.   We had never eaten here before; in fact, we didn’t even know about it before arriving.  However, we thought it would be nice to patronize a truly local business and the ice cream was just what I needed.

As we left, we made an important decision about our summer travels:  as much as possible, we are going to try to avoid chains and eat at/patronize locally-owned businesses.  Visiting the “Milky Way” and the other local businesses in Regina was fun…who knows what other local treasures we will find this summer?

Location of the (former) mill in Sydenham, Ontario
Location of the (former) mill in Sydenham, Ontario

I suppose this flows from my recent experience with Record Store Day and its emphasis on independent record shops.  It’s not always easy to take this approach in our busy day-to-day lives but it is something we can definitely do while on vacation.  If we stumble across local events (fairs, pancake breakfasts, spaghetti dinners, etc.) held  in community halls, we’ll wander in and see what happens!

This is what post offices should look like! The post office in Sydenham, Ontario
This is what post offices should look like! The post office in Sydenham, Ontario

A stroll down Sydenham’s main street also revealed some interesting buildings and photos.  It’s difficult to identify potential pictures when you are in a car…but opportunities abound when you are walking around.  In fact, we sometimes get out and go for a walk in a small town even if nothing looks interesting.   It almost always works for us.  I say “almost” because my wife was stung by a bee (and promptly discovered her previously unknown bee allergy) while we were walking down the main street of Claremont, New Hampshire, a few years ago.  We now have a new appreciation for those blue “Hospital” signs:  when you are someplace unfamiliar and are having a medical emergency, it really helps to be able to locate a hospital quickly.

 

 

 

 

Posts from the road

Saskatchewan Surprises

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(Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada)

I don’t visit too many museums when I travel.   Spending the better part of a year on the road has made me highly selective about the types of museums I’ll visit.  When I was researching Regina, I more or less ignored the museums as places to spend my limited time.

On paper, the Royal Saskatchewan Museum didn’t sound terribly appealing.  However, it was only 3 blocks away from my B&B and I found out that it opened relatively early in the morning.  As I had some free time before the RCMP Heritage Centre opened, and the Royal Saskatchewan Museum only “recommended” a donation, I thought I would give it a quick look.

Another realistic display at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum: you can see the barrier in front of this one.
Another realistic display at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum: you can see the barrier in front of this one.

I was pleasantly surprised:  it had a number of extremely realistic 3D wildlife recreations (see the golden eagle at the top of this post) and exhibits on the theme of extinction, as well as extensive exhibits on the First Nations in what is now Saskatchewan.  It also had a number of powerful displays at the very end that really made you think about the impact of humans (and their modern lifestyles) on the environment.  I won’t spoil the surprise but I can almost guarantee that you will look at urban living much differently after you leave.

Inside the RCMP Heritage Centre
Inside the RCMP Heritage Centre

After making my donation, I walked downtown and caught a city bus out to the RCMP Heritage Centre.  It is a very interesting museum that itself would have been worth the price of admission…but I timed my visit so that I could take the free “Sergeant-Major’s Tour” at 12:30 p.m.  This tour was led by a retired RCMP officer and focused on the adjacent RCMP Training Centre where all Canadian RCMP cadets must spend 24 weeks learning their trade.   Those who complete the course are then posted to their first assignments.

The RCMP Cadet Band arrives
The RCMP Cadet Band arrives

The RCMP’s “paramilitary” history means that the cadet training program is similar to military basic training in a number of ways.  One of the main components is the drill parade.  While it may seem outdated for modern-day RCMP officers, it is maintained because it encourages attention to detail and helps immensely with team-building.  The cadet band was (perhaps inadvertently) entertaining too: some of the members have no musical training and really only mime their parts.  This was the first time I have heard the “reveille” played on saxophone:  the cornet players were clearly there just for show!

RCMP Cadets doing their marching drill
RCMP Cadets doing their marching drill

However, I think the best part of the tour was learning about the course of study and the graduation requirements.  Many of us in the legal profession wonder if we could succeed at policing, as we are trained in the principles of criminal law while at law school.  Hearing about the graduation requirements (the two most common reasons for failure are the firearms and high-speed driving components) made me realize that police work is probably not for me!  It also made me better appreciate the diverse skill set of police officers.

