In late May 2014, I travelled from my home in the Greater Toronto Area (pop. 8,000,000+) to the Canadian arctic. I flew first to Baffin Island in Nunavut, the largest and northernmost territory of Canada. I stayed overnight in Iqaluit, Nunavut's capital, and had a good look at that city's public art (Read Brush with Beauty: Part Iand Brush with Beauty: Part 2.). But my true destination was Cape Dorset, on Dorset Island, near the Foxe Peninsula and on the Hudson Strait.
Cape Dorset (map https://goo.gl/maps/Ycjoz) is an Inuit community of about 1300 people (our local high school has more people). The Inuktitut name for Cape Dorset is Kinngait (high mountain) as the hamlet sits by the magnificent Kinngait mountain range.
Cape Dorset is the self-proclaimed "capital of Inuit art" and home to the world-renowned Kinngait Studios, the oldest professional printmaking studios in Canada. It is the most artistic community in Canada with over one fifth of the population employed in the arts (printing and carving). Walk the streets, and it is guaranteed you will meet carvers, either at work in their yard, or on their way to Kinngait Studios to sell the work they've completed.
Reaching Cape Dorset
Cape Dorset, on Dorset Island, can only be reached by plane, or when the ice breaks up by ship. The turbo-prop planes of Canada North Air and First Air make the daily flight in (there may have been a merger since I first wrote this?) . Below is a Google satellite view of the hamlet and runway. The narrow grey bar on the right is the small Cape Dorset runway. To the left of the runway, are the few roads of Cape Dorset, about 4 kilometres worth.
The airplane will only take one try to approach the runway and will return to Iqaluit if unsuccessful. This means sudden fog, snow, and winds blowing in the wrong direction (wouldn't be good to be pushed back into the sea!) can result in the return to Iqaluit.
The Infamous Green Sticker
As a newbie to travel in the north, I didn't know to look for the infamous green sticker on my boarding pass. The green sticker, for that is exactly what it is, indicates the airline is not responsible for any expenses occurred when, if turned back, one waits for the next day's flight (or the next day's flight after that, or the next day's flight after that...).
