When we first arrived in Iqaluit, we had a five-hour layover before we had to get back on the plane to Yellowknife via Rankin Inlet. The new airport hadn't opened yet and the old one was still a short walk to downtown, so we decided to take the opportunity to do a little walking tour of town.
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| sightseeing |
I was in Iqaluit first on a layover, and then back again a few days later for work. What really clinched Iqaluit as a city for me, was not the Francophone Centre or the mosque, but the opening of the brand new Aquatic Centre. It was like a spaceship that had landed in a Western movie. It's huge, ultra-modern, and even has a water slide! I went for the really nice gym, and I went pretty much every day.
I also got to play a few games with the local ultimate frisbee scene at Iqaluit's Glorious League of Ultimate (I.G.L.U.). My favourite Arctic frisbee team will always be Cambridge Bay's, but the Iqaluit players are a fun group of folks and I'd love to play with them again.
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| Gloria the tourist (I was actually visiting the Law Society) |
I also took my opportunity there to eat Arctic char whenever I could.
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| Eggs benedict with Arctic char |
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| but also lots of Chinese food at the Navigator Inn, of course |
My colleague took me for a drive around town, because she's sweet like that. I got to ride around in her truck with her adorable kids. This was a treat, not just because I got to hang out with her kids, but because, as I mentioned, you can see a lot more of Iqaluit with a vehicle, including some of the breathtaking rocky and mountainous tundra landscape.
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| hanging out at Apex Beach |
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| the old Hudson's Bay Company store in Apex |
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| Apex beach |
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| awesome road trip buddies |
It was so nice to have a chance to get back to Iqaluit, and to have a chance to return to Nunavut, the land that I have not stopped thinking about ever since I left.
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| Qulliq lighting ceremony |
