From our program:
“Gjoa Haven (Inuktitut: Uqsuqtuuq, meaning “lots of fat” referring to the abundance of sea mammals in the nearby waters; is an Inuit hamlet in Nunavut, above the Arctic Circle…It is the only settlement on King William Island.
In 1903, the Norwegian explorer, Ronald Amundsen had entered the area on his ship Gjoa in an expedition through the Northwest Passage. By October the straits through which he was traveling began to ice up. Amundsen put Gjoa into a natural harbor.” He was there for almost 2 years and took advantage of the time to learn from the local Netsilik, “learning from them the skills to live off the land and travel efficiently in the Arctic environment. This knowledge proved to be vital for Amudsen’s later successful exploration to the South Pole.”
As on Jenny Lind Island, we had a tour of the town and visited the community center and another wonderful museum. There were several posters in the community center commemorating Amundsen’s exploration.
As we walked around town we came across a polar bear pelt. Our guide used to run sled dog teams and figures he’s got 10,000 miles under his belt. So, he not only made fast friends with a puppy who followed us around but was also quite knowledgeable about the use of animal skins. In addition we spoke with the brother of the man who took the bear (btw polar bear hunting is quite regulated) who came out from the home nearby and was quite happy to answer any questions we had. He said that the pieces that had been removed from the pelt had been made into pants and were sold for $2500 to the owner of the sailboat that we’d seen a day or so ago. Our guide has purchased clothing made from skins and said it lasts forever.
From the museum:
Tomorrow, a day at sea. We’re heading north.
