Talk Without Speaking

As we are obvious visitors in the area we find that locals are constantly coming by the campsite trying to sell various Inuit arts and crafts. Some of them are truly amazing. An Inuit woman named Lina comes by the camp offering to sell Nunavut wallets but Catherine is far more intrigued with the Inuit dress that the woman is wearing and using to carry one of her small children, on her back, in. In fact, most Inuit women in Pang with small children seem to have these garments which, Lina tells us, are called amauti (a-mow-tik). Catherine and Lina end up negotiating and chatting for about half an hour and end up arranging that Lina will make Catherine an amauti while we are in Auyuittuq.

Again the wind is gusting like crazy and we’re starting to think that there’s no way that Rachel and Scott are going to be able to land in this weather. Cat and I head to the airport around 2pm as we really have no idea what time they are supposed to be flying in. Once we get to the airport we’re told that the flight has been delayed for an hour but that they’re unsure whether any flights will be arriving today. We try to keep our spirits up but I know that we’re both a bit disappointed by this; as much as we enjoy being here on our own we’re looking forward to the company and we’re excited about sharing this incredible place with our friends! We drop by the Auyuittuq Lodge where we had heard that showers were to be had if you were staying in the campground. We meet the owner, Donna, who tells us that, indeed, showers are available for $15!! Uhh?no thanks! To be honest every Inuit we’ve met so far has been incredibly friendly and Donna, who is Caucasian is certainly less so. Donna also tell us that there is no way that the plane is coming in today. Staying optimistic we head back to the airport where a short while later the plane does indeed land. We find out that Rachel and Grant were the recipients of a green sticker on their boarding pass warning them that there is no guarantee that the flight will land where it should ? in fact they take no responsibility for ?under or over delivery?. Their stewardess had also told them, on approaching Pangnirtung, that they might have to try the runway a few times before they’d be able to land successfully ? the realities of Arctic travel indeed!

We show them around town and introduce them to what we know of Pang. Later, at low tide, we all wander out into the fjord where many icebergs have been trapped on the new shoreline. Beautifully blue, we explore the rocky shores of Pang where, with a 15 meter tide, would all shortly be deep underwater.