The oldest building in Regina: the Chapel at the RCMP Training Centre
The oldest building in Regina: the Chapel at the RCMP Training Centre

For dinner, I once again chose a local restaurant in Cathedral Village.  The Viet Thai restaurant has a very utilitarian name and a no-nonsense environment.  However, my sizable masaman curry was enhanced with a lot of fresh vegetables (only some of which are visible in the photograph) so I can’t complain at all.

Dish No. 145 at the Viet Thai restaurant in Regina, Saskatchewan
Dish No. 145 at the Viet Thai restaurant in Regina, Saskatchewan

I’ve been back in Kingston for a few days now but that doesn’t mean that things have been quiet on the travel front.  We’re in the process of finalizing our summer plans and we’re both very excited about what’s going to happen.  I won’t disclose the location yet but there will be a focus on unique, spontaneous and/or off-the-beaten-path destinations.

Posts from the road

So, this is Saskatchewan…

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(Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada)

At the beginning of my travel year in 2014, I mentioned in this post that I had been to every Canadian province and territory…except Saskatchewan. I obviously hoped to see Saskatchewan at some point but it didn’t quite fit in with the theme of my travel year.

Well, after the craziness of 2014 subsided, I was left with a whole lot of Air Miles and frequent flier points. I noticed that I had a little bit of free time at the end of April and started looking into redeeming some of those points for a quick trip.  Alas, it is getting more and more difficult to take advantage of those reward programs and the only candidates ended up being Indianapolis, Minneapolis…and Regina! While I’m sure that the “-polis” places would be interesting, the increasing value of the U.S. dollar made me think that this was finally the time to see Saskatchewan.   And now, finally, here I am!

I'm staying at the Dragon's Nest B&B in the Cathedral Village part of Regina
I’m staying at the Dragon’s Nest B&B in the Cathedral Village part of Regina

Of course, as with my trips to the northern territories, it is impossible to say that I have experienced Saskatchewan just because I have been to Regina.  With that in mind, here’s what happened on my first day here…

Entrance to the Saskatchewan Legislative Building
Entrance to the Saskatchewan Legislative Building

I started by exploring Cathedral Village, the neighbourhood where my B&B is located.  From there, it was an easy walk to the Saskatchewan Legislature.  It’s located on the shores of Wascana Lake (part of which is shown in the photo at the top of this post) and is part of the largest urban park in North America….bigger even than New Yor City’s Central Park, apparently.  I went on a rather brief tour of the Legislature building and was able to sit in on Question Period.

Stairway to the legislature chamber
Stairway to the legislature chamber

Unlike the rather subdued House of Commons I saw in London, England last autumn, Saskatchewan’s provincial parliament was a madhouse.   It was clear that the government and the opposition are not terribly fond of each other right now…it looked  (and sounded) like a classroom of unruly students.  If I have spare time later in the trip, I might return to the Legislature to see some more of the spectacle.

The legendary Milky Way on Victoria Avenue in Regina
The legendary Milky Way on Victoria Avenue in Regina

Next up was some exploration of downtown – despite a significant number of federal and provincial government offices, it wasn’t quite as busy as I had expected.  I did some restaurant scoping and, given the surprisingly warm weather, I decided to make the pilgrimage to the “Milky Way”, a legendary ice cream  vendor with a long and illustrious history in Regina.  I opted to go local and have a “Saskatoon Sundae”:  logically enough, it features saskatoon berries (also known as juneberries).   I’ve never had them before but they were quite good with the vanilla soft-serve ice cream.   There’s nothing wrong with having dessert before dinner!

The first time I have eaten at a place called "La Cucaracha" (13th Avenue, Cathedral Village, Regina)
The first time I have eaten at a place called “La Cucaracha” (13th Avenue, Cathedral Village, Regina)

Speaking of dinner, I kept the “go local” theme and went to a newly-established Mexican take-out place in Cathedral Village called “La Cucaracha”.  It’s not a name I like to associate with food but the ingredients were top quality and they even had imported Mexican soft drinks.   It’s been a very long time since I had strawberry soda…it might even have been back in the days of the Pop Shoppe!

For my second day in Regina, I’m hoping to make it out to the RCMP Visitor Centre and (of course) explore the vinyl record offerings in Saskatchewan’s capital city.

Posts from Base Camp

Travel Flashback: Northwest Territories 2013

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(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

After visiting the remote northern Canadian territory of Nunavut in August of 2013, it only made sense to also visit the almost-as-remote Northwest Territories.  Unlike Nunavut, it is *theoretically* possible to drive to the Northwest Territories…but we chose to fly from Edmonton.

