Blogs from Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada, North America

I’ve found myself on a trip back to where I’ve been before, Iqaluit Nunavut, but this time in the winter. The purpose of this trip was the same as the last, primarily contributing to mental health services as a psychiatric nurse in a community with some unique issues. I was definitely looking forward to the true Arctic experience this time around complete with snow and cold. As I hopped on the plane towards my first stop in Ottawa, I was hoping that the travel process was going to be smoother this time around. Luckily, I had something to look forward to, and that was seeing some good friends, Keks and Dobes, who were visiting Montreal, but agreed to meet me for some good times. And good times were had. It was nice to get out and ... read more

This has been a trip I've wanted to do for a long time... A working trip in Nunavut Territory, Canada. The timing hasn't worked out in past opportunities, so in mid June when all the stars aligned, I accepted my first Psychiatric Nursing contract in Iqaluit. I've always had some idea of what the north was like and have done some research, but somewhere as foreign as northern Canada; it’s tough to get a grasp. From what I understood, it’s not exactly a tourist hotspot. My overnight layover was in Ottawa and after a fairly painless flight; I checked into my hotel. I had some dinner and met two girls at the bar who were heading up to Pangnirtung, another community in Nunavut. We both had similar curiosities about up north and it was nice to ... read more

Good afternoon there fellow humans! I was supposed to get around to doing another update yesterday but as it turns out, I didn't. Simple. I guess where I left off on my updates so far was the ending of my first night in Iqaluit. You know, eating wings, poutine, and being accosted by an intoxicated local. It's been super neat since then. The day after my last entry was a lot more tame, though. I believe it was because of the fact of how horridly cold it was outside. I'm pretty sure it was -30 something. If not, well then it was damn cold. Ryan had been borrowing a friends truck for the first day or two of me being here so it's been quite helpful. During that day we were able to do somemore sightseeing ... read more

We are very lucky because our weather has been pretty warm over the last couple of weeks. The temperature actually reached 14C the other day. But I have to say that we have had a couple of cooler/cold days when the north wind blows. The mosquitoes actually hung in there until about a week ago. When Michael and I were walking out at the park the mosquitoes loved us. Luckily at the very last minute before leaving for our hike I threw my mosquito jacket/hood in my pack and Michael put the bug spray in his pack. I was very happy to put on the jacket because there wasn't a lot of wind to help us get rid of the blood thirsty varmints!!!! We walked around the park and then went over to the falls on ... read more

Well my time in the arctic is quickly coming to an end for yet another year. I can't believe I/we will be leaving here in a little over a couple of weeks. Mind you Michael will be heading back to Ottawa in late September for a couple of weeks and then back here to Iqaluit in early October until December. That is, after we have gone on an Alaskan Cruise to Glacier Bay with my folks, my sister, Catherine and her hubby Edward and my brother, Alvin. Yeah, there's nothing like leaving the eastern Arctic to go and visit the western Arctic eh? We are starting to get pretty excited about the trip! We are taking this trip to celebrate my Dad and Mom's upcoming 60th wedding anniversary on April 10, 2010. Things have cooled down ... read more