July 14: Stuck in Resolute Bay...

hi mom
guess what??! the weather is bad again so we're stuck in Resolute! Well this morning the pilots told us the weather is bad
where we are going so we have to check in at noon but we might need to stay the night or something.
The beluga whales were really cool but you couldnt see them that well since they were far away, but usually they're much closer.

love,
Ainhoa

July 14 - Heading North!

Brian (our cameraman) reporting...:

After a three day rafting trip down the Soper River - an adventure filled with wet shoes, what had to be the world's angriest mosquito swarm, sleep or lack thereof in broad daylight next to caribou bones, and more than a few people falling overboard - we made it to Kimmirut, an outpost of a town built to defy the cold and keep a grip on Inuit tradition. It felt like the old west, and for us it was a kind of Shangri-la of hot showers and food that didn't involve peanut butter or jelly. Kuria and Mark fell right in with the locals, and Beth found an unexpected relative. All of us left feeling welcomed and broadened by the visit. Leaving Kimmirut, another flight took us to Resolute - Beth's hometown. Stepping off the plane we were hit with startling heat - record temperatures for Resolute (beating the record set last year on the same day.) This, of course was a jarring reminder of why we came here in the first place. After a night at Beth's father's hotel we visited with scientists who showed us their world, research and general efforts to decode what is happening to this stark and beautiful land.

It's been a breathtaking trip, and we are still heading north! Our destination is still a good 6 hour plane ride away. I think it's safe to say we are all looking forward to where that journey will take us...

July 13: Whales!!!

We are told that migrating Beluga wales have arrived in the area and Beth father, Ozzie, suggest we go see them (a 20 minutes Twin Otter flight from Resolute, in Cunningham Inlet).
for those interested: The beluga whale is a small, toothed whale that is white as an adult. The beluga's body is stout and has a small, blunt head with a small beak, tiny eyes, thick layers of blubber, and a rounded melon. They have one blowhole. Beluga means "white one" in Russian.
Beluga whales are very social animals and congregate in pods (social groups) of 2-25 whales, with an average pod size of 10 whales (consisting of both males and females or mothers and calves). A pod will hunt and migrate as a group. The bond between mothers and calves is the strongest. During migrations, several pods may join together, forming groups of 200-10,000 belugas.
Belugas live in frigid Arctic and sub-Arctic waters, but some populations migrate south to warmer water in the summer. Beluga's Arctic habitat overlaps with narwhal's habitat. (The narwhal is its closest relative.)
The gestation period of the beluga is about 14-15 months and the calf is born tail or head first and near the surface in warm, shallow waters. They breed in warm, shallow waters or estuaries (where rivers meet seas). The newborn instinctively swims to the surface within 10 seconds for its first breath; it is helped by its mother, using her flippers. The newborn calf is about 4-5 feet (1.2-1.5 m) long and weighs over 100-140 lbs (45-64 kg). Single births are the norm; twins are very rare. Calves are not white like the adults; they are blue to brownish-red for the first year of life. During the second year they are gray to blue. Their pigment (melanin) fades slowly, and by 6 years old, they are white. The baby is nurtured with its mother's fat-laden milk (it is 28% fat) and is weaned in about 12-24 months.Beluga whales reach maturity at 7-9 years. (source: http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/whales/species/Beluga.shtml)

July 12-13: from Olympia's journal:

Olympia “Boogie” (9) reporting here:

