Thursday, 29 August 2024
Newfoundland & Labrador - St. Pierre et Michelon
St. John's was a great start to the two week adventure! We flew to St. Pierre and Michelon the following day to embark on this cruise to one of the more remote parts of eastern Canada, going along the south shore of Newfoundland then up the west coast to Labrador eventually disembarking in Iqualuit, Nunavut.
Now of course, St. Pierre (et Michelon) is neither Newfoundland nor Labrador, it's not even Canadian! We had to have our passports stamped. It's the obligatory "international" port that the ship had to call at on every voyage. I was really looking forward to seeing this archipelago of eight islands at the southern tip of Newfoundland with its interesting history as a vestige of New France, territory colonized by the French in North America and the battleground between Britain and France for centuries. Its residents are French citizens with voting privileges. You can read about the interesting background of the islands in Wikapaedia.
We only visited the town of St. Pierre so did not really get a good picture of the islands. But the town was strangely quiet on a Monday. You will see from the pictures that there were hardly any people around other than us tourists. Someone told us the residents take a siesta break in the European tradition for a couple of hours at noon and shops are closed so that could be the reason.
The locals welcomed us with a traditional dance performance and we wandered around the town for a couple of hours before we boarded the ship. It is hard to get a good feel for a place without people. The houses are colourful but seem oddly incompatible with their size. The museum was the most interesting stop in the town.
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| These reminded me of toy blocks I played with as a child |
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| There are some fairly new builldings downtown - it's interesting to see a man walking a horse down the main street in the middle of the day |
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Traditional dance by the locals |
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| These cannons no doubt had been heavily used in the many battles between the Brits and the French |
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| The lighthouse at La Pointe aux Canons |
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| These colourful houses look too big to be just beach houses - maybe holiday homes? |
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| The port |
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| The Visitor Centre with its mural depicting the many activities in the town |
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| A mural of a religious procession inside the museum |
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Vintage French rhum and whiskey jugs in the museum |
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| A beautiful vintage lighthouse beacon |
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A number of us would have liked to see the inside of the church but all its doors were locked. |
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| The interesting church door made one wish to see what's inside |
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| One of the few locals on the street |
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| An unexpected grotto with the Virgin Mary up on a rocky wall facing the sea - probably to safeguard the men going to sea |
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| and finally it's time to board the ship! |
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A view of the town and harbour as the ship sailed - into the sunset... |
Thursday, 29 August 2024
Newfoundland & Labrador - St. Pierre et Michelon
St. John's was a great start to the two week adventure! We flew to St. Pierre and Michelon the following day to embark on this cruise to one of the more remote parts of eastern Canada, going along the south shore of Newfoundland then up the west coast to Labrador eventually disembarking in Iqualuit, Nunavut.
Now of course, St. Pierre (et Michelon) is neither Newfoundland nor Labrador, it's not even Canadian! We had to have our passports stamped. It's the obligatory "international" port that the ship had to call at on every voyage. I was really looking forward to seeing this archipelago of eight islands at the southern tip of Newfoundland with its interesting history as a vestige of New France, territory colonized by the French in North America and the battleground between Britain and France for centuries. Its residents are French citizens with voting privileges. You can read about the interesting background of the islands in Wikapaedia.
We only visited the town of St. Pierre so did not really get a good picture of the islands. But the town was strangely quiet on a Monday. You will see from the pictures that there were hardly any people around other than us tourists. Someone told us the residents take a siesta break in the European tradition for a couple of hours at noon and shops are closed so that could be the reason.
The locals welcomed us with a traditional dance performance and we wandered around the town for a couple of hours before we boarded the ship. It is hard to get a good feel for a place without people. The houses are colourful but seem oddly incompatible with their size. The museum was the most interesting stop in the town.
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| These reminded me of toy blocks I played with as a child |
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| There are some fairly new builldings downtown - it's interesting to see a man walking a horse down the main street in the middle of the day |
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Traditional dance by the locals |
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| These cannons no doubt had been heavily used in the many battles between the Brits and the French |
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| The lighthouse at La Pointe aux Canons |
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| These colourful houses look too big to be just beach houses - maybe holiday homes? |
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| The port |
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| The Visitor Centre with its mural depicting the many activities in the town |
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| A mural of a religious procession inside the museum |
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Vintage French rhum and whiskey jugs in the museum |
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| A beautiful vintage lighthouse beacon |
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A number of us would have liked to see the inside of the church but all its doors were locked. |
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| The interesting church door made one wish to see what's inside |
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| One of the few locals on the street |
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| An unexpected grotto with the Virgin Mary up on a rocky wall facing the sea - probably to safeguard the men going to sea |
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| and finally it's time to board the ship! |
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A view of the town and harbour as the ship sailed - into the sunset... |
Friday, 18 October 2024
Newfoundland & Labrador - Chaleur Bay
After almost a month of travel and adjusting back to a routine at home, I am now trying to catch up on writing up this trip to tell you about some remote areas of Newfoundland and Labrador we visited on the Ocean Endeavour. From St. Pierre we sailed up to the south short of Newfoundland and stopped at Chaleur Bay. It was a foggy morning and we got our first zodiac ride of the trip.
It was a magical ride into the bay where the mist-covered tops of rocky spires reminded me of common subjects in traditional Chinese brush paintings. There were also interesting rocky outcrops on the sides of the cliffs. There were birds watching us move into the bay, including a pine grosbeak - a brilliant dot of red among the lush greenery on the cliffside.
We were treated to a surprise concert on the water by the musician in residence. It was particularly enjoyable to hear Newfoundland songs with the cliffs of Chaleur Bay as a backdrop. The ship continued to sail towards Francois in the afternoon and we passed quite a few fish farms in the fog. It was an interesting first day on board.
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| First view of Chaleur Bay from the ship |
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| The crew taking out the kayaks for the kayaker's first run |
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| The ship photographer circling the first zodiacs on the water |
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Seeing the rock outcrops and caves up close from the zodiac |
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| Mist shrouded cliffs reminded me of Chinese brush paintings |
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| A cliffside waterfall |
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| Interesting rock stacks on the cliffs |
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Magical mists along the coast as we sailed towards Francois |
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| Fish farms along the way |
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| A Newfoundland folk concert at the foot of the cliffs |
Saturday, 19 October 2024
Newfoundland & Labrador - Francois (town)
Francois, (pronounced "fran-sway" by locals and spelt without the cedilla found in the French word "francois") is a small village on the south shore of Newfoundland. With a population of 64 (2021) it is inaccessible by road and only accessible by air via helicopter or by sea. It had rejected resettlment programs proposed by the government several times including most recently in 2021. We had a fun afternoon visiting the quaint fishing village. It is small but colourful and with a lot of personality.
I went on a photo walk along the boardwalk with the ship resident photographer, taking photos of things that caught our eyes. There were quaint houses, beautiful flowers and even a sizeable waterfall, among other things. Have a look for yourself - it's a refreshing change from what we're used to...
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| Francois from the sea |
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This is the first time I have seen the ship moored by rope to shore instead of dropping anchor. The crew had to take the rope by zodiac to shore and tie it to a big rock.  |
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| Spring flowers welcomed us on the hillside, including some beautiful foxgloves |
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Green ropes tossed over some antlers or casually draped on a fence - there must be an artist living here! |
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| Multi-use antlers |
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Rock art that make you smile can be found along the path - I suppose you do need a sense of humour to survive in this remote place
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And colour... |
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| Waterfall in the centre of town |
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View at the waterfront |
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Clearly a fishing village |
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| Big boats small boats |
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| Complete with jelly fish in the water |
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As night falls, it took the town a long time to lit up enough for a night shot. We were wondering if all the 64 residents actually live here or if some of them are vacation residents. They are supposed to live in only 28 of the 47 dwellings here but certainly less than half the houses have lights on. It was certainly an interesting afternoon visit. |
Sunday, 20 October 2024
Nfld & Labrador - Garia Bay
We landed at Garia Bay the following day and was immediately struck by the spectacle of huge slabs of pink granite. It certainly reminded me of our Georgian Bay rocks in Ontario - only wilder. The 380 million years old pink granite, with veins of quartz and feldspar, together with the many wildflowers on the heathland made for a very pleasant hike and quite a treat for the eyes and the photographer. We spent a very pleasant morning exploring the area, at our own leisurely pace (or not). I will let the photos do the talking.
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| You can see the vegetation at the bottom of these tide pools |
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| Beautiful colours on the rocks |
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| White fringed orchid found on the heath |
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| Cloud berry |
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| The carnivorous Pitcher Plant |
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| The one lone tree among the rocks and a closer look at it |
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Feldspar or quartz in the granite |
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| A wide angle to emphasize the size of the rocks |
Tuesday, 22 October 2024
Nfld & Labrador - Gros Morne NP
I climbed Gros Morne mountain in 2008, braved it past the "point of no return" and made it up to the top and back down. True, it took us almost 9 hours and got the young people who were passing us left and right worried whether we'd make it. They were clapping their hands when they saw us show up at the restaurant at the end of the trail. When we landed at Woody Point to visit a different part of Gros Morne National Park, I had mixed feelings - glad we are seeing something new but a bit wistful that I couldn't see the stunning scenery again.