As time was limited, we only visited the capital city of Yellowknife and its immediate surroundings.  While we cannot pretend to have experienced the Northwest Territories by visiting its only true city, our visit was nonetheless extremely enlightening.

View of our B&B on the shores of Great Slave Lake
View of our B&B on the shores of Great Slave Lake

We stayed in a somewhat rustic B&B on the peninsula where the original settlement was located.  Much of that peninsula is occupied by Ndilo, a Dene First Nations community; the modern downtown is located to the west.  From our B&B, we could see floating houses (see photo at the top of this post) and floatplanes taxiing, taking off and landing on Great Slave Lake.  Many of the planes were carrying wealthy travelers to remote hunting, fishing or recreation camps.

One of the historic restaurants in the Old Town of Yellowknife
One of the historic restaurants in the Old Town of Yellowknife

Our first substantial meal in Yellowknife was wholly unexpected.  We found a restaurant specializing in Somalian and Ethiopian food.  As it turns out, Yellowknife is home to a large Somalian community and some of them had recently established this restaurant.

On our second day in Yellowknife, we went for an extended walk around Frame Lake.  While the city remained in view for about one-half of the walk, we eventually found ourselves in the barren rocky landscape that I imagined made up so much of the Northwest Territories.

Hiking around Frame Lake in Yellowknife, N.W.T.
Hiking around Frame Lake in Yellowknife, N.W.T.

Our third day in Yellowknife was dedicated to more walking, a bicycle trek, and a tour of the territorial legislature building.   The bike trek took us to Yellowknife’s suburbs – we could just as easily have been in a small Alberta city as the Northwest Territories.

We saw several signs of affluence in Yellowknife.  Canada’s diamond mining industry is based here and demand is high for ethical, high quality diamonds.  However, that prosperity was tempered by evidence of despair:  it was clear that not everybody was sharing in the economic miracle.  Some efforts have been made to ensure that local residents are also sharing in the proceeds of the diamond industry but there were still some signs of culture clash.

Inside the legislature building of the Northwest Territories
Inside the legislature building of the Northwest Territories

There also seemed to be more of an “edge” to the city in the evenings, as one often finds in resource-based boom towns.  Yellowknife is still a young place:  it was first settled in the late 1930s and substantial growth didn’t start until a few decades later.   However, there were some interesting quirks to Yellowknife:  one of the streets was named “Lois Lane”, in apparent homage to actress Margot Kidder (who was born in Yellowknife and played Lois Lane in “Superman” movies).

I met this very docile wolf in a Yellowknife shop
I met this very docile wolf in a Yellowknife shop

As with our visit to Iqaluit in Nunavut, we left Yellowknife feeling that we needed to travel outside of the capital to truly connect with the territory.  While not as large as Nunavut, the Northwest Territories still has an area of 1,346,106 km2 despite only having about 41,000 residents (although it does have 11 official languages).  The vast size of the territory means that a long weekend is not enough…one day, I am sure we will visit other parts of the Northwest Territories and have a completely different experience.

Posts from the road

Skiing at Whistler-Blackcomb: Part 3

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(Whistler, British Columbia, Canada)

Skiing on the Blackcomb Glacier, as detailed in my previous post, was a special highlight of my ski week here. We enjoyed it so much that we went back to the glacier twice on our final day of skiing (see photo at top of this post, which looks back on what we just skied).  Another highlight was hiking into the backcountry to ski the off-piste “Flute Bowl” on Whistler Mountain.

I never venture into “true” backcountry without a knowledgeable guide.  However, at Whistler, there is a backcountry area within the resort boundaries. By skiing to the edge of the “Symphony Amphitheatre” and then carrying your skis up a steep mountain, you can then truly ski off-piste and unconfined by the on-piste crowds.

Partway up the mountain, I pause to consider what lies ahead. We more or less followed that guy to the two rocks.
Partway up the mountain, I pause to consider what lies ahead. We more or less followed that guy to the two rocks.

After traversing most of the access trail on skis, we took off our skis and walked straight up for about 20 minutes. It’s hard to say how long or far it was: all I know is that walking in ski boots up a snow-covered mountain is extremely tiring. Once we reached the agreed-upon lookout point, I had to sit down in the snow to cool off.

Chilling out between the "two rocks" seen in the previous photo...in the unearthly light of Whistler Mountain
Chilling out between the “two rocks” seen in the previous photo…in the unearthly light of the Coast Mountains

Groomed pistes sometimes feel like Autobahns…but hiking and skiing in the backcountry is a completely different sensation. Everything is silent. You feel much more responsible for yourself: you can’t just follow the 100 skiers in front of you. You have to use all of your senses and think several moves ahead.

