Today marks the start of our long goodbyes and farewells, as we end our last full day on the ship. It’s a day of highs and lows as we all come to the realization that our long journey is about to come to an end.
The morning started with a refreshing zodiac cruise around Akpatok Island. Akpatok is home to the largest seabird colony in the Arctic, numbering over a million. But it was seven polar bears that highlighted the visit, lumbering along the shore, including three cubs.
The island itself has towering steep cliffs made of limestone, which reminded me of the quarries of my hometown, Stonewall. It seemed a fitting way to end our last cruise – a sight that made me look forward to returning home.
The rest of the day flew past and before long it was time for the traditional final briefing and talent show. To give you an idea of the talent of our students and staff, here are some examples of what was said and done:
Geoff Green introduced and thanked the Captain of the Orlova, along with its staff and crew. All of them received a standing ovation. Geoff then gave some more details on our expedition – it was the longest SOI trip ever done, with 14 cruises and landings. We’ve traveled 2160 nautical miles on our journey from Kuujjuaq and back. According to the kitchen, we ate 200 dozen eggs, 5 kg of dark chocolate, 140 litres of milk, 50 kg of sugar, 100 lbs of pasta, 400 loaves of bread, 100 kg of onions, 100 kg of potatoes, and an amazing 80 lbs of cheese.
The rest of the talent show was made up of students and staff reciting poems, singing songs, playing instruments (guitars, harmonicas, violins, and an accordion). There was a lot of laughter, some bad singing and some great performances. It truly was a fine way to wrap up our diverse and unique excursion.
It’s after midnight, and the talent show is winding up. As usual, our plans have changed for tomorrow. We arrive at Kuujjuaq early in the morning, but instead of getting tours of the town, we have to head straight to the airport to catch our flight, which had changed from early afternoon to late morning.
It seems surreal that things are coming to an end for another SOI expedition. Tomorrow will start the tears and hugs, as we begin to say farewell to some members of our family. If it’s anything like last year, it will be an emotional time…
See you all back in civilization!
Follow the Manitoba Museum's own Mike Jensen as he participates in the 2016 Students On Ice Arctic Expedition. This is Mike's 8th summer as an Polar Educator with SOI. This year's itinerary takes them from the north coast of Quebec, up the east coast of Baffin Island, and across to the west coast of Greenland.
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