If you've never experienced the midnight sun in Canada's Arctic - I strongly urge you to book a ticket north for next summer and see it first hand.
The decision to spend Canada Day in Iqaluit excited me more than usual. I think it made me feel *extra* Canadian (if that's even possible) to experience a new part of our beautiful country on such a patriotic occasion. And, with the temperature rising to 15 degrees at its warmest and dipping to five degrees (or lower) at its chilliest on July 1st -- I felt proud (and hearty) to be Canadian.
I think what struck us most upon first glance was the treeless landscape. When the plane descended from the clouds, we spotted ice in the water, bright-coloured houses on the water's edge, and nary a tree blocking our view of town. No matter how many episodes of Planet Earth I had watched depicting Canada's Arctic landscape, I was still unprepared to see it up close and personal. Here's a photo of Iqaluit from the hill we climbed the day we arrived.
On the way to lunch, we walked past the Iqaluit Post Office, which had the word Iqaluit written in both English and Inuktitut.
At the top of the hill we climbed, we came across the sign to the Road to Nowhere - obviously a road we decided to hike at midnight the following night. As we posed for this photo, we noticed written on the back of the sign someone had scrawled "Stealing this sign will give you instant bad karma." It got me to thinking how many times that sign has had to be replaced... and also, if some silly traveler came and took it, how on earth they got it through airport security when they left.
The next day, after playing a show, we took a 5km hike to the nearby town Apex - noted on Wikipedia as a suburb of Iqaluit. Sue stepped onto the beach and started playing with the snow, remarking that this was her first time handling snow on Canada Day... She picked up this snowball and tried to shot-put it at me. (She didn't quite make it, but I applauded her efforts.)
As we left the Apex trail, we saw some people on the coast line and we were curious as to what they were fishing for. When we passed by a family of three locals headed toward the shore, they answered that they were digging for clams. Sue learned later that night that digging for clams is no easy feat as they burrow into the ground with great force once they feel someone threatening to unearth them. Down by the beach we walked by this dogsled, one of many we saw throughout the weekend. Now we're eager to return in the winter to see them in action.
We climbed the rocks on the beach and took a rest and a drink of water. It was so peaceful and serene up there, that we stopped to sing our national anthem in three part harmony for an audience of two (two of our partners joined us that weekend and were witness to our spontaneous outpouring of national pride. It was private, and lovely, and another reminder why I love spending all my time with my two best friends.
The purpose for the trip of course was the beautiful Alianait Festival . We caught up with old friends from the April Verch Band, we finally met the ladies of Annie Lou (check them out!) and met the folks in a great electronic band from New Zealand - The Mamaku Project. The music was top notch, and the crowd was eager and out in full force.
The last day of the festival we played our main performance to a receptive and attentive crowd, and were followed by local favourites, Simeonie Keenainak - who took the night home with a big dance party in the school gym. It was a night to remember, a weekend to remember, and truly a Canada Day we won't ever forget.
/ko