In better snow conditions, off-piste skiing is mostly about the exhilaration of skiing through lush stashes of untouched powder. With poor snow conditions, it is more about being (relatively) alone in a vast wintry wilderness and finding one’s way back. It felt great to climb to a commanding look-out point…but it also felt great to get back to the marked trails.

Looking back at the mountain we climbed (and skied)
Looking back at the mountain we climbed (and skied)

My posts on skiing at Whistler-Blackcomb have contained a number of comments about the poor ski conditions.  Indeed, that is all the locals seemed to talk about:  I can’t tell you how many times a Whistlerite apologized this week for the state of the snow.  Even though I wish all of my ski holidays would involve conditions like the “blizzard day in Val Gardena” (click for a video), a ski holiday is essentially about being in the mountains.  Whether the snow is soft or hard, the mountains are still incredibly beautiful.

View from the top of the Symphony Lift, access point to the Flute Bowl. The portion we climbed is just about in the middle.
View from the top of the Symphony Lift, access point to the Flute Bowl. The portion we climbed is just slightly to the right of the middle.

Besides apologizing for the snow, the locals were all very interested in hearing about how Whistler-Blackcomb compares to skiing in Europe.  There is a feeling that Whistler-Blackcomb is world-class…and there also seems to be a need to have that feeling confirmed!

Unfortunately, I don’t think I can answer that question.  The conditions here were too unusual to make any meaningful comparisons with European skiing.  I also think the answer would be different for different types of skiers:  a skier with cultural interests would probably respond differently than somebody who cares solely about the skiing.  Perhaps this non-committal answer means that Whistler-Blackcomb is indeed comparable with European skiing?  In any case, I’d love to come back again when the mountains have better snow conditions.

View of the famed "Lower Dave Murray Downhill" piste leading to Whistler Creekside Village. Thanks to frequent snowmaking, the conditions on this piste were actually quite good for most of the week.
View of the famed “Lower Dave Murray Downhill” piste leading to Whistler Creekside Village, taken from the Creekside Gondola lift.  Thanks to frequent snowmaking, the conditions on this piste were actually quite good for most of the week.

This is the last “post from the road” for my trip to Whistler-Blackcomb.  I’ll be in Kingston for a while but will continue with more travel flashbacks and other travel-related posts.  I also have a quick but somewhat odd trip coming up at the end of April.  Stay tuned!

Posts from the road

Skiing at Whistler-Blackcomb: Part 2

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(Whistler, British Columbia, Canada)

Whistler and Blackcomb used to be two different ski areas but came under the same ownership more than 30 years ago.  While they have been connected at Whistler Village for a while, they have recently been joined at mid-mountain by the innovative “Peak 2 Peak” gondola.

Our first impressions of Blackcomb were not too favourable.  As always, we were already in line for the gondola when it opened at 8:15 a.m.  Alas, virtually all of the pistes open first thing in the morning  were also in the shade.  This made it very cold and often very icy.  Much of the day was spent searching out that elusive softer snow.

A mountain lake, as seen from the "Symphony" area of Whistler Mountain
A mountain lake, as seen from the “Symphony” area of Whistler Mountain

There were two highlights on that first Blackcomb day, however.   The first highlight was once again finding a piste (“Zig Zag”) at the lower elevations that was being subjected to a lot of snowmaking.  Most people stayed away, so we had the piste and its soft snow almost to ourselves.   While it was a little more inconsistent, we also found the piste leading to the village’s Blackcomb gondola station to have softer snow and relatively few skiers.

Rugged rock overlooking the entrance to the Blackcomb Glacier
Rugged rock overlooking the entrance to the Blackcomb Glacier

The second highlight was skiing on the Blackcomb Glacier.  Although it is at the very highest part of the Blackcomb ski area, we still needed to take off our skis and hike uphill to the “other side of the mountain”.  It was well worth the effort, however, as we were able to pick our own route across a vast glacial slope.  It is rare to have such complete freedom to ski and still be within the boundaries of a ski area.

Looking across the Blackcomb Glacier before beginning our descent
Looking across the Blackcomb Glacier before beginning our descent

As the snow was relatively crusty and demanded our full attention, I didn’t have a chance to take any pictures “mid-glacier”.  However, I was able to take some pre- and post-glacier photos that hopefully hint at the majesty of this part of Blackcomb.   Not even a wretchedly icy “escape route” from the glacier back to the regular part of Blackcomb could tarnish the experience.

