I've been getting emails lately stating that I haven't been blogging enough...well, there isn't much new and exciting going on in Iqaluit to blog about. Life is pretty quiet and pretty much like life down south.

With a population of just over 6,000 Iqaluit is a small town by most peoples standards, but is the big city for me compared to the past 8 months in Pangnirtung. There are lots of little roads to explore both in town and just outside. I live on the Road to Nowhere...and it really does go nowhere, but it is a beautiful trip. (see pictures below)

Things are a little cheaper here in town when compared to Pangnirtung, but I think it is more the thrill of the hunt that has me enjoying the shopping. I have always enjoyed a trip to the grocery store where I will fill up my cart with any number of wonderful foods. I can do that again (to a point) at the two grocery stores here in town. The North Mart and Arctic Ventures. Think of North Mart as a small version of Walmart and Ventures as a giant convience store that focuses on international foods.

The North Mart is almost equally divided between food and 'home' stuff. You can buy groceries, a skidoo, socks and a new bbq all in one stop. Even though groceries only come in once (sometimes twice) a week I can still go shopping every night and see something I didn't see the day before. It may take a while before I am familiar with everything in the store, but I am happy to see they have a number of products I was having shipped into Pang. And, they have pear juice which makes me very happy.

Ventures is an incredible hodge podge of stuff as well. The Source (Radio Shack) is upstairs in one end of the store. There is a video store and small clothing/book area upstairs as well. The book selection is quite good and if anyone is ever interested in learning more about life up North from previous years let me know...this is a great place to buy. On the main floor is a small section of 'hardware' supplies, ethnic foods, frozen foods and a great selection of Stewarts sodas. I myself really enjoy the Key Lime soda. Yummy.

I can still access food mail, though I haven't yet. So far I am happy with the selection of produce here in town, but knowing it is available is nice and M&M Foods ships to Iqaluit so I might place an order with them someday.

My friend Lindsay and I went for supper tonight at the Frobisher. It is where we usually go for supper, one of the nicest restaurants in town. There is a waiter there, Patrick, and he is always funny and always remembers us. Tonight he was eating by himself (off duty) so we asked him to join us. Good conversation, good company. It was a nice night.

I had emailed Al the other day and mentioned how hard it seems to be to meet folks here in town. She said that most places are different than home, where walking up to a stranger and then becoming friends is not unusual. Apparently in most other parts of Canada it is not the normal thing to do. And why not? Are Islanders simply more friendly? Is it because we are brought up being nice to tourists that we find it easier to go up to strangers and strike up a conversation. You see someone your own age sitting at a table by themselves, so you invite them to join you. This is not done outside of PEI...well, the Maritimes.



Fall has arrived and the grasses have lost their green, but still look beautiful to me.


Just more images of the river that runs through the tundra by my house. Still haven't asked anyone what it is called...all in good time.


I hiked down the the rivers edge on my walk this afternoon. It was wonderful to hear the water rushing over the rocks. It will not be long before the river stops running and the quiet of the ice takes over.


Because there is so much land around it is easy to find a place to walk where you are alone with your thoughts. Sure, if you want to stick to a well worn trail there are a few of those around, but most people seem to want to walk their own path. Find a new route to wherever they are going. The hills of the tundra are enticing and it can draw you in and make you want to keep walking, even though they all seem to look alike.


I was trying to take a picture of me out on the tundra, but wasn't having much luck...this is the best I could do.

Here's the truck! Yes, dirty all ready....Iqaluit dirt.

dashboard

passenger seat

The truck has arrived! On my way to work yesterday morning I saw that my ship had come in. After checking in at the office I walked down to the beach to pick up the truck. After a very short process I was driving around Iqaluit.

The truck arrived with 60km on it, by the time I went to bed last night there were 130km on it...yep, I was having a great time. I took my friends out for drives around town and we all commented on how nice a truck it is.

No, I haven't taken any pictures yet, it was raining last night, maybe tonight I'll take a couple to post for you...if I stop driving long enough to get the camera out. Yes, I know, sad. Yes, I have had a car since 1999 and having a new truck shouldn't be that much of a thrill. But, I have a feeling my friend in Banff understands how exciting it is to have a vehicle after not having one for a while...and understands how exciting it is to just drive for the sake of driving.

