Out For A Walk

There were two other things I wanted to mention in my previous post but I decided to cut them from the final draft because the post was getting too long.  I will address them here.  You probably already know about them from news outlets but I want to have them on record for my blog.  Sorry to have to make you wait so long.

            

The first is the Government of Nunavut “spen[ding] just over $5 million dollars” to recover from the infamous ransomware attack of November 2019.  The money was spent on reformatting government computers and designing a new “state-of-the-art” system to prevent future attacks.  Microsoft’s Detection and Remediation Team (DART) assisted with the analysis of the attack & design of the new system.  Hopefully, the updated system is up and running by now.  An analysis report of the attack is to be delivered to the government in late April.

            

The second is the cancellation of the 2020 Arctic Winter Games (AWG).  The Games were scheduled to take place in Whitehorse from March 15 to 21.  The cancellation was announced on March 7 with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic being the reason.  CBC News North reported that “about 2000 athletes […] from […] Russia, Greenland, Finland, Norway, Yukon, Nunavut, Nunavik, Northwest Territories, northern Alberta, and Alaska were supposed to attend.”  Canada sends multiple teams from different regions but they compete on their own.  The Nunavut team included many athletes from Arctic Bay.  Naturally, they were all shocked & disappointed by the cancellation.  Several of them told me how excited they were to be representing the territory in the Games.  Now all that excitement was gone.  Thankfully, the next AWG is in 2022. 

I have been wanting to attend the AWG for a very long time but my occupation and other commitments prevent me from getting the necessary time off.  It’s a big northern event that I would like to cover for this blog.  Hopefully, in the near future, I will be given the opportunity to attend the Games in some capacity.  Coach?  Spectator?  Freelance journalist?  Doesn’t matter as long as I’m there.

         

Speaking of sports cancellations, (this is new news, by the way), the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Japanese government announced on March 24 the postponement of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic & Paralympic Games for a year.  Wow.  COVID-19 has really impacted and taken hold of world affairs.  At first, the IOC & Japan reassured everyone that the Games would proceed, but it didn’t take long for the pandemic to change their minds.  The postponement will lead to serious financial losses for sponsors, broadcasters, and the city of Tokyo.  Estimates are somewhere in the billions of dollars.  In the past, the Olympics have been cancelled in 1916, 1940, and 1944 because of the world wars.

            

South of the border, COVID-19 cases in the United States continue to skyrocket.  In just two weeks, the country has racked up more than 160,000 cases!  That’s close to double the amount China has recorded . . . officially.  And the disease is not stopping.  The acceleration began on March 17, the same day the three-week school closure in Nunavut started.  I’m not sure what happened on that day to cause COVID-19 to go on the offensive.  Maybe it wanted to “celebrate” St. Patrick’s Day its own way?  Or maybe it’s the American we-always-need-to-be-first-in-everything mentality?  Whatever the reason, the people in charge need to take charge and stop the disease from causing more problems & misery. 

            

It was a sunny day in Arctic Bay on March 22.  I decided to go out for a walk and photograph the town in this brave new COVID-19 world.  The disease was not present in the community but everyone was being told to practice social distancing and frequently wash their hands.  Being outside would give me a short break from being inside.  I didn’t want to develop cabin fever.

            

The sun shined brightly as I walked towards the centre of town.  I took pictures of houses, King George V Mountain, the hockey arena, the Tangmaarvik Inn, a loud raven sitting on a ledge, sled dogs, and kids skating on a large outdoor rink.  A local used a CAT loader to push snow to two opposite ends, making a smooth icy surface. 

I stepped into the Northern Store to buy a few items.  The store is operating under strict guidelines.  Only 10 people are allowed inside at a time.  You have to line up outside and wait to be let in by a guard.  I think the Co-op is doing something similar.  Masks are not required; just stay six feet apart.

           

I went for a second extended walk on March 30.  The feeling of wanting to get out of the house was in me.  The sun was out and I decided to walk to Uluksan Point to take some pictures.  I stopped halfway to the cemetery, turned around, and took several pictures of the community.  Suddenly, a thought came to my head.  I looked at the tall rocky hills on my left and realized that it had been several years since I hiked up there.  Doing so now would enable me to photograph the town from a higher altitude.  I changed my plan and took to the hills.

            

Hiking up the hill was a slow, tiring process because I was wearing heavy clothing.  I took my time because I had plenty of it to spare.  I stopped halfway and took a few pictures.  I kept the best ones and continued my ascent.  I reached the top and took as many pictures as I could.  I photographed the town, its neighbourhoods, and landmarks.  The view was grand & picturesque. 

Arctic Bay Health Centre.

Old Bed & Breakfast.

Hockey Arena.

French boat Vagabond.

Two new buildings have been added to the Uptown neighbourhood where I reside: a five-plex social housing apartment block at one end and a small rectangular shaped blue house.  I heard the blue house was purchased & brought up on sealift by the Northern Store as staff housing.  The French boat Vagabond is still frozen in the ice near the Gas Station.  It’s still in one piece.   

I started my hike at noon.  The town was quiet because everyone was inside eating lunch.  I was standing at the top of the rocky hill when the time was 1pm.  It only took a few minutes for the town to “come alive”.  People emerged from their dwellings and started going wherever they needed to go.  Cars, trucks, skidoos, and Hondas (atvs) made start-up noises and began moving in various directions.  A snowplow slowly cleared snow off the main road on the west side of the town.  A jeep drove onto the frozen ice in the bay and had no difficulty driving all the way to the Northern Store.  My one regret is not filming this transition from silence to bustling activity.  There will be a next time.

Hunters.

My last photograph of the area was two hunters returning from a hunt.  They were driving their skidoos towards the community, following a trail in the centre of the frozen bay.

Hamlet Office (City Hall).

I walked in the direction of Victor Bay, not wanting to slide down the hill I ascended.  I slid down a hill next to a small frozen pond.  Sliding was a lot faster than descending in steps.  I walked across the pond and followed the Victor Bay road to Arctic Bay.  I photographed a wooden iglutak on the side of the road.  I’m not sure if it’s abandoned or placed there on purpose.  I safely made it home and spent the next several hours editing the photographs I took.