Looking back at the spectacular Blackcomb Glacier, after skiing down it. The flat trail at the bottom soon became a narrow, icy demon!
Looking back at the spectacular Blackcomb Glacier, after skiing down it. The flat trail at the bottom soon became a narrow, icy demon!  [Just for fun: spot the differences between this photo and the photo at the top of this post.]
Nonetheless, icy pistes continue to plague us.  While the mountains are spectacular, this has probably been the worst winter ever for snow conditions in Whistler.   It has been an intellectual challenge:  while we found the conditions in the “Seventh Heaven” area quite treacherous on our first morning at Blackcomb, this same area yielded relatively great conditions only two days later…but in the afternoon and only on certain pistes.  We are doing our best to meet the challenge:  the snow conditions are yet another reminder that nature is very powerful and its secrets are not easily discovered.

We also continue to enjoy the food here, much to my surprise…I had heard that food here was expensive and uninspiring.  It can definitely be on the expensive side if you’re not careful but we’ve done OK so far.

African Peanut Soup with Quinoa/Vegetable and Pemberton Beet salads, at the "Raven's Nest"
African Peanut Soup with Quinoa/Vegetable and Pemberton Beet salads, at the “Raven’s Nest”

We’ve had lunch mid-mountain at the no-frills “Raven’s Nest” vegan/vegetarian restaurant 3 times now and have been happy every time.  We also have eaten dinner twice at Pasta Lupino in the village:  it’s a small Italian restaurant featuring some of the best pasta sauces I’ve ever had.  Yes, it is possible to create a legendary pasta sauce (even a spicy arrabbiata sauce!) without garlic.  We hope to have one final meal at Pasta Lupino before our week here is over.

Coming up:  more on Whistler-Blackcomb… and comparing it to ski resorts in the Alps.

Posts from the road

Skiing at Whistler-Blackcomb: Part 1

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(Whister, British Columbia, Canada)

How did I find myself spending a week skiing at Whistler-Blackcomb?  It’s a long and complicated story.  It’s even more difficult to explain how I have never been skiing west of Kingston, despite skiing for more than 30 years in eastern Canada, Europe and even (on one bizarre occasion) Africa!  Anyway, I’m here now and some would say that it’s about time.

Whistler-Blackcomb is frequently named as the top ski resort in North America.  It has hosted World Cup downhill races and also hosted the alpine skiing events during the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.  This last part was sufficient for me:  I have a special connection to the 2010 Olympics and skiing on the downhill course was another bucket list item that I hoped to achieve some day.  Even so, I didn’t do a lot of research on this trip:  I didn’t even have a chance to look into which pistes were used for the 2010 Olympic alpine skiing events.

More Olympic rings, this time at the Olympic Plaza in Whistler Village
More Olympic rings, this time at the Olympic Plaza in Whistler Village

We decided to spend the first day on Whistler Mountain.  Conventional wisdom here says that you immediately move to the highest elevations and only return to the village at the end of the day.  However, we found that the very high winds, resulting icy surfaces and cold temperatures made the high-altitude conditions rather less than ideal.  We moved lower, where there was some shelter from the wind, the temperatures were a little warmer, and the snow was staying on the pistes.

We found a black-diamond-rated piste called “Lower Dave Murray Downhill” that led to Whistler Creekside Village.   The entrance to the piste was almost completely blocked and there were all kinds of warnings about “difficult snow conditions” and the fact that snowmaking was also in progress.  We decided to try it anyway.

Some of the warning signs at the top of the "Lower Dave Murray Downhill" (Whistler Mountain), which turned out to be quite a special piste
Some of the warning signs and barriers  at the top of the “Lower Dave Murray Downhill” (Whistler Mountain), which turned out to be quite a special piste

It was a splendid decision.  The “difficult snow conditions” consisted of snowmaking (how can fresh snow be considered a difficulty?) and a nearly-abandoned piste with some significant snow accumulation.   It was -1’C and the sun was shining brightly on us.  We skied this piste over and over again, barely stopping and barely believing that nobody else was taking advantage of the great conditions.  After completing each run, we climbed into the next gondola without waiting and repeated the process all over again.