Life in Iqaluit has taken on a new dimension. I can go exploring on my own and drive down roads that no one has taken me on before..."there's nothing down there worth seeing"...now I can make that decision.

Gas is 106.9 which I understand is a lot more than it is at home right now, but I also gather that it will stay at 106.9 for the year.

Yes, there was a double post which I have deleted. There were server problems from the blog website I use.

Good afternoon from the far North. It is raining again. For a land that is suppossed to be a desert I can't get over the number of days it seems to rain, even for a few minutes at a time.

The temperatures are hovering around 3-5 degrees so I am expecting (as is everyone else in town) to see snow stay on the ground within the next few weeks. Certainly by the end of October there will be snow, but hey, I recall many a Halloween night in PEI where there was snow.

I was out for a walk this afternoon with L and her dogs. We had fun climbing the hills and checking out the view. Of course I forgot my camera. For a girl who couldn't go the 188 steps to work in Pang without the camera it is kinda surprising that I can't manage to bring it on walks with me...oh well. I have picked a few locations that I will re-visit to take photos and share them with you later.

We took a drive down to the beach to where my truck will be arriving. I didn't spot the ship, so expect it will arrive later this evening. Concentrating tomorrow might be difficult, at least my office does not have a view of the harbour so I won't be able to stare out all day waiting for a glimpse.

Perhaps it seems as though I am obsessing over the arrival of my truck, but how many of you have purchased something of this size sight unseen and then had to have a lot of faith that it will arrive safe and sound at some point in the future. I purchased the truck when I was in Charlottetown on vacation without seeing it, I contacted a company in Ontario that I had never heard tell of before and gave them permission to pick it up and drop it off outside Montreal, then a shipping company was to load it onto a large ship and deliver it to Iqaluit. It takes a lot of faith and a lot of $ to get something of that size into the North.

Yes, there will be pictures of the truck once it finally arrives....stay tuned.

I haven't been out taking any pictures lately and was at a loss for something to write until this afternoon. It was one of those days when everyone was feeling the blahs. It had snowed in the morning for a bit and then turned to rain, any excuse to get up out of your chair for a few minutes was welcome. I went to the store for a quick break.

As I got closer to the building that houses one of the MP's offices and a gas bar/convience store the thought occured to me that I would probably never enter a place like this down south. The building is a small one storey with one window on the front. There are little porches built out around each door. The doors are learge metal doors with the long u-shaped handle. There is nothing friendly or welcoming about how they look. The painted signs out front should have been repainted a few years ago and inside the dust on the shelves leaves one wondering how long the food has been there.

As I walked back to work it dawned on me that A LOT of the stores in town look like this and it is completely normal. The dust truly is no indication of how long anything has been there, it's a pretty dusty town. Most of the roads are dirt and gravel and with the beach also being a mixture of fine dust and sand everything tends to get covered in dust quickly. The doors and lack of windows are designed of course for the environment. Windows mean more areas for heat to escape which can be costly when you require heat for 9 months of the year. The doors are metal, and again help with the temps, but are also harder to break into.

Break-ins are fairly common. High unemployment and high cost of living...
To get into my apartment you need one key, three times. The main door of the building is locked at all times, the key will then only allow me to enter my floor and then into my unit. So it is a very safe buidling. If I have friends over I can buzz them in the main door, but then need to meet them at the top of the stairs to allow access to my floor. I haven't felt 'not safe' anywhere in town yet, and for the most part it is a safe town. Like any place you know where not to be hanging out late at night.

I think Iqaluit and I are going to get along just fine. Have a great weekend!

EXCITING NEWS!!!!!

My brand new truck is arriving on Monday (weather permitting)....I'm so excited. Monday morning I have to contact the Beach Master on the 25th and he will let me know when it will be coming off the ship...wooo hoooo

Sunset in Pangnirtung


The colour enveloped me it was on the grass, the hills, the sky, my shirt...it was unreal. And now....more Iqaluit photos...


