Baby beluga in the deep blue sea

August 12, 2014

My goodness, it is hard to believe that we had only arrived in Churchill on Sunday and that we are already leaving tomorrow. The wonderful people here and the fun on these adventure tours are enough to fill several months of ordinary life. Thank you, Children's Wish Foundation!

Early this morning Chris and Elizabeth braved the cold waters of Churchill River to snorkel with the beluga whales. It was both cold and murky so Elizabeth only lasted a short period before retreating to the boat but the water certainly taught them about the natural adaptations of Arctic sea creatures. Fortunately, the beluga whales are spectacular to see even from shore so it was exciting to be in the water surrounded by them, even if the visibility was not ideal.

Nice suit Elizabeth!

During that time, Sami and I returned to the fabulous recreation complex with the intention of swimming either at the beach nearby or at the swimming pool. Instead, we ended up exploring the space and fell in love with the design, as it truly is the hub of the community that is beautifully cared for. There is a full sized hockey arena, curling rink, bowling alley, movie theatre, school, library, daycare facility, viewing docks for the Hudson's Bay, indoor playgrounds, pool tables, air hockey, foos ball, and more. Sami and I spent the first while playing on the enormous custom built bear slide (it is as awesome as it sounds) and then went back to the playgrounds that we had visited on the first day. Sami was so happy to talk with everyone and greeted them all with giant smiles and spent the day testing his physical boundaries. Inspired by his energy, I too decided to test my physical boundaries and returned to the twisty climbing structure that I unsuccessfuly attempted to master two days prior. With great confidence I reached the highest point and then immediately remembered that descending is typically more challenging than an ascent, so I began to panic, which was not helpful. Sami in the meantime was looking up at me from ground level saying 'Oh no! Mommy! Stuck!' and I eventually swallowed my pride enough to ask some local gentleman for a hand. They did not have a ladder and took the opportunity to have a good laugh at my expense (I did not blame them) and they eventually guided my shaky hands and feet to safety. Apparently this situation is common amongst adult tourists, so at least I am not alone in my foolishness. I was telling the story to some other lodge dwellers and they asked me if Sami was traumatized by the situation, thinking that it was he who had gotten stuck on the playground equipment. I had to quite sheepishly correct their misunderstanding and the looks on their faces was priceless. But I digress.

Elizabeth and Chris joined us at the rec centre at which point our two kids (mostly Sami) joined in with some local children to scoot around and play with various equipment. They had a lot of fun and we enjoyed the contrast between the speed and dexterity of the local children who were accustomed to the equipment and our cautious and inefficiently moving Sam. The kids all had a great time though and engaged Sami in conversation (as best as 2 and 3 year olds can). We then returned to Gypsys for lunch, a fabulous local eatery, and visited with some more locals. Sami then had his first proper nap since Saturday which was a relief to us all.

Later in the afternoon, Elizabeth and I went kayaking with beluga whales. We were a small group of eight: a lady and her mum from Winnipeg who took a seat sale as an opportunity to fulfill a lifelong dream, two couples from Missouri, and Elizabeth and I. We were fortunate in getting a two person kayak to share on this adventure and we were later told that there were whales following us the entire time we were in the water. Let me tell you, the entire experience was pure magic. Clear skies, calm waters, and hundreds of beautiful whales playfully dipping in and out of the water all around us. Some kayakers were fortunate enough to touch some, but Elizabeth and I were simply enthralled by how closely they would surface near us, swim under and around our kayak, while a curious pair sampled our rudder. For two glorious hours we paddled around the estuary near Fort Prince of Wales and drank in the sights, sounds and smells of this beluga breeding ground. We had learned yesterday that the whales come into the area to escape orcas and to raise their young. Baby belugas are darker gray and as they age, become more white. They also have a great deal of scarring that would have been disconcerting except that this is a result of a natural urge to rub against the bottom of the river and ocean to help remove shedding skin. Everyone on the water had the biggest smiles on their faces - especially Elizabeth - and even though Chris and Sami could not join us on the tour, we are excited that we will be going on a boat tour tomorrow morning to again get closer to these magnificent creatures.

When we returned, we had another fabulous dinner at Lazy Bear Cafe and were pleasantly surprised by our 'Irish waitress' (Jennifer, the lovely lady who is travelling around Canada on a two year work visa) when she stopped in after her shift to say goodbye and present Elizabeth with a thoughtful card and picture frame from the lodge. Cheryl also stopped by to say farewell as she was returning home today to start her new sonography career. It is amazing how quickly certain people can start to feel like family, even when we have only known each other for a few days.

At the moment Chris and Elizabeth are on a dog sled tour that is intended to provide the clearest view of aurora borealis in the area. We have missed the light show these past two nights so I am hoping that everyone's predictions for a great display will be accurate. Either way, I am certain the two of them are having a fabulous time out with the dogs; they will share about their experiences in tomorrow's blog.

Bye for now! 

Ania & Sami (who is soundly sleeping)