Day 7 Pond Inlet

Day 7 Sun Aug 31

 

Our local guide with her 11 yr old and newborn daughters

Narwhals feature in the Pond Inlet emblem

Pond Inlet today!  A Pond government town in every sense of the word, it was created in the 1920s to centralize services to a widespread population.  Now 1500 people, both Inuit and non-native, live here along a gentle slope above the sea.  Wood frame houses dot the shoreline and the few dirt streets that weave up and around to the airstrip on the low plateau.  There are schools, churches, a lovely looking health centre, visitors' centre and of course the Northern Store. 

The annual supply ship has been anchored offshore unloading the year's cargo this week, and crates of lumber, insulation and building materials are being moved up to the Coop.  A few new boats and trucks sit on the foreshore, and many crates labelled Skidoo are visible around town.  Although the homes look pretty decrepit there is clearly money to spend.



The annual sealift offloading in Pond Inlet.  All the year's supplies come this way.

 

A uniquely northern vehicle

We are welcomed by several local women in the traditional parkas with babies in their hoods and we tour through the village.  Everyone smiles and waves, children shyly eye us from behind their mom's legs.  The Parks Canada office has fabulous taxidermy birds and animals, as well as narwhal tusks on display.  The library has a display of traditional sealskin garments and parkas and several well done dioramas.

 




The old ice house - a cave dug into the permafrost hillside

We wind our way up to the community centre and settle in the large gym as a traditional drum dance welcomes us.  A young Inuit woman sings a hauntingly beautiful 'Oh Canada' in Inuktitut which brings tears to my eyes.  The tone changes as two vigorous young men demonstrate northern sports - impossible flying kicks, knuckle bruising hand stands, and grimace inducing lip pulling.  And I thought golf was a weird sport!

The young women sing and dance, the men drum.  Solemn dances, hilarious dances, joyous dances.  Then two women link arms facing each other and throat sing.  I've heard this, seen it on TV, but in real life it's amazing.  They are impersonating animals, their voices deep and hollow or high and flutelike, but very otherworldly.  I can see that some of our group are underimpressed - perhaps they expected more familiar fare, more civilization, but I am captivated.

I would like another few hours to explore, to talk, to photograph, but we have a schedule to keep and we are herded back to the zodiacs and the ship.  There are lectures (birds, ice) and yoga on the top deck.  I relax in the hot tub and decide that today is a perfect time to test the ice cold plunge pool.  It is filled with sea water, colder than anything I've jumped into before, but fantastically refreshing.  Hopefully there will be another opportunity before we reach our destination.  We are only half way through our trip and my mind seems to be overflowing with experiences.

Inuktitut clearly has more effect here