ITINERARY OF SUMMER 2006 ARCTIC VOYAGE

In the summer of  2006 Madelaine went on a voyage to Greenland, Labrador and Baffin Island with Zegrahms' Expeditions. The purpose of the trip was for her to directly experience the Arctic environment, meet the people, see the local culture and learn about the effects of Global Warming on the Arctic specifically. The changes to this part of the planet are the most marked and measurable and have lead to drastic changes in the way of life of the indigenous peoples of the area.

These images and experiences will form the basis for Madelaine's series of artworks on Global Warming which is currently in development.  You can view photographs of Madelaine's trip by visiting the Arctic Images page.  New artworks can be viewed at the Artworks in Progress page on this site.

The itinerary which follows is Zegrahms' description of the itinerary of the trip.

Northern Light: Greenland, Labrador, and Baffin

July 14 - Home City / Ottawa, Canada

July 15 - Ottawa / Kangerlussuaq (Sondrestrom), Greenland / Embark the Clipper Adventurer

Flight for Greenland. At its center, the icecap is two miles high and permanently frozen. The sheer weight of this compacted ice mass has caused this rocky land’s center to sink like a concave bowl beneath sea level. From the cap’s fringes, thousands of glaciers spiral downward, carving out magnificent valleys that slice through ice-sculpted mountains of great grandeur.

July 16 - Maniitsoq (Sukkertoppen)

In the morning we slowly cruise through a magnificent landscape of waterways and rugged mountains, the first of many fjords to come, before arriving at Maniitsoq. Like  many Greenlandic communities, Maniitsoq’s heritage dates back to the ancient Saqqaq culture, followed by later Eskimo cultures such as the Thule, Norse settlements, and Danish colonization in the 18th century.

July 17 - Nuuk (Godthab)

Billed as the world’s smallest capital, Nuuk is home to 18,000 citizens who live in gaily painted houses with picket fences, adjacent to a serene harbor graced by traditional kayaks. The town is also the center of Greenlandic culture. The National Museum displays intriguing Inuit mummies found farther north, at Uummannaq.

July 18 - Paamiut (Frederickshaab)

Throughout its history, Paamiut has been a center of trade, formerly for the whaling industry and today for its fish. The town also has an active arts community, with leatherworkers and talented carvers of soapstone.

July 19 - Narsaq / Dyrnaes / Narsarsuaq / Qassiarsuk (Brattahlid)

Narsaq is a small town located in Greenland’s southern fjord district. Sailing up Tunugdliarfik Fjord in the afternoon, we dock at Narsarsuaq, a former WWII U.S. base, for a choice of excursions.

July 20 - Sailing the Labrador Sea

Lectures and presentations fill the day as our expedition team prepares us for our upcoming landings on the Labrador coast, one of the world’s great wilderness frontiers. Much of the northern part of Labrador remains unpenetrated by roads.  Humpback whales abound here in the summer months, gorging on krill and squid, before migrating south to winter in the Caribbean.

July 21 - Hopedale, Labrador, Canada

This National Historic Site illustrates the intriguing history of settlement of this coastline by Moravian missionaries from the 1770s onward. The Moravians were a German Protestant sect, some of whose descendants still live in Labrador. We visit the mission station dating from the early 19th century. It includes a church, mission house, and various other community buildings, all in a remarkable state of preservation. 

July 22 - Nain

In Labrador’s northernmost populated community, take a guided walking tour of town and the museum to learn how the Inuit live off the resources of the land and sea. We may see lines of drying Arctic char and trout being prepared for winter food reserves. A visit to an artisans’ workshop demonstrates how soapstone is transformed into delicate carvings, which may portray ancient legends. A number of other items are handcrafted here, such as traditional caribou-hide boots and mittens, jewelry, and beadwork. After lunch, watch on deck as our ship cruises through the myriad islands, inlets, and fjords of this stunning coastline. We may make an expeditionary landing by Zodiac to explore a deserted shoreline.

July 23–24 - Labrador Fjord Cruising / Seven Islands Bay / Button Islands

Explore fjords such as Hebron, Saglek, and Nachvak.  Hebron is the site of a Moravian mission station dating from 1833, a preserved National Historic Site set in a now-deserted location with a dramatic fjordland backdrop. The Moravians sought to spread their Protestant faith, but also set up active trading relationships with local Inuits.

Our ship winds its way through the scattered small islands of Seven Islands Bay, set under mile-high mountains. The Button Islands, lying off Labrador’s northernmost cape, are named for Thomas Button, who explored the Hudson Bay area eight years before the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock. A nutrient-rich current upwelling at the edge of the continental shelf provides plentiful feeding grounds for thousands of birds, which perch on tall, slablike rock formations.

July 25 - Offshore Islands of Baffin Island, Nunavut

After decades of negotiations, this newest territory was admitted to the federation of Canada in the late 1990s. Nunavut’s population is about 85 percent Inuit. We approach Baffin, Canada’s largest island, where wildlife abounds in this isolated northerly region. Villages are few and far between, with only small populations of subsistence fishermen and hunters. We plan to visit Monumental Island or Lady Franklin Island, where walrus haul-outs are seasonal, depending upon the position of the receding northern ice pack. Birders watch for Kumlien’s gulls, which nest on cliff-tops.
 

July 26 - Iqaluit, Frobisher Bay / Disembark / Ottawa

Explore the town, which has a population of about two-thirds native Inuit, but whose heritage has long been influenced by European traders, whalers, missionaries, and a later American WWII military base.

Visit the local museum, which provides excellent background on south Baffin Island. The shoreside elders’ meetinghouse has been built in the traditional manner of sod-hut construction, and the cathedral is built to resemble an igloo, using local materials including narwhal tusk. Several galleries here specialize in stone carving, painting, silverworking, and crafting of caribou mitts and boots.

July 27 - Ottawa / Homeward