Iqaluit, capital of Nunavut, an overseas Ultima Thule

Baffin Island is one of the most fascinating arctic islands in the world. Nature and a very rich set of inuit settlements makes it worth a long visit. It has a fantastic park - Auyuittuq Park, with the famous Mounts Asgard and Thor, the Penny Ice Cap... - and settlements like Pond Inlet, Clyde River, Arctic Bay, Pangnirtung, Cape Dorset, Kimmirut - some of them already reported here in Ultima Thule - and Iqaluit, the Nunavut Capital, make this large arctic island a place of wonder.


This time I'll be focusing on Iqaluit, a rather unusual capital, mixing different architectures and cultures with imagination.

Iqaluit (pop. 7000 ), on the south coast of Baffin Island, at the head of Frobisher Bay, is the territorial capital and the largest community of the Canadian territory of Nunavut.


At 63°44′N , 68°31′ W, Iqaluit is just a few miles south of the Arctic Circle.

Iqaluit is one of the world's most interesting capital cities. The only one of its kind is Longyearbyen, in the Svalbard Islands.

The town center: at far, the yellow airport; closer, the hexagonal school and the igloo-church.

The shore of Iqaluit, facing Frobisher bay.

The main reasons why Iqaluit developped : easy access by sea (Frobisher bay) and by air (the very good airport)

An Airbus A380 visits Iqaluit airport for tests.


HISTORY:

In the 1950’s the U.S. government built an exceedingly long air strip in Iqaluit, also as an emergency landing strip for the space shuttle program. The Canadian government bought the airstrip and out-buildings in the late 70s, and turned over governance to the Inuit when the Nunavut territory was founded in the late 90’s.


The Hudson Bay Company took advantage of the construction and operation of the airstrip and the local people this attracted to the area, and floated over on barges several small warehouses and a store from a near-by community. The buildings still stand to this day.


The Hudson Bay Company building now houses ancient Inuit artifacts and new works of art - tools, clothing, toys carvings, prints and paintings.

HOUSES ON STILTS

In these perennially frigid areas, the subsoil is frozen most of the time.
All the buildings must be on stilts, to prevent sinking in the melting permafrost. This gives a particular profile to the town:

The blue house on the rock



But this is far from being the only architectural curiosity here. Iqaluit seems to be a field of experience for new ideas in building houses:



Most residential areas have been carefully planned to be coloured and atractive:



Of course having a view over the bay is a privilege:


This was for some time the world famous and local atraction, the anglican cathedral of St. Judas, or igloo church:


The church burned down in 2005 and was demolished; a new one, in a similar architecture, is being built and will be finished in June 2012.


Also unusual is the elementary school:

An hexagonal building that saves energy an maximizes internal confort.

Or the secondary school:


Or the RCMP departement:


And the magnificent Iqaluit airport:


Now that's a terminal building!


The Legislative Assembly of Nunavut, also with an architecture that is sure to impress:

This is where many decisions about the territory are made, located on Federal Road, in the heart of Iqaluit.

In front, this stone celebrates the autonomy of Nunavut

The main street in Iqaluit is Queen Elizabeth II Way :


Among other central buildings, the spectacular Qamutiq:


and the Royal Bank of Canada:


Also in Queen Elizabeth II Way is the Nova Inn, one of the best hotels in town:



The Road to Nowhere

Another original feature in town is Iqaluit's famous Road to Nowhere sign.

This private joke of Iqaluit natives often changes place...


In fact, road signs here are also quite unusual and worth a look:


Strange as it may seem, road traffic can get intense sometimes. There is even a busy crossroads - the Four-corners intersection - that deserves a very particular road sign:

Four-corners intersection , with Qamutiq building, and the unique road sign:


Doesn't it look like he is speeding through town ?


Another typical street scene


CULTURE

The Nunatta Sunakkutaangit Museum and the Unikkaarvik Visitors Centre and Library


These two buildings (white and blue) are Iqaluit's main cultural venues. Located side by side at the bay's shore, they provide the experience of Baffin Island's native heritage.


The Nunatta Sunakkutaangit Museum


One of the best places to view examples of what local artists are offering, it displays a permanent exhibit of Inuit sculpture, prints and artifacts.



Whale carving

Traditional native dress

Clothing is an artwork in Iqaluit. Beautiful sealskin kamiks (boots), handmade mitts and traditional amauti (a woman’s parka equipped
with a large pouch beneath the hood to hold ababy) are all works of art.

The museum society was formed in 1969 to ensure that a small collection of Baffin Island historical artifacts would remain in the Eastern Arctic. In the 1980s, an old Hudson's Bay Company building was restored to be the permanent home of the collection.

Located next door to the museum, the Unikkaarvik Centre is an important stop for any visitor. Boat trips, dog sled rides, hiking expeditions, maps, brochures and advice for travellers.

The Visitor Center is also home to the Nunavut public Library.



