Flight of Darkness

The estimated flight time was two and a half hours.  With the propellers droning on loudly outside the cabin, I pondered how to pass the time?  In my knapsack I had a book and my MP3 player but I didn't feel like getting them out.  The gentleman in the window seat next to me had fallen asleep against the window.  I thought about doing the same but a little child at the front kept making loud noises.  I could have put on my earplugs but chose not to.  I just sat and kept my mind clear.  Occasionally, I glanced out the window to my left to see the vast landscape below.  Nothing but white.

            

I was surprised to hear that a light meal would be served.  The small size of the aircraft convinced me that there would only be tea, coffee, and pop.  The light meal was a sandwich and some fruit but I declined because I ate before boarding.  Instead, I just had a can of Pepsi.  To new beginnings, I said to myself before taking a sip.

            

The sun disappeared over the horizon early in the flight.  The only light coming from outside were the wing lights.  The rest of the flight was uneventful but it took an extra thirty minutes to reach Arctic Bay.  As the plane banked to the right during the final approach, I caught a glimpse of the runway through a window to my right.  In the distance, a rectangle of blue lights illuminated from a sea of black.  Just to the right of the runway was a line of bright red lights.  Completing the turn, the turboprop continued to descend from the cold Arctic sky.  To my left, I caught a glimpse of orange lights from a group of buildings.  Squinting, I noticed they were the town's oil tanks.

            

The plane landed with ease on the snow covered gravel runway. The landing took a little longer than I thought because I had misjudged the distance to the runway when I first saw it.  I frowned when the plane touched down a little later than I had expected.  Once safely on the ground, the turboprop taxied to the small terminal building while the stewardess welcomed us to Arctic Bay.  The child who had been loud and energetic throughout the flight was now sound asleep.  All passengers had to disembark because the plane needed to be refueled.  Once completed, passengers continuing to Resolute would be allowed to board.  

            

"You're getting off here?" asked the gentleman who had been sitting in the window seat next to me.  He was continuing on to Resolute.

            

"Yes," I replied with a nod.  "I'm here for the next six months."

            

A small but brightly lit terminal building greeted me as I disembarked from the turboprop.  I followed the line of passengers into the building.  Some of the passengers who were flying to Resolute stood off to the side of the terminal to have a smoke.  The Arctic Bay Airport was recently completed in 2011, with the construction of a new terminal building and long gravel runway.  Until January 2010, all flights to the town were serviced by Nanisivik Airport, some 25km away.  Taxi rides cost $40 one way. 

            

There were several people inside the terminal building but none of them were there to greet me.  After waiting several minutes, I saw a truck loaded with luggage drive around to the front of the terminal.  I walked outside with several other passengers and we claimed our luggage as it was offloaded from the truck.  It was here where I met Jill, one of the elementary teachers of Inuujaq School.  We loaded our luggage into the town's only taxi and were driven to Arctic Bay for $20 each.  Also in the taxi were two nurses who had come up to administer eye care at the health unit.

            

The paved road from the airport does not have any street lights and is a little bumpy.  While the taxi snaked its way down the road, I asked Jill about life in Arctic Bay and how the students behaved.  She explained that in a small community everyone knows everyone, groceries are a little expensive, and the students are eager to learn.

            

It didn't take long for us to see the town; hundreds of bright orange lights formed a crescent around the frozen bay.  We drove by the oil tanks which are located in the town's industrial area.  The area actually lies between the town and airport.

            

The first stop for the taxi was the house of Innujaq School's principal, A. Salam.  He had the keys to my assigned residential unit.  Jill and I greeted him at the door.  He gave me the keys to my unit and instructed me to be at school for 8:30 the next morning.  The taxi then stopped at the health unit because the nurses needed to unload their supplies.  They were then dropped off at their housing units.  I was the last passenger in the taxi after Jill.  The Inuit taxi driver, Moses, welcomed me to Arctic Bay and asked what I had been doing before coming here?  I explained I was a teacher in Iqaluit for the last year but originally from Ottawa.

            

With the help of Moses, we moved my two suitcases and box into my housing unit.  The place is pretty spacious and I was glad to see that it came with a washer and dryer.  After unpacking for a good hour, I felt hungry.  Unfortunately, I didn't bring any food with me and the two food boxes I mailed in Iqaluit had yet to arrive.  Remembering that the taxi drove past a Co-op store, I decided to go and see if it was still open.

            

Stepping outside, the first thing I noticed was a large dark silhouette of a very tall mountain.  It must be King George V Mountain.  This prompted me to look around, noticing that the entire town was surrounded by tall hills.  I walked along the main road, retracing the path Moses took with his taxi.  It wasn't very cold and the town was eerily quiet.  After ten minutes, I made it to the Taqqut Co-op store.  Inuujaq School was just a block ahead.  The only other store in town is the Northern Store but it was closed.

            

I walked inside the Co-op and bought a few snacks that would hold me over for the night and the following day.  From what I can remember, no one asked me who I was but I sensed that questions would be asked around town tomorrow (January 29).  I devoured a good portion of the snacks when I got home.  Sitting on the couch, I finally breathed a sigh of relief that the travelling and unpacking was done.  When it was time, I crawled into bed to get some much needed rest.

            

I dozed off, thinking about what to say on my first day.