Monday, August 13, 2007

Hello Readers,

Last. I had a few lasts today. Last zodiac landing. Last day on board the ship. Last lecture. Last Zodiac cruise. Although I did have many lasts today I need to remember how many firsts I have had on this expedition. First Iceberg. First time above the Arctic Circle. First polar bear. First Walrus. First time in Nunavut. First time spending a night on a ship. First glacier. First snowball fight in the summertime. The list goes on and on and on. When I think back over the entire expedition I realize just how much I have learnt, not only in the lecture hall but through personal, hands on experience.

Today was SOI’s final day aboard the ship so we tried to make the best of it. Last night we sailed to a small bay on the east coast of Baffin Island named Butterfly Bay. It is a long and narrow bay filled with large icebergs and rocky hills. Half of our group made a cruise around the bay while the other half had a relaxing time on the beach. After an hour the groups switched and did the other activity. I landed on the beach first. It was so quiet and beautiful. I found a small rocky outcrop to sit on where the only sounds I heard were the relaxing lapsing of waves hitting sand. I really had time to think. I thought about everything that happened to pop up into my mind. Although I am not quite sure what I was pondering half of the time, I do know that time flew by fast and before I knew it the hour was up.

The zodiac cruise was a little less relaxing a tad more exciting. We sailed to within inches of majestic icebergs. The section of the iceberg that was underwater reflected in the sun and turned the surrounding water a sort of turquoise that you usually find in the Caribbean. Every iceberg had its own noble design. Some were abstract while others took the shapes of animals, trees and people. It was a humbling hour.

The beginning of the afternoon was quite sad. Packing time. It felt like it was just yesterday that I was unpacking everything. I spent some time today finding lost items and realizing that during this process I had lost other items.

We had several lectures to rap up our education program including talks about the International Polar Years (2007-2009) and ecological footprints. If you do not already know, an ecological footprint is the amount of land a single person would need to sustain his of her life. E.g. Waste Disposal, Growing area for food, space for needed trees, etc….

After dinner this evening we all gathered into the lounge for our final briefing and expedition rap-up. It was a fun night full of stories, songs and discussion. I am going to miss the sense of community that exists on this ship. While we were in the middle of this, a staff member came into the room and told us that the Aurora Borealis (or Northern Light) were in the sky!!! The night could not get better.

Tomorrow we are docking in Iqualuit, the capital of Nunavut. We will be met by many high members of the Territorial government along with Nobel Prize nominee Sheila Watt-Cloutier. We will be toured around the city before boarding our return flight to Ottawa, Ontario and thus marking the end of this life changing voyage. I will try to write again tomorrow from Ottawa.

Thanks for Reading,

Connor