The entrance, decorated with a lively sculpture of a drum dancer, and this tapestry:



SHOPPING

Iqaluit Fine Arts Gallery:


Arctic Home Furnishings:


Arctic Survival Store:


Arctic Ventures:



North Mart, the local largest shopping:


Fantasy Palace - coffee house and restaurant:



In the summer, the weather is cool, but usually bright, and the sun is up for almost twenty-four hours.

Iqaluit is at any time a place of wonder; but a special magic place at the twilight of a sunny day...

Deception island: a southern Ultima Thule and last port for the Nautilus

In Antarctica, there is an island so surprising and thrilling that Jules Verne, in his "20 000 leagues under the sea", might have made it the mysterious secret base of the Nautilus - a hidden volcano's caldera.

That's Deception Island, Antarctica, one of the South Shetland Islands.

In fact, its unique landscape comprises barren lava slopes, ash-layered glaciers and steaming beaches! At Whalers Bay, a tranquil area of warm water, still remain the ruins of an old whaling station.

Fuming waters at Whalers Bay.

Deception Island (coordinates 62° 55-57' S, 60° 37-38' W) is one of the most incredible islands on the planet.


This old volcanic crater flooded by sea is just 120 km North of the Antarctic Peninsula, and less than 500 km north of the South Polar (Antarctic) Circle, and is the south limit of the (in)famous Drake Passage.


The center of Deception Island has a distinctive horse-shoe shape around the large flooded caldera, with 9 km in diameter - called Port Foster, a wide basin-like harbour.


Port Foster has just one narrow entrance by sea into the internal warm water lagoon, through a narrow channel called Neptunes Bellows.

Neptune Bellows are just 230 m wide, at the south-east side of the island ring.

The interior lagoon allowed seal and whale hunting ships to enter and find shelter since the 19th century. In 1914, 13 ships were docked at the whaling station; they were equipped to extract the oil from whale fat.


Two hills around 500 m high are the only elevations; the rest of the edge is lower than 100 m.

This is one of the safest natural harbours in the world, and the only place where vessels can sail directly into the center of a restless volcano. So it's a top destination for antarctic tourist cruises.


B&W: black from volcanic ash and white from glaciers and snow.

Black beaches and cliffs topped by white on the hillsides.

THE EAST COAST


Bailey Head, at the east side, is the southern extremity of a long straight black beach:

The east cost, some miles of volcano ash straight seaside, is mainly visited by large colonies of penguins.

The main feature in the east coast is the "Sewing-machine Needles", curious name for these rock formations near the beach:

Bailey Head and the Sewing-machine Needles.

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Gabriel de Castilla , the spanish research base

The first whaling station was abandonned in 1931, and in 1969 a volcanic eruption covered all the bases with ashes. Presently, there is mainly one scientific base, spanish station Gabriel de Castilla.

Built by 1990 as a small army station, Gabriel de Castilla base supports the work of investigators in nature sciences and topographic studies.

Gabriel de Castilla was a spanish navy Admiral who sailed around 1603 by these antarctic waters, and reached 60º South.

The base is presently composed of several modules. A residence module (the larger grey building), a scientific module, 3 igloos (a gym, a lab and more rooms for visitors), a nursery, a workshop, and survival modules (energy, supplies)


Winds over 300 km/h, temperatures down to -90 ºC (averages -40 to -60 º C) and less rainfall than in the Sahara... consequently no insects, no viruses, no bacterias, therefore almost no deseases among humans. Just home sickness...

The base is also equipped with 2 snowmobiles, 4 mini-cars, 1 crane and 3 zodiacs. And the research ship “Las Palmas” is a frequent visitor.

The "Las Palmas" leaves

Trondenes Church, Norway

Trondenes Church is the northernmost medieval stone church in Europe, situated in Harstad, Norway, north of the Arctic Circle. For ages it was the northernmost church in Christendom.

Location: 68°49N, 16°33′ E

The plan is of the ancient type, with a choir narrower than the nave, but surprisingly of the same length.

The present day church dates back to the 13th century, and was built over the ruins of two older viking stave (wooden) churches ( 11th -12th cent.), after the vikings lost the battle against the unification of Norway . It displays both romanic and gothic styles: arched doorways and thick walls, a fortification against russian assaults.

Main door

Side door

Interior

The organ dates from the late 18th century. In the choir section, one can see remnants of medieval frescoes.

The church is especially known for it's rich decorations, including three gothic triptychs of hanseatic origin, probably from Lübeck.

Detail from the altarpiece: veneration of Mary.

The beautiful baroque pulpit (1762, rococo style) is equipped with an hourglass to allow the minister to time long sermons:

Trondenes church is well preserved and the exterior is close to the original state.

In the late Medieval period, Trondenes served as the main church centre of northern Norway. Together with Trondheim´s magnificent Nidaros cathedral, they make the most valuable legacy of medieval architecture in Norway.

They also testimony Norway's economic importance in late Middle Age, for the skills and means their building demanded. The dried fish trade between the Hanseatic towns in the North and Baltic Seas may be the origin of that norwegian wealth.

Trondenes in winter:

Location map: