Blogging Across Canada (sort of) Part 7

Last summer I got the chance to go north. I headed out of Ottawa on the 2.5 hour flight to Iqaluit, Nunavut. This time I travelled with other teachers from across the country.

We spent our first few days exploring and learning about Iqaluit. We met elders, professors, and experts on the North.

The first night we were there we were invited to a traditional feast to celebrate Parks Canada's 100th birthday. As I don't eat meat, there was very little for me to choose from (I had bannock and cake), but everyone else seemed to enjoy themselves.



From left to right: fresh seal, seal that had already been cut up, beluga, fish, and caribou. All of this was raw.



We also toured the legislature. It was pretty cool. This is in the middle of the room, and the chair at the end is where the premier sits.

One of the teachers on this trip was actually from Iqaluit, so we got a bit of a tour from her. She drove us around town and explained many things to us, like the red lights on houses mean they need water delivered, or they need their sewage tanks emptied. We got to see a lot of the new buildings as well.

After we'd spent some time in Iqaluit, we headed northeast to Pangnirtung. It's a beautiful village on Baffin Island. Here we camped, got stranded when the plane decided it was too windy to land, went on a boat trip and slept on the floor of the high school because it poured rain.



Where I slept for two nights.




Standing on snow in July.



View of the town, from the mountain above.

Now that I've been up north, I can't wait to go back. It is such a cool part of Canada that few Canadians actually get to visit. 

These are some sites I will use to help me plan my next trip:
Nunavut Interactive Map
NWT Tourist Map
Yukon Maps