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Cambridge Bay Nunavut, Canada

The far north.

By Gina SolomonPublished 3 years ago 6 min read
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(On the way into town from an ice road adventure)

When we decided to accept a job posting in an isolated town in the far north, my first thoughts were of the cold and then of being alone for periods of time while my husband was at work. I was so wrong. We landed in June on a gravel runway. Dust everywhere and we had not seen trees from the air for the last hour of the flight. Just rock and moss, little pools of water trapped in the rocks and the open ocean.

Getting off the plane and walking into the little airport we were greeted with tanned smiling faces and a busy flurry of people hugging each other and genuinely happy. Most spoke English but some an Inuit language, Inuinnuqtun. I had never heard the Inuit language before and it struck me as though it took a strong tongue to speak it. It had a flow to it that was jutted with harshness but not angry like some languages can sound.

After a guided tour of the town that took all of 20 minutes we realized we had never lived in a town as small as this. A Hamlet, not even a town. It was full of painted houses that had snowmobiles and four wheelers parked outside each of them. Trucks were about also, but you don’t tend to notice them as much when you haven’t seen snowmobiles and 4 wheelers as a part of the everyday life like here.

Summer

A Northern store and a Co-op store for all your shopping needs and a tiny little gift shop featuring local hand crafts and items brought in to entertain the locals. Like toys and gadgets for the kids to purchase.

Everywhere we went we saw smiling faces and were happily greeted and welcomed. The people were happy to not just see new faces but to share their town and show it off. The women wore colourful, handmade coats and carried their babies on their backs. The babies that weren’t fast asleep were smiling and happy to be right there with everyone and able to see what was going on. We were soon taken by pick up truck to a cute cottage like motel. A green unit consisting of 2 bedrooms, a kitchen and living room etc. It was a little home and we felt comforted at once.

After only a few days we learned a few words and some things about their customs. We tasted some of the local foods and even had the chance to participate in an outing on the land. For an isolated community we were kept very busy and did not have time to be lonely or to feel isolated. The harshness I had heard in the language at first was now sounding more like strength and history that had weathered a harsh life and was, like it’s people, able to convey a beauty and joy that once you over come the misconceptions of harshness and hard life you could see and hear their happy ways.

Summer (Note the ice chunks still in the water)

Muskox in the summer

These pictures of the scenery and tundra, don’t even show the real beauty. You can see for miles and even if you are looking straight at the muskox you might not even see them in front of you because they blend in with the mosses and what passes for grass, called Nuni. The summer brings wild flowers that are so full of colour you want to touch them but when you get close you are enveloped by this scent of such beauty you just have to stop and breathe it in. A rose never smelled this good. Like fresh baked goods you can taste just by breathing them in, these flowers you could feel their beauty just by smelling them. The Northern lights, although beautiful to see in a video just don’t capture their reality. The green ribbons dancing above you just out of reach, yet at times you feel you are part of it all. The magic is there all around you. And the ocean, stretching so far out, sometimes chunks of ice came into view and if you watched long enough you would begin to see that there are islands and ice burgs off in the distance.

summer wild flowers

Arctic Hare in my driveway

I was shown a group of seals way off in the distance, sunning themselves on some floating ice. I saw narwhals come into the bay one summer and caribou walking near the town another year. Fox and arctic hare often ran though town. At times there were warnings posted about wolves and bears being close to town. It was a normal thing for the locals and they just took each event in stride. Over the years I too learned to take things in stride, to not worry about what might happen or what was missing. You learned to make do with what was available. I was taught games and the language became easier to understand. I learned from them and taught what I could to them and because I did not try to change them but tried to understand them, I was accepted for who I was and what I could add to the community.

We don’t live there anymore but we still feel like it is a part of us and always will be. I experienced very cold weather there and very strong storms but I was greeted with such warmth and love that it didn’t seem like a harsh environment. Even with the poverty and harsh living, there is happiness and love. The Inuit are rich in community spirit and that is one of the reasons Nunavut is so great. They have scenery, wildlife and great outdoor experiences, but it is the people who make you want to be there more than anything. Our 2 year job contract turned into 6 years and the 2 children we went up with became siblings to 2 more adopted blessings. We were truly enriched by our time there in so many ways.

A winter storm is blowing

I highly recommend a visit at any time of the year. There is always something going on in the community. You should be aware that if a storm hits and your flight can’t get in to pick you up, you will be there until it can make it in. Folks there are used to this and plan for it, but not everyone else does. Travelers are often stranded and unprepared. Hotels are there and ready to help and the local residents will help too if needed. I opened my home to travelers during extended storms for a night or two. If you have the space you just make the best of it and help out. That is the way of the north.

(Originally first featured in Wanderous Affair: Volume1, Issue1 in 2018)

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About the Creator

Gina Solomon

Life is an adventure and sometimes the adventure is figuring out who you are and why you have learned so many odd skills years before. I think it is time to share my adventures in stories my imagination has been aching to create.

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