Back from the Arctic!

View of Croker Glacier, Devon Island

It's been, as ever, a voyage filled with surprises -- followed by a long series of airplane flights that took me from Pond Inlet via Igloolik to Iqaluit, and thence to Ottawa, Toronto, and home -- but I'm back at last from this year's trips aboard the Akademik Ioffe with my fantastic fellow staff from One Ocean. And, as I did last year, I met many fascinating passengers, each with his or her own story of what drew them northward, what sights they sought, and what they took away from the journey.

This year, I started further south, exploring the many islands and small ports in the area of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, including the strange sandy shores of Sable Island, the deep red sandstone cliffs of the Magdalen Islands, Bonaventure Island (home to the world's second-largest colony of Northern Gannets), and deligtful, tiny fishing towns such as Francois (prounounced Franzway), where we were invited to a foot-stomping "kitchen party." From there, we headed up the coast of Labrador, with stops at Battle Harbor, Hopedale, and the former mission settlement at Hebron, followed by two days among the fiords and slopes of the Torngat Mountains National Park. Then, on our third voyage, we started in Iqaluit, heading up the Baffin Island coast, spending some days among the fog and ice before emerging to the even more spectacular scenery of Buchan Bay and Bylot Island, and finally to the glacial coast of Devon Island, before our return.

In the next few weeks, I'll be posting periodic items about some of my favorites among these many wonders, along with news of the latest searches by land and sea for new evidence of the fate of the Franklin expedition. I invite you to come along with me on this smaller, virtual version of those voyages!