July 12 2008 Resolute
Today we woke up at 7:30 to go have breafast. Breakfast in the South Camp Inn in Resolute is from 7:00 to 8:00. That night I slepped with Alexa so we came down together. After breakfast, we went to this place that was really, really big, and it had two rooms: one room was for food, and the other was for speeches. So when we went there, we had to be silent to hear the speeches, but we also heard Inuits throat sing. It was so cool, it sounds like instruments! We also saw Inuit dance. Tey danced so good, it seemed like they were practicing for a long time (which they probably did). Well when the science was spoken, I fell asleep. “And then water here is 1,000 feet deep blah, blah, blah!!! It was really boring! After that, we ( Alexa, Mommy, Mark Ainhoa, Flaam, Matty and me) had lunch. When me, Mark and Alexa went outside for lunch, a little boy came up to us and said: “Ask me about my weener!” And me Mark and Alexa laughed so hard!
After that, people over 15 can go on a boat called the Icebreaker. It was so unfair!! But then they managed to get Kuria, Ainhoa, Flaam, and all the grown ups, but Matty. Alexa, Mark, Matty and me went back to the hotel. When we got to the hotel, Alexa, Matty and me went to this store to get journals for Ainhoa and Flaam. Mark went with Beth on the ATV’s. We did not find journals. And then Matty told us that in an hour we were all going to go on a hike up a mountain that was really high. So when Alexa and me came to my room, we decided to take a nap because we did not want to go on the hike. Get it? Well if we sleep we would not go on the hike. So I had like a little apartment in the hotel, with stairs and we were waiting for my mom and we were practicing what we will do when she came. When we were practicing the 5th time, she came up the stairs and we were jumping on the bed when she came. But we did not go on the hike after that; two really nice girls came named Blinda and Sapora. We were laughing so hard. After that we had dinner and ice cream. Night night. Sleep tight. Mind the bugs don’t bite. And if they do, catch them tight, and they won’t bite another night!

July 13 Resolute
Today I woke up at 10:30 with Ashley because she slept with me. We went to have breakfast and then took a nice bath. After that we met with Ashley, Amber and Alexa and went to an archeological site. At the archeological site we saw old whale bones and old Inuit homes. It was really cool!!! After that we went back to the hotel to have lunch. Then at 6:00 we had a plane to see the Beluga whales. People came to pick us up in ATV’s.
They had trailers in the back. The Beluga whales are so cool. At 8:00 PM we flew back. Now I am writing to you! Bye!!

July 11-12: Arriving Resolute...

Flaam reports:
"Yesterday July 11th, we left Kimmirut early in the morning to arrive in Iqaluit. There we repacked most of our belongings to get organized on our way to the north. Finally, we took a flight from Iqaluit to Resolute Bay (Beth's hometown) with Zepher, Matty's dog, by our side. Much to our suprise it was 19 degrees when we got to the aiport, a record temperature off the charts! (We had all brought extra sweaters, hats and gloves in our backpacks!). Aziz greeted us at the airport to bring us back to his popular hotel, South Camp Inn. The town, only a few minutes from the airport, overlooks the bay.
Today, after having slept very well, we went to the Polar Continental Shelf Project where we met many scientists working in the region who were all brought together for this presentation (PCSP’s 50th year anniversary). Scientists gave presentations about Arctic birds, archaeology in the region, wetlands.... A few of us got to go visit the ship in the bay, the Louis St. Laurent. This ship has been traveling around taking ocean samples (water, mud, etc). We went to the ship by helicopter and the ride, though short, was a lot of fun. We were able to meet and ask questions to the scientists working on board the ship. On Monday (if the weather is OK), we will fly to northern Ellesmere to continue our adventure!"

July 11 - arriving Kimmirut

We've just arrived in Kimmirut, village of 425 sols where we will spend the rest of the day and night. We are welcomed by Pascale, a local high school teacher. Everybody stays in local homes ('chez l'habitant') for a bit of immersion with the local population. There is still ice in the bay, hundreds of srangely shaped icebergs, big and small. Strange views of locals draped in mosquito nets!

Tropical Kuujjuaq sweats past hottest May ever

As we wrap up the first "team building" part of our trip, we read the local news in the plane going from Iqaluit to Resolute. Actually there is a full page on Climate Change in the Nunatsiaq News of June 27, 2008:
Last month Kuujjuaq (northern Quebec) experienced its warmest month of May since community weather records were first taken in 1947...
On June 17 the high temperature reached 27.9ºC making Kujjuaq the warmest place in Quebec... the normal temperature is between 2ºC and 12ºC... :(((

July 9 - Mosquitoes

As we go down the river, we see more and more of them.
We are not sure if it's a normal year or not but it sure looks like there are zillions of them. Maybe they are more insects in general because of the local climate change?
Ask Nicole on the picture!