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| Gros Morne |
The Tablelands do not have the spectacular scenery of Western Brook Pond or Gros Morne Mountain but it has some significant geological history - formed 500 million years ago in the middle layer of the earth, beneath an ancient ocean. It was the earth's mantle thrust up to the top when ancient continents collided, forming the Appalachian mountain chain which this is part of. When we walked on the Tablelands, we were actually walking on the exposed mantle - to put it romantically, the "soul" of the Earth's core. After 400 million years of erosion, we now have this barren, bizarre orange landscape with some unique plants and vegetation. Mind boggling how it all happened.
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| The Tablelands as seen from the trail |
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| The Tablelands from a distance |
We were lucky to have a young, articulate Park Ranger who gave us the whole geological history and timelines in easy to understand language (Christina is a performing arts major turned Park ranger). We did not have a very long hike but she pointed out many interesting plants and geological features. Since we did not have the time or energy to climb the Tablelands anyway, the easy trail was good enough for me.
The orange rocks we were walking on are called peridotite - igneous rocks, dense with iron, magnesium, nickel, cobalt and chromium; this rock is poisonous to many plants. The plants you see below are the special ones that can survive in this environment. Peridotites are actually black but because they have been on the surface for so long, they have "rusted" (iron oxidizes) and so have an orange surface. Break one open, and you can see the black core. Amazing!
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Peridotites |
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This is Sepentinite (named for the scale-like pattern on its surface) formed by the metamorphosis of peridotite (see closeup below)  |
There were some unique plants among the rocks!
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| Pearly everlasting |
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| White bog orchid |
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| Sprawling needle sunrose (rare) |
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| Pitcher plant with flower |
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| Butterwort (also carnivorous) |
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| Hare bell |
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| Alderberry |
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| Fireweed |
We spent some time visiting the Park Visitor Centre which further reinforced our understanding of the geological history of Gros Morne. One of the Indigenous staff was leading a walkabout workshop in the garden about native medicinal plants. It was very interesting but we had to leave midway to catch the shuttle back to Woody Point so we can get back to the ship. Woody Point is very small but it has a lighthouse and a library! đź‘Ťđź‘Ť
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| Woody Point main street |
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| Woody Point including the lighthouse - from the zodiac |
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| Gros Morne mountain and the Tablelands in one shot from the ship. We said goodbye to this beautiful National Park and had our first iceberg sighting on the trip. |
Saturday, 26 October 2024
Nfld & Labrador - Battle Harbour
We finally reached Labrador! Battle Harbour, our first stop, is a restored 19th century fishing village on a small island off the coast of Labrador. It is a designated National Historic Site and preserves the history of Labrador fishery. There were wharves and fish-processing spaces, a community with church, pub, RCMP station, etc.. For many years, it was considered the unofficial capital of Labrador.
We were let loose on the island for the afternoon. Battle Harbour not only gave us an idea of what life was like in a fishing village, but it also boasts a plane crash site. Getting to the site required a steep hike and I passed on it, but I have posted here a photo from my fellow traveller, Jean. I did a leisurely walk in the village and the surrounding fields, exploring the spectacular coastal rockscapes along the waterfront, visited an old cemetery and the mercantile complex with its fishing rooms. It was an interesting afternoon.
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Battle Harbour |
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| This is a "flake" - a drying rack for cod fish and if you can read what is on the signage below, it gives you information about the whole process of fish drying. Hope you can read it as it is very interesting. |
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| Vintage scales |
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| Life size photo of the men from 100 years ago |
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| Musicians at the coffee shop |
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St. James Anglican |
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Looking out at the Labrador sea from the heath |
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Looking up behind the heath |
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| One of the passengers practicing rock climbing? |
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| Behind this mountain is the site of the plane crash of 1958 |
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| The remnants of the plane. Photo credit: Jean Liao |
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| The view from near the crash site. Photo credit - Jean Liao |
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| The entrance to the 19th century cemetery and the old head stones |
Wild flowers on the island - clockwise from the left: cottongrass, butterwort, marsh cinquefoil (rare), golden root.
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The incredible rockscape on the far side of the village |
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As we leave Battle Harbour, we saw more icebergs,,, |
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| a Northern Gannet in flight, |
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| a watercolour-like landscape, |
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| and an incredible sunset, thanks to the fires in Quebec |
Tuesday, 29 October 2024
Nfld & Labrador - Indian Harbour & Nain
We are now one week into our cruise as we continued our northbound journey along the Labrador coast. It was the usual routine of zodiac landings, hikes, zodiac cruises, watching for wildlife on the deck, scoring thousands of steps up and down the ship, dashing up to the deck with the announcement of a polar bear or whale sighting, or scurrying down to the cabin to pick up a needed lens or camera combo - we're pros after last year's Arctic cruise!
The following two days were low key as we psyched up for the highlight of the trip - the Torngat mountains coming up. We spent a couple of hours hiking around the gneiss rocks at Indian Harbour, a former settlement which now only has some abandoned fish shacks left. What interested me were the huge slabs of metamorphic rocks with bands and veins as you can see below. The rocks cooled slowly and so have crystals in them.
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| Indian Harbour metamorphic rocks with veins and bands |
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| Crystal in the rocks |
 Bunchberry | ||
 Remains of a fishing shack. Note the impressive band of black igneous rock on the mountain. |
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Another iceberg with a nice sunset backdrop as we sailed on to Nain. Early morning on the deck yielded smooth seas and beautiful sky reflections |
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Beautiful rocks along the Labrador coast - a foretaste of what's to come Nain
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Nain is the northernmost permanent settlement in Labrador and is reachable only by air or by sea. It was established by the Moravian missionaries in the 18th century and the church in town is Moravian.
We were welcomed by the locals in the church with a performance of throat singing and a choir performance before they took us on a tour of the town. The most impressive structure was the beautiful Illusuak Cultural Centre - unfortunately it was closed due to some construction issues and its reopening is still pending when I last checked. But it was an unusually stunning architecture for a northern community.
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| Welcome band on the pier |
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| Moravian Church |
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| Demonstrating the delicate art of throat singing |
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| A touching candid moment when the singing ended... |
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| Looking inland |
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Looking towards the harbour Husky Centre operational in the winter |
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| Illusuak Cultural Centre |
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| Local children playing on the porch of the Cultural Centre |
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| Stunning architectur of the Illusuak Cultural Centre |
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As we sailed away from Nain, more amazing rockscapes and a rainbow to boot |
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| We missed a spectacular sunset one evening because we left the deck too soon and so we hung around hoping for a repeat every day...hope springs eternal... |
Wednesday, 30 October 2024
Nfld & Labrador - Mugford Tickle & Hebron
We were warned the day before to be up on deck first thing the following day to watch the sail by the "Mugford Tickle" - an intriguing name for a channel with sheer cliffs on its sides. But the spectacular sail by definitely took our breaths away. The lingering morning mist made it even more enchanting. Sheer cliffs rose 4000 ft. straight from the sea and we sailed past Cape Mugford and the Kaumajet Mountains, the only landmarks I could identify from online photos. But it is not important what they are called - we are there for the scenery! And I will let the photos speak for themselves...
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Cape Mugford |
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Kaumajet Mountains |
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Brave Mountain at 4300 ft on Grimmington Island |
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| An iceberg as we approached Hebron Our next stop is Hebron, a National Historic Site. Hebron was originally a Moravian mission and the northermost settlement in Labrador. The mission was founded in 1831 but disbanded after the forced relocation of the local Inuit families. There was no consultation with community members. The mission is now being restored by Inuit volunteers, descendants of the families that were resettled. There was a plague monument beside the school with an inscribed apology for the site closure. It is difficult not to read the plague with some emotion. The mission still has some daily utensils from the period and it was interesting to see what was left behind. The site itself also has some dramatic rock formations, particularly near the water.  This was what we saw on landing - like a dramatic still-life sculpture on one side and the remains of this house on the other.   The mission church   What was left behind   Inside the church  Hebron waterfront      |
Friday, 1 November 2024
Nfld & Labrador - Torngat Mountains National Park
We finally arrived at the Torngat mountains and they were as stunning as we expected. Weather was a bit drizzly but the clouds added to the drama. After sailing into the Saglek Fjord, we were taken further in on zodiacs to get a close up look. It was the highlight of the trip as the Torngat Mountains was the reason why we went on this cruise. The mountains rose straight from the sea on both sides of the fjord. There were no trees to break the lines of the mountains as we are now above the tree line and so it was one mountain after another going into the fjord in layers. Together with the mist, the scenery almost begs to be painted.
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| Saglek Fjord at the southern end of Torngat Mountains National Park |
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| Mist descended and the drizzle turned into rain as we went back on board |
After the exhilarating ride into the fjord on the zodiac, we moved on to the Torngat Mountains National Park Basecamp, where we went on a guided hike with our resident geologist and chaperoned by a bear guard, as we are now officially in polar bear country. The hike took us to several waterfalls and the many colourful rocks that filled the landscape. The landscape was nothing like what we saw in the fjord - the hills were rounded, probably from glaciation. The camp itself consists of a cluster of space age like globular tents which provide accommodation for the few visitors here, whether for research or for adventure.
Torngat Mountains National Park is part of the land governed by the Inuit people and the park is co-run by the Canadian government and the Nunatsiavut government. The mountains are a spiritual place for the Inuit and the name Torngat came from the Inuktitut word Tongait meaning "Place of spirits".
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The hike took us up this incline to the foot of the hill. The advanced hikers actually went to the top of the hill.
   Three waterfalls on the hike    Bog labrador tea  Labrador Indiant paintbrush (not verified)
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| A surprise caribou on the way down |
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Rocks and more rocks... |
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View of the bay |
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The space-age looking tents for visitors at the base camp. Thanks to my fellow traveller Jean, who had a personal tour of the base camp and provided more details. She was able to take some photos of the inside of the tents shown below. The white and red colour domes are for research scientists while the green domes are for guests. Each tent has its own heater. |
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| Inside the tents - Photo credit: Jean Liao |
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| Photo credit: Jean Liao |
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| Map of our itinerary in Labrador |
Sunday, 3 November 2024
Nfld & Labrador - Ramah & Nachvach Fjord
Continuing our exploration of the Torngat Mountains National Park, we stopped at Ramah before heading north to yet another breathtaking landscape - the Nachvach Fjord. Ramah was once a Moravian mission from 1871 to 1908, situated in Ramah Bay. There is nothing left other than some bricks on the ground. But at Ramah, there is a beautiful waterfall and a cave with some dramatic rock formations. We are able to see an uncommon semi-translucent light-grey stone with dark banding called "Ramah chert". Ramah chert crops out in a narrow geological bed stretching from Saglek Fjord to Nachvach. A fine-grained stone composed mostly of silica, it is used for tool making.
It was quite a steep climb up the hill but the Inukshuk made it a destination. There was no trail so it was a continuing challenge to find a way up and even harder, find the way down as we don't want to miss a step and fall. The ground cover is sometimes thick enough that you don't know what you're stepping into. Such is the challenge of hiking in remote areas but it also makes it more fun.
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| Ramah |
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| The waterfall and the cave beside it |
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The cave wall |
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A human face! Dramatic rockscapes |
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More dramatic rocks |
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Ramah Bay |
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Mountain Avens mostly found in Arctic tundra |
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Full view of Ramah Bay from the Inukshuk |
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| what is left of the Moravian church |
As we headed up the coast again, we were treated to more of the dramatic landscape at Torngat Mountains National Park. As you can see below, it is stunning view after stunning view. We could not afford not to be on deck! So while the morning was spent hiking on Ramah, the afternoon was spent hiking fore and aft on deck
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| Banded rock strata |
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| As the ship approached Nachvach Fjord, everyone gathered up on deck with anticipation |
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VoilĂ ! Nachvach Fjord! The symmetry of the slopes is astounding, as is nature itself. I first saw Nachvach Fjord on a painting by Laura Adams, the artist on board. Laura was showing us in a workshop how she had interpreted the Nachvach and so I was prepped for the stunning view. What a treat to be able to gawk at this creation of nature, undisturbed - we were all quite subdued, stunned into silence, contemplating the scene in front of us and quietly thinking how lucky we were to be there! |
Friday, 8 November 2024
Nfld & Labrador - Eclipse, Martin's Bay and Killiniq
We had our first polar bear sighting the day we were at Nachvach Fjord. I forgot to post the photos in the last post so here they are - two bears in one day on top of seeing the Nachvach. It was an overwhelming experience. The bears were quite far away and it took a lot of pointing and describing for my lens to find it. The first sighting was on a black rocky shore. The second bear looked a little mangy and it decided to go to sleep after it got tired of staring at us.