I went for a walk last night and took a few pictures. When leaving the drive way take a left and follow the road to nowhere out towards nowhere and this is what you see.



My new Iqaluit friends.

They have owners, but they are more camera shy. Meet Kuluk, Bubba and Gert. Tiggie the other dog was off wandering by himself. The four beasts have a great time together on walks. Running. Swimming. Biting each other. Oh the fun! Life is so simple for dogs.


Sylvie Grinnel Park is at the edge of town by the airport. I'm not really sure how big the park is (I'll try to find out someday) but it is probably a good size. It is a popular spot for walking, camping and picking berries.


Scenery down by the airport right beside (maybe even in) the park.



Looking down from above. I went for a walk with Andrew, Bubba and Gert my first week here and took a bunch of shots from up on this hill that overlooks the whole city. It was pretty cool.


Just to give you an idea of size--the airport is the large grey areas in the back...some of the only pavement in town.


On the left side of the photo is the high school,(half white, half blue building), it has the worst design ever and only a couple of windows in the whole building, but some architect won awards for it...of course, why not, they don't have to spend 3 years of their life in it.



Houses appear crushed together between the hills. The buildings are actually pretty close together. I'm not sure if it is on purpose, but no one seems to mind. There are a lot of row houses or what I would call town houses. There is even an 8 and storey building in town...imagine...oooohhhh.


Just more views from above. Come visit and see it in person.


and more...


This picture is dedicated to my mother...look a window box. I've seen a few around town. The plexi-glass come up and provide shelter from the wind and acts like a green house. They had beautiful pansies growning. I've seen a couple around town so someone must make and sell them at Craft Shows...yes, they have craft fairs here in the Fall. I'm told November is a busy month for that kind of thing. Too bad I already have all my Christmas present bought....oh well, maybe something for me...lol


My friend Lindsay was out of town the other day and I had her vehicle and dogs...so we went for a walk into the mist in the park. It was a great evening and we all came back wet and tired.

Everyone wants to know what life in Iqaluit is like...well, it can be smelly.

I came home the other night with a ton of groceries to fill my new cupboards and fridge with and was in a great mood. I put everything away, turned on the oven to preheat and went to check my email. A few minutes later I start to smell smoke and am wondering why...since I hadn't put the pizza in the oven yet and seeing how this is the first time I've used the over I can't be burning off stuff yet....so I walk into the kitchen and there is smoke coming out of one of the burners and the whole oven is filled with smoke.

I do not panic. I quickly close the oven door, turn off the over and turn on the fan. About an hour later I check and the over is still full of smoke so I still can't see what was/is burning. Finally after a couple hours of freezing in my house (all windows open full at this point to get rid of the smell) I check again and can see that everytime I open the oven door and let more oxygen in I am re-kindling the embers on some sort of paper, so I try and pull it out, but it is almost glued in...finally I win the battle and this is what you sitting in the picture below.

Yes, it is the instruction manual. Now, shouldn't the manual have been on top of the stove and the front page should read "Do not operate oven with instruction manual inside." I mean really, who leave combustible materials in the over where people could set fire to them.

Even though the smell is now gone and even though everyone says you can't smell it anymore, I can smell the burning paper and plastic everytime I turn on the oven.



Why I should never be left alone in the house...and why you should always have a grown up around when you use the oven....sigh


Oh the smell...and everytime I wrote the word oven in this post I spelled it over and had to go back and change it...apparently I've been traumitized by the whole incident.

I know a few of you will be happy to hear that I have internet access again from home....YEAH...which means that by the end of the weekend I will have an update for you.

Here are a few comments on life in the big city....it seems to take longer to get anything done here. Take my phone, which required a week (including weekend) to get working, a week for my internet to be hooked up, a two-three week wait until I will have a post office box and many other minor things like that. When I arrived in Pang, I already had my phone and mail box, picked up modem for net that day and cable was hooked up the afternoon my tv arrived.

On the plus side. I've been out to eat (a lot)and have enjoyed hanging out with my Iqaluit friends. And work is coming along....but lets not go there.

I'm having people over Sunday am for Brunch. If you are in town, stop by around 11am.