Searching for minerals...

Our group stops at a mica and lapis lazuli site. We are surprised to see these here. Brian, our cameraman, remarks that when he was recently filming a documentary in Afghanistan, there was a lot of lapis lazuli there too.

July 8 - Lots of lemmings this year?

Looks like there are quite a few lemmings where we camp along the Soper river.
This little guy came by our tent in the morning. We see several more running into their burrows... A lemming year? (As you may know, lemmings population evolves in cycles)

July 8 - en route to Kimmirut

July 8:
we've just left the Soper river/Livingston river confluent and are en route to Kimmirut, where we will meet the local community in a few days.
Not before crossing a few rapids :))
more later...

July 10: A seal!

From Flaam's journal - July 10th:
We woke up to find our entire tent covered in mosquitoes. That was quite impressive. Last minute (in Greenwich) I bought mosquitoe nets with my mom, so I am really thankful for that. I had never seen so many mosquitoes in my life. Today I was a little “down”, kind of out of energy and missing home. No choice though, you have to keep paddling. When we arrived in Kimmirut, Pascale, the high school teacher, let us have lunch at her house which was really nice. In the afternoon, while many were showering and taking baths, I went with Boogie, Nicole, my dad (Luc), and Sebastian on a boat to ride around the bay. Though we did not see any polar bears, we had a great time. We saw seals and the icebergs were incredible!
For dinner, I had caribou. Finally everyone went to sleep in a family home.

July 5-7: from Ashley

Ashley (12)

Ottawa July 5th
Dear Journal, I had a great day today. I got to meet all the kids! We got to hang out and learn a lot about everyone. We had a great meal cooked by a nice gracious family. The meal was delicious. One of the kids we met was named Kuria, and was from South Africa! He was really nice, and helpful! Kuria is 15. We also met someone name Mark. He is from Italy. I can’t believe he stayed up till 10:30 when it was like 5 AM for him. He was really nice! My sister Alexa left her journal at the family’s house, and she left. He got it for her, and gave it to her. It was soooo nice! I can’t wait until tomorrow!!

July 7th
We woke up and went for breakfast at Matty’s house. After we went to the science museum and learned a lot about cool things (plants and ice). We went back and talked about the center and then we went there. We watched a movie about sfety in the Arctic. We went back to Matty’s house where we spent a long time packing. Then Ainhoa and Flaam helped weigh the luggage to see if we were 2900 pounds. Fortunately we were close (3180). We went to the beach and got stuck in quicksand a lot. Flaam saved us. On our way back we saw dead whale blubber. We all got on the roof and jumped. Flaam and Kuria took pictures of me jumping off the roof. Mark made us crack up on the porch. Then Matty told us that we were leaving. At the airport we played hang games. Then my mom and Mary bought homemade pizzas. Mark was hilarious during the games. Then we heard that we might no make it because there wasn’t enough room in the plane. Then Sebastian and Luc arranged it so we could go. The girl pilot was really mean and rude. We landed safely by the river and went on to bring the luggage really far away, and it was heavy especially the rafts were 95 pounds. Then Matty set up our tent as demonstration. Then we snacked and went to bed.

Nunavut Research Institute

Today we met with Rick Armstrong, head of the Nunavut Research Institute, Iqaluit, Nunavut. Discussion on all the programs he is running out of Iqaluit. Great facts: minerals so rich in iron (70+) that you can melt them, oil minerals that burn when you light them... very intersting for all ages. Consequences on the future of the region?
We also visited the lab of Dr. Allison Rutter who explained to us the analyses of contaminated soil samples she is conducting around here. Very interesting for all of us... much much more to come on the science side...

We are Explorers now!

Great news: our expedition has been approved as a flag expedition of the Explorers Club of New York.
As you may know, The Explorers Club flag has been flown in many extraordinary places on Earth, under the sea and on the moon. It is a revered symbol of outstanding achievement...
We'll make sure children and adults alike in our group live up to our promise to the Club.