Down But Not Out!

Well, hello again! I am guessing my family and friends must have thought that I had been eaten by a polar bear – it’s been so long since my last update! The truth is that I am alive and well, having survived a fierce blizzard, being storm-stayed at a hotel with no water (!) and a solar outage. I’ll talk about the first two in a moment, but first about the solar outage. This past week, according to the news, 3 large fireballs shot off from the sun. One in particular was quite large and while people in most parts of the world wouldn’t pay too much attention to this, I guess it can have quite an effect at the polar extremes. It seems to have played havoc with my internet connection, so much so that I couldn’t connect long enough to the blog to update any text or pictures. In fact, this update is coming to you via Edmonton, where I have forwarded to family to have them upload it for me! Now that’s technology!

As you might remember from my last blog, I was in Repulse Bay, a nice community situated on the Arctic Circle. I was to stay there until Feb 9 and then fly on to Coral Harbour. Unfortunately, a fierce blizzard ended those plans. Even the other hotel guests were amazed at the winds and blowing snow. Everything was shut down, including the airport and the water trucks! Yes, even the water trucks that deliver to homes and businesses could not operate as the metal connectors on their hoses were freezing up. As a result, on Thursday, we ran out of water at the hotel, which meant that they couldn’t cook meals for us or yes, you guessed it, shower or use the facilities! Wowser, that was something. It didn't seem to faze anyone (including me) as all the guests sat around sharing great stories about blizzards and life in the north. I wish I had a recorder, there were so many interesting ones!

Now, the good news is that the hotel I was staying at allows their guests free reign of the kitchen at all times. The cook prepares lunch and supper (one choice, you either want it or you get something for yourself). I was a little concerned that we would be having Arctic Char and Caribou all week (I don't like fish and I'm not very adventuresome with my food choices), but I was wrong. While we had water, the cook made great meals of roast beef, chili and fries, etc. Arctic Char only showed up one night, and everyone grabbed for it right away. I passed on it, but maybe I should have tried it as everyone said the Arctic Char in Repulse is some of the best in all of the north!

Once we ran out of water and didn't have any more cooked meals, I wasn't too upset. Still suffering “sticker shock” from the high prices in Nunavut, I was more than happy to go forging through the kitchen, looking for treats! Bowls of ice cream and other sweets that I’m just too cheap to buy here looked really good! Check out my pictures of the prices of ice cream ($21.95), Lays potato chips ($6.99), Honey Nut Cheerios ($19.99) and Tide laundry detergent ($36.99) from the local store in Repulse Bay, and you’ll see why I thought that was a luxury worth having! I guess prices could be worse. There was a story on CBC this past week about a jar of Cheese Whiz being $35 or something like that in Arctic Bay, a community here in Nunavut. Now that’s pricey!

The storm started to subside on Friday around noon. I had been successful in rebooking my flight and now would be able to make it out on the 3pm flight with all the rest of the stranded passengers. We called the airport a number of times during the afternoon to see if the plane was coming and kept getting the message that it would be late. How late, no idea! Finally, we got word that it was coming at 5pm. Yahoo. Finally. We walked our luggage over to the airport (yes, the strip is right in town!). True to their word, we got out just shortly after 5pm. We flew to Rankin which was our transfer point for our flight home to Baker. If all went well, we'd be home by 7pm. Not too bad. However...

Again, more delays! Our connecting plane was delayed. How long? Who knows? The attends could only say it would be late. The airport snack shop was closed, the Rankin taxis were not running because the fuel depot ran out of fuel during the storm (!). We had nowhere to go and nothing to eat. I guess this was my just reward for eating all that ice cream in Repulse!

One of my colleagues and I thought we might watch a movie on my computer. But, we kept putting it off, saying that the plane would probably be in at any time. As is, we could have watched a double bill! It wasn't until 11pm that we finally saw our plane arrive! Happily, we made our way on the plane and gobbled down anything the attendant had to eat! She must have thought we hadn't eaten for days! By midnight, we were home. I guickly got ready for bed and smiled. Live in the north is unforgiving and unpredictable, that is for sure! Next time, I'll pack more food, just in case!