In such icy conditions, trail ratings are of little guidance.  While the Dave Murray Downhill was a little steep in one or two places, it certainly wasn’t as difficult as some of the mogulled-up and icy “intermediate-rated” pistes we have encountered thus far.

View of Whistler Mountain from the bottom of the "Seventh Heaven" area at Blackcomb
View of Whistler Mountain from the bottom of the “Seventh Heaven” area at Blackcomb

We eventually skied on the “Upper Dave Murray Downhill” (which wasn’t directly connected to “Lower Dave Murray Downhill” today because of poor conditions near the junction) as well and ticked that one off the list too.  We later found out that not only is the Dave Murray Downhill piste used for World Cup ski races, it also hosted the alpine skiing events at the 2010 Olympics.  It was great to discover that our favourite piste of the day turned out to be Olympian!

View of Whistler Village from about halfway up Blackcomb Mountain. Not much (natural) snow at the lower elevations!
View of Whistler Village from about halfway up Blackcomb Mountain. Not much (natural) snow at the lower elevations!

It was a great way to start the week of skiing and it more than made up for the fact that the lifts to the very peak of Whistler and to the “Symphony” area were closed due to the high winds.  There was also a great vegan restaurant right at the start of the Lower Dave Murray Downhill where I enjoyed a very good (and, by Whistler standards, very affordable) African Peanut Soup and a Quinoa-Vegetable Salad.  We’re definitely going to return there on our next day of skiing at Whistler Mountain.

Before returning to Whistler Mountain, however, we decided to spend our second day of skiing at Blackcomb Mountain.  Stay tuned for more details on that!

Posts from Base Camp

Travel Flashback: Iqaluit, Nunavut (August 2013)

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(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

This was quite different from our usual summer holiday destinations.  After picking us up from Iqaluit’s airport, the hotel’s shuttle bus driver refused to believe that we were just there for fun. It seems that everybody from the south who visits Iqaluit is there for business or government reasons.  The few tourists who fly here usually continue onward to more remote Nunavut communities.

"Welcome to Iqaluit", in the 4 languages of Nunavut
“Welcome to Iqaluit”, in the 4 languages of Nunavut

But maybe I should back up a little bit. What is Nunavut? It is a massive territory of about 2 million square kilometers occupying the coldest and most remote part of Canada.  If it were a country,  Nunavut would be the 15th largest country in the world.  Despite its massive size, only about 32,000 people live in the entire territory…and, unless you happen to be on a very large cargo ship during the one ice-free month of the year, the only way in is to fly.   You cannot drive to Nunavut.

Overlooking Iqaluit's harbour
Overlooking Iqaluit’s harbour

Even to many Canadians, Nunavut remains a mystery. It doesn’t show up on any old maps because it was part of the Northwest Territories until 1999. Of the 32,000 people, approximately 84% are Inuit. Inuktitut is the language most commonly spoken.  Iqaluit is the capital and largest city, although it has fewer than 7,000 inhabitants.

Sylvia Grinnell Territorial Park, at the edge of Iqaluit
Sylvia Grinnell Territorial Park, at the edge of Iqaluit

Our shuttle bus driver was correct:  we didn’t see many other tourists in Nunavut.   It is very expensive to get there:  unless you buy your tickets on the annual “seat sale” day in February (which we did, irrevocably committing to our trip 6 months in advance), it will cost you more to take the 3 hour domestic  flight from Ottawa than it would to fly 8 hours to Europe.   Because almost everything has to be flown in, the costs get worse once you are there.  Would you believe $12 for a 2L soft drink at the grocery store?   In general, prices are double to triple what you would expect to pay in southern Canada.

Looking away from Iqaluit's harbour
Looking away from Iqaluit’s harbour

Despite all that, visiting Iqaluit was a remarkable experience.  20 years ago, it was only a small village.  It has at least doubled in size since then.   Even so, the land around the city is so…endless.   And empty.  It only took a 15-minute walk in any direction to be  utterly alone.   Sylvia Grinnell Territorial Park (just past the airport – see photo at the top of this post) was typical: desolate, beautiful, and vast in every sense of the word.

We gained a profound appreciation for the power of nature: we came across lots of animal skeletons during our walks.   With temperatures plummeting to near 0’C on summer nights, heat was rarely a problem.

