“A Canadian is someone who knows how to have sex in a canoe.” Pierre Berton
I opened the Globe and Mail to the above quote this morning, while on a flight to Iqaluit on a First Air jet and my tired frown instantly transformed into a smile. Honestly, my first thoughts were: Do I have a canoe trip lined-up in the itinerary? And then I thought, “Who is a real Canadian and what really defines us?”
The quote was part of an article from Margaret Wente for the Globe titled “How I became a Real Canadian”, and she argues that the “authentic soul of Canada is in the wilderness.” Her point? Unfortunately, not many of us get to experience it. So what does her point have to do with my travel blog?
I have now arrived to Nunavut, one of the northern most wilderness terrains in the country I have ever visited, and I too feel, that I am more of a Canadian because I get to experience this. Maybe I’m not canoeing the Nahanni, but I think this comes close. I only wish I can do this place justice, if only by telling you some of my observations.
From the air, chunks of ice form a convoluted puzzle in the sprawling body of water that is surrounded by brownish looking naked terrain. On the ground it’s only 6 degrees Celsius, but the sun is out. People are walking around in t-shirts and I hear Inuktitut being spoken. It’s melodic.
We didn’t bring jackets, warm socks or hats, a miscalculation perhaps that we will consider when the sun goes down. There are homes lined-up in rows, they remind me of those portables we had to do pop-choir in when I was in high-school, but larger and more modern. The local high-school is in a sprawling white-and-blue planetarium-looking building. Lakes are covered with ice, with some patches now clear. The sled dogs are hanging out by the river at this time of year and it’s pick-up trucks one after another that pass us by. We’re staying in a B&B called Nunattaq Suites with views of the lake, hills covered with olive-coloured grass, dirt and rocks.
Julie, our B&B host explained that Nunattaq means ” a nesting area for migratory birds surrounded by glaciers and high peaks, in Inuktitut. There are many things planned for us during our visit, mainly the Alianait Arts Festival, which is ten-day celebration of the arts under the “midnight sun.” I can’t wait to experience the absence of darkness. Tonight, we’re going to a circus called Artcirq, which is Nunavut’s own Arctic Circus troupe led by Guillaume Salladin, and then tomorrow we’re on a trek on a hike called a Road to Nowhere.
Have you been to Iqaluit and experienced the midnight sun? (Flickr photo courtesy of macleod199.)
While I’m a contributor to We Blog the World, the below blog post is the copyright of the Canadian Tourism Commission. Please link back and credit all content used to Canada is a Big Place. You can also check us out on Flickr and @biglaceblog.
Victoria Revay is a broadcaster, journalist and on-air personality. She has worked at BCTV on the Global Desk and regularly filled in for Pia Shandel’s show on CFUN 1410 am as a radio producer.
She was channel editor, citizen-journalism hustler and video presenter for Now Public, has appeared as a new media expert and trend/lifestyles expert on shows such as City TV’s Breakfast Television, CKNW 980, CBC radio and the Leo Laporte Show on G4Tech TV.
