Clear skies in Resolute...
We awoke to a cold but clear day in Resolute. The wind chill had not diminished but the blowing snow had stopped. All of us had high hopes that we would get out of Nunavut in one day! So far this has never happened when we have traveled south through Resolute Bay.
Tobias and Jeff went out for a walk to enjoy the sunshine. There were a number of teams heading out to hunt polar bear so they wanted to take a look before they left. Unfortunately, before Jeff could get very close to the "puppies", the teams were off across the ice. After we packed up our gear, I checked in with Oleg at PEARL. Aside from getting the truck stuck in the snow again, things were going well but he and Suzy would like some more sunshine.
Aziz got us over to the airport in good time and we had our bags checked all the way through to Ottawa. We were about 30 minutes late leaving Resolute Bay but this was mostly made up by not stopping for very long in Nanisivik. There are only 20 seats on the Hawker-Sidley turbo-prop since the front half of the plane is used for cargo. The quarters were very cramped and we got frozen chicken and bean salad for lunch. Everyone hoped that the food on the flight from Iqaluit to Ottawa would be much better, maybe Arctic char or caribou.
Half way to Iqaluit, the flight got bumpy. Then, as we were coming in for the landing, it became obvious that it was snowing fairly hard in Iqaluit. There were heavy cross winds so the plane bounced back and forth and seemed like one of the wings could touch the tarmac. There were lots of "whooas" from the passengers as we went through this rather rough landing. One of the Inuk Elders said that this was pretty bad but she had experienced worse. After that landing, I was doubtful that we would be going anywhere tonight. The ground crew confirmed this and offered a phone book and telephone so we could find a hotel for the night. Of course, it was a weather-related delay so First Air would not be paying for our stay.
Once we got to the Frobisher hotel, there was the challenge of getting Air Canada to rebook our flights. In the end, it cost close to $200 to rebook Jeff and Dejian's flights. Tobias and I had planned to spend part of the day in Ottawa so we were already booked on flights that should connect with the First Air flight tomorrow. We decided not to venture outside in the howling wind to find a restaurant so the only choice for dinner was the hotel bar. The main dining room was booked for a function. We dined on Nunavut-sized portions of deep fried stuff (fries, zucchini) and burgers and wraps. Then Jeff, Dejian and Tobias took turns using the pay phone to tell their significant others that they would not be home when they were expected.
It looks like Dejian (our lucky team member who could conjure clear skies and sunshine for measurements) may be coming to the end of his luck. So far, it is only a small delay and, at least, we got out of Resolute on the right day!
Best regards,
Kaley.