Cemetery near the edge of Iqaluit, at the start of the coastal trail to Apex
Cemetery near the edge of Iqaluit, at the start of the coastal trail to Apex

Rather than craving heat, however, we found ourselves craving wind.  When the winds blow, which is often, the insect threat is neutralized.  However, when the wind lets up and the sun shines, the voracious mosquitoes and blackflies become oppressive.  Not only were these insects huge and hungry, they roamed in massive packs and were only mildly deterred by industrial strength insect repellent.  We went through an entire bottle of “Deep Woods Off!” in a single two hour walk along the coast.

Abandoned buildings of the Hudson's Bay Company, in front of the hamlet of Apex
Abandoned buildings of the Hudson’s Bay Company, in front of the hamlet of Apex

We really enjoyed our walks to the Territorial Park and the “suburb” of Apex (about 5 km from Iqaluit).   While there weren’t a lot of touristy things to do in Iqaluit, visiting Nunavut is more about experiencing the land than about seeing urban sights.  Although we did visit the craft stores and the museum, we found everyday tasks such as buying stamps and grocery shopping to be just as interesting.

Even though they are in the same country, the differences between Kingston and Iqaluit are far greater than the differences between Kingston and a similarly-sized town in, for example, Sweden.  Great travel can really make you think – here, we found ourselves asking what being “Canadian” really means.

A high school in Iqaluit - possibly from the 1970s!
Night view of Inuksuk High School in Iqaluit – possibly built in the 1970s!

If you ever get the chance to go to Nunavut, I highly recommend taking advantage of the opportunity.  Even better would be to also visit a community outside of Iqaluit, to see what a more traditional Inuit community is like.   We’d like to see Pangnirtung someday:  apparently, its setting in the mountains and on Pangnirtung Fjord is spectacular.   However, even if you only visit Iqaluit, a trip to Nunavut will still leave a vivid impression on you.  And you can even get a decent shawarma while you’re there:  you’ll find a Lebanese take-out place just outside the airport.

Posts from Base Camp

Travel Flashback: Arson in Quebec 2009

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(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

Most trips are unconditionally enjoyable. However, our ski trip to Baie-St-Paul and Quebec City, Quebec in March of 2009 was beset by a few problems.

First, it was absolutely frigid, particularly for mid-March. This took some of the thrill out of high-speed alpine skiing.  Second, the “daily” ski bus that was supposed to take me from Baie-St-Paul to Le Massif stopped running on weekdays. Third, and worst of all, an arsonist torched our B&B in Baie-St-Paul.

Even on March 16, the snowbanks are as high as a telephone booth
Even on March 16, the snowbanks were still almost as high as a telephone booth

The cold was fierce but manageable, as Le Massif’s on-hill food and beverage offerings were better than those found at other Eastern Canadian ski areas. Although it was necessary to retreat inside every hour or so, I enjoyed lots of delicious hot chocolate. The second problem (caused partly by not reading the fine print on the bus schedule) turned out to be moot, because of the third problem.

It was Monday evening. After a charming cheese fondue at a Baie-St-Paul restaurant, we retired early in preparation for a busy Tuesday. We were awakened at 10:45 p.m. by a fire alarm. We are both used to fire drills but this was a little different. We heard a couple of odd noises and lots of anxious-sounding French outside our door. Taking a quick peek down the hall, we saw flames filling the back doorway.

Baie-St-Paul really is a charming place.
Baie-St-Paul really is a charming place.

If you have never been in a burning building before, I can tell you that it is very scary. You cannot reason with fire. You also can’t tell where it is coming from or where it is going. There is only one thing on your mind: not getting caught in the fire. Quickly grabbing one or two items of clothing and hastily putting on our coats and boots, we left behind the rest of our possessions in the room and ran out. We might have had another minute to escape, but who knows?

We were soon taken to a nearby motel that had considerably less charm but, in its favour, was not on fire. We spent a substantial portion of the next day at the local police station, being interviewed in connection with an arson investigation. Not that we were accused: they just wanted to know what we saw and heard. Afterwards, under close police supervision, we were able to retrieve the rest of our belongings from the charred B&B.  Everything was rather smoky but it was nice to finally brush our teeth, put on fresh clothes, etc.

Our B&B in Baie-St-Paul, just a few hours before the arsonist struck
Our B&B in Baie-St-Paul, just a few hours before the arsonist struck

We found out later that the fire had been set by a disgruntled and unstable former employee of the B&B. While we were certainly scared and inconvenienced by the fire, we remain thankful that nobody was hurt. The outcome could have been much, much worse.:  there were about 20 guests in the B&B that night.  The arsonist was eventually convicted of arson and was sent to prison.  While I can’t find the details of the actual prison sentence, I do know that the arsonist’s lawyer was suggesting a prison term of three years…while the prosecutor was seeking a sentence of seven years.

