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.
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.