Arriving in Iqaluit

(Through the window of the airplane, flying over Nunavut)

     

     I was chatting in the airplane with the people sitting nearby, and suddenly noticed the view from the window. For me, this view was striking because until this point, the carefully cut and sectioned land of Ontario was the prevalent scene. I had arrived in Nunavut!

                                 

    

(The Pipes Family, minus one brother... minus two, if you count Teddy, the dog)

     I was extremely fortunate to be able to have a day in Iqaluit, spent with Alex, Lynann, and Alex's family (who had moved to Iqaluit about 3 months ago). They graciously toured us around the city and had us over for a delicious beef roast and veggie dinner, with an incredible Coconut Cream Pie for dessert. 

(In Iqaluit: Hudson's Bay Company, stretched out and drying seal skins, qamutiiq) 

     While exploring the city, we were able to see the very first Hudson's Bay Company built in Iqaluit, which used to be known as Frobisher Bay. On our way through the town, we noticed some seal skins being dried outside the homes of Inuit. We also saw a qamutiiq (the Inuktitut word for a sled to travel on snow).

     Something I noticed about the architecture in Iqaluit, is that the buildings aren't as imposing on the land as the buildings in the south. For example, there are different angles and corners that are used that give really interesting shapes to the buildings, but that don't require the land to be excavated and leveled in the way I would see in the south. The photo above is of the Qamutiq building. It's lines and angles suggest the shape of a traditional qamutiiq.

     A beautiful carving outside of the RBC building in Iqaluit and us Arctic Five girls, standing in front of a red boat (in front of where the Hudson's Bay Company building was). We were told that the boat's been there for a long time, but no one knows exactly how or when it settled there. It is a common tourist attraction and photo op scene.