The B&B was rebuilt soon afterwards and we continue to receive e-mail from them to this day.  Alas, we have not yet returned to Baie-St-Paul. I think a few more years need to pass before we are ready for that.  Here is a newspaper story that was written right after the incident, while here is an early account of the criminal proceedings.

Skiing through the trees at Mont-Ste-Anne
Skiing through the trees at Mont-Ste-Anne

After leaving Baie-St-Paul on Wednesday, we spent the remainder of our holiday in Quebec City.  I was able to do some intense skiing at Mont-Ste-Anne; we both enjoyed the (slightly) warmer temperatures and the city’s wonderful dining opportunities.   Our Quebec City hotel was a concrete monstrosity from the 1960s but, in the circumstances, we were willing to settle for a little less character and a little less arson.

Posts from the road

Quick Visit to Toronto

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(Toronto, Ontario, Canada)

We are on the way back from a quick trip to Toronto: before I go any further, I apologize for not meeting up with more of you while there. However, we have quite a “social backlog” with our Toronto friends and we didn’t have time to see everybody this time around!

Atrium of the CBC Broadcast Centre (Toronto, Ontario)
Atrium of the CBC Broadcast Centre (Toronto, Ontario)

Of course, there is always time to eat…and so I brought my wife to the legendary Jumbo Empanadas restaurant on Augusta Avenue in the Kensington Market district.  It doesn’t look like much from the outside (it is on the left side of the picture at the top of this blog) and it is very spartan inside.  However, their empanadas are  very good and very large, while their corn pie is magnificent.

In Chile, corn pie is served in a pie plate and consists of a top layer of shredded and cooked sweet corn over a bottom layer of ground meat, olives, raisins, onions and even a hard-boiled egg.  Words can’t do it justice…and I don’t have a picture either because I ate mine so quickly!  All I can say is that I eat a corn pie at Jumbo Empanadas every time I am in the Kensington Market area.   When I think about how much I enjoyed the Argentinean empanadas in Costa Rica last year, a trip to Chile and Argentina may well be in the cards someday!

Priceless Artifact from the CBC Museum (Toronto, Ontario)
Priceless Artifact from the CBC Museum (Toronto, Ontario)

In between meet-ups with friends, we managed to squeeze in a visit to the CBC Museum on Front Street.  While it is by no means comprehensive, it is also free and you can visit between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on weekdays.  Check out the incredible 1970s windbreaker in the photo above…I can still remember the orange suits (!) that also featured this “exploding C” logo.

Sound Effects Central at the CBC Museum (Toronto, Ontario)
The old way of generating sound effects (complete with cigarette burns on the console) at the CBC Museum (Toronto, Ontario)

We also enjoyed looking at their sounds effects displays, although it was also sobering to realize that Scully and Cartridge machines are now considered museum pieces.  We both used to work on those machines during our days at CFRC-FM and I guess they now qualify as ancient technology.

The Straight Eights live at Castro's Lounge (Toronto, Ontario)
The Straight Eights live at Castro’s Lounge (Toronto, Ontario)

That evening, we went to see a 1950s-style rockabilly band called “The Straight Eights” at a bar in the Beaches district of Toronto.  I’m not a huge rockabilly fan but I recognized almost all of these songs as ones that were played by the Beatles (“Twenty Flight Rock”, “Blue Moon of Kentucky”, etc.) during their formative years.  If you’re familiar with the Toronto music scene, you will recognize their lead singer as “Big Rude Jake”  of Toronto blues fame.

The Flatiron Building, at the corner of Front and Wellington Streets in downtown Toronto
The Flatiron Building, at the corner of Front and Wellington Streets in downtown Toronto

We also took advantage of the trip to see a very special movie.  “Red Army” has only a limited engagement in Toronto and I doubt that it will appear in any of Kingston’s theatres.   It is an excellent film about the hugely successful national ice hockey teams of the former Soviet Union…told by the players from those teams.  I won’t give away too much, as this documentary contains an awful lot of surprises that I don’t want to ruin.   However, you don’t need to be a hockey expert to appreciate it:  it is just as fascinating from the Cold War and human interest perspectives.   See it if you can.

Coming up in the next few weeks:  more travel flashbacks and then a week-long trip to a completely new destination for me.  Stay tuned!