Our last day on
any vacation is sad but it was exceptionally so today because Iqaluit
has been such a special place to us. After decades of travelling we
have finally visited and spent quality time in all ten provinces and
all three territories. Because we travelled so much with the boys
when they were younger we managed to see all 50 states in the US a
long time ago – so long ago that it was a pleasure to journey
through the incredible geography and history of that once great
nation.
Our perseverance
paid off with one last visit to St. Jude's Cathedral. As we tried the
doors unsuccessfully once more a young lady from the volunteer
society across a courtyard shouted, “Would you like to go inside?” Absolutely! She
was newly arrived from the UK, here for a couple of months to help
out. When Karen asked what brought her here she happily replied,
“God!”
She had arrived
two weeks ago in a blizzard and snow up to her knees. A couple of
days ago she was wearing shorts and today took delight in claiming
this was real ice cream weather. What am I missing here? It was
another gorgeous day but the temperature was still below zero, albeit
1 degree below zero.
The igloo church
is wonderful inside. Pristine in every way with no perception of the
shape whatsoever.
The original
church was built in 1972 but was destroyed by arson in 2005. The
Igloo Cathedral was opened in 2012. It is primarily the product of
Inuit craftsmanship including wall hangings and a cross made of
narwhal tusks. It was so good of this woman to take time to show us
around. I'm so glad we decided to give it one more try.
The Sculpture
Garden is a public park/garden displaying an extensive range of
mostly stone sculptures by artists of the Nunavut Arctic College.
Although the thuggish-looking Sedna (sea goddess) with raised fist
will likely grab your attention I was instantly drawn to the raven
made of scrap metal. What a lovely Saturday stroll through the park.
The Nunatta
Sunakkutaangit Museum had been recommended to us when we stopped in
at the Visitor Centre a few days ago. Who are we to argue? Housed in
an old Hudson's Bay Company warehouse, complete with red roof, the
museum is a registered charity that cares for a collection of
artwork, tools, archival documents, photographs and books centred on
the local Iqaluit community.
As we entered it
was evident the place was packed. You have to remove your shoes to
protect the vintage cedar floors and the vestibule was a minefield of
footwear. We were offered an option of wearing shoe covers so we
chose that. We walked through the displays on two levels of the
building then paused on the way out to hear a local girl singing and
playing guitar.
The walk back to
the hotel was pensive as we accepted the fact that it was the last
time we were going to get to do this. Once again I think we're lucky
to be here when we are. There's an awful lot of construction and I
envisage in two years time a much more congested and even more expensive city.
As we walked we
were a little surprised to see that in 5 short days the melt water
from the surrounding ice-covered hills had built to a raging stream
through most of the open areas.
Our shadows on the walking path
signified our farewell to Nunavut.
Thanks again for being part of our journey. We leave tomorrow morning for Ottawa. We're staying there for a couple of days before heading back to Toronto by train on Tuesday.
I'll send a link in a couple of days to finish this whole thing off.
Stay well everyone - and keep smiling. Until next time...
😎