Our next stop is Eclipse Sound - a rugged, rocky canyon with a stepped waterfall at the end. We hiked on the rocky top of the canyon to see the beautiful waterfall at the end. When we returned from the hike, the zodiacs took us right into the canyon to get a closer view of the lower falls. Some of the hollow caverns along the side of the canyon made for excellent acoustics and the ship musicians gave us another concert in nature's theatre.
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| View of Eclipse Canyon from the top |
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| The lower falls |
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| Purple mountain heather |
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| Velvet bells |
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| The rocky top |
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| Looking seaward from the canyon |
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| Amazing rock formation on the canyon walls |
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Natural caves on the canyon walls make for great acoustics |
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| Concert by the canyon caves |
The following day was the first time we were unable to do anything because of weather, in this case, fog. We could not land at Martin's Bay and so some brave souls on board did their polar dip. Quite a spectacle for the audience but it was cold and windy - it was tough even watching, never mind dipping.
We were lucky the fog only lasted one day and we were able to land on Killiniq, the second last stop on our cruise. Killiniq island, at the northernmost tip of Labrador at the entrance of the Hudson Strait, has the unique status of being the only land border between Nunavut and Newfoundland and Labrador. The provincial boundary crosses the island, with the eastern section in Newfoundland and Labrador and the western section part of Nunavut.
While we were on a cruise around the island before the hike, I saw what looked like a hawk with a prey in its claws. As usual I don't have the right lens with me and so the photo was not too sharp. The island itself is not particularly spectacular but makes for a good hike among the rocks. There were a lot of debris from the community that was there before evacuation by the government of the Northwest Territories. The only thing left there was an automated remote radio transmitter for the Iqaluit coast guard.
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| Hawk with what looked like a vole |
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| Looking down at the bay from the top |
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| Looking up from the landing |
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Next post: our last stop on the cruise before disembarkation
Sunday, 10 November 2024
Nfld & Labrador - Resolution Island
Our last day on the expedition was spent on Resolution Island, off the coast of Baffin Island in the Davis Strait - we are almost at Iqaluit, our final disembarkation point. Resolution Island reminded me of a medieval fortress with its rugged seawalls, rocky ramps and narrow passages between the rock walls. Its many stunning rockscapes made for a suitable end to our journey along this rocky part of Canada with so much geological history. My only regret was that geologist Dr. Marc St. Onge who was on our Northwest Passage trip was not with us - he would have explained all the 400 billion years of geological history and related it to all the rocks we saw on this trip. I also only brought a birding lens on shore with me so had to rely on my faithful phone for most of the photos, even though it seemed to have done a good job regardless.
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| Our landing site on the island |
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| On the castle watch |
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| Passage through the fortress |
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A closeup look at the beautiful coloured rocks on this island...and what caused this striated pattern below? Dr. Marc, where are you? |
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Believe it or not, that white patch near the top of this island is actually a polar bear sleeping - the only time I found the long lens useful on this hike! And to capture this group of Northern Eiders offshore. |
And more icebergs as we were quite far north by then...
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| By Kelisi at the English-language Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4358979 |
And rewarded with another gorgeous sunset - and a remarkable range of mountains that no one seemed to be able to tell me the name of...
Sunday, 10 November 2024
Nfld & Labrador - Iqaluit
This trip description would not be complete without some photos of Iqaluit where we disembarked. Iqaluit, on Baffin Island, is the capital of Nunavut at the head of Frobisher Bay and reachable only by air or sea. We were there for a few hours and had a bus tour of the town before going to the airport. Many of us went into the visitor centre to get our Arctic Circle Adventurer certificate.
The most striking building we saw in town is the Anglican church St. Jude's and beside it the elementary school Office buildings were not tall but some were quite colourful. We were taken up to view point to get a view of Sylvia Grinnell Territorial Park and the city. This is just a quick snapshot of the city to wrap up the trip.
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| Iqaluit from the ship |
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| The Visitor Centre |
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| St. Jude's Anglican Cathedral |
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| The elementary school |
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| One building that caught my eye |
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| Viewpoint at Sylvia Grinnell Park - tidal flats and waterfalls |
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| White campion |
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| A trail in the park |
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Iqaluit Airport |
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| A final concert as we waited for the plane to Ottawa |
This is the end of the trip - our "pilgrimage" to the Torngat Mountains. We were privileged to be able to see the stunning landscape in the Torngats and immerse ourselves in the unique area at least for a few days through the many landings and zodiac cruises. It was an enriching experience that I will not soon forget.
Next destination: The Silk Road
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