This is part two in a series of blogs by High Commissioner Andrew Pocock on his recent trip to Canada’s Arctic region.
Pond Inlet (Lat: 72’42” N; Long: 77’ 59” W)
To Pond Inlet on 18 June (Waterloo Day!), pushing ever further north. The local name is Mittimatalik, and we stood on its shore, looking across Eclipse Sound at the immense range on Bylot Island – the twin peaks and glaciers of Sirmilik National Park. The Sound itself was host to a vast iceberg – glittering white in the sun, pale blue in the shade – that had calved off the glaciers of Ellesmere Island, or even Greenland. It certainly was a presence in the bay.
Bylot Island is named for Captain Bylot, who was among those who abandoned Henry Hudson in the bay that bears his name, and his last resting place. Bylot returned on other expeditions (I think with Baffin), and history remembers him partly through this spectacular piece of real estate.
We met the Canadian Rangers, Canada’s eyes and ears in the north, and saw a lively cultural display at the Nattinnak Centre: throat singing, developed from maternal lullabies while on the march; drum dancing; and a vigorous display of aboriginal gymnastics. All around was evidence of local craft, from carvings in stone and bone to beautifully cured seal and bear skins. The gentle, smokeless flame of seal oil, so important until recently in the months of winter darkness, was an appropriate image as we boarded our flight to the even higher latitudes of Resolute Bay.
Andrew