Overnight Sunday/Monday we returned to Pond Inlet on the north of Baffin Island. This was to be the starting point of the airlift by chartered aeroplanes to Montreal. We were to use the ship and all of its conveniences until called ashore to catch one of five aeroplanes to Resolute where we would change to fly to Montreal. We were due to leave the ship at 7:00 p.m. but before that we had an opportunity to go ashore and explore the settlement on a working day. The weather was very good and the views outstanding.
Locally known as the ‘honey lorry’ this collects sewage from houses when their septic tanks are full. The householders illuminate a light to ask it to stop.
Containers are left here by self-loading and unloading ships, but can only be moved around town by fork-lift truck. The van is helping to move the truck because the driver of the latter is unable to see where he is going!
We transferred at 7:00 p.m. to the Community Hall where we waited for our call to go to the airport which was within walking distance on the top of the hill above the settlement. There were delays resulting from late inbound flights which meant we didn’t get in the air until around 11:00 p.m. This first flight was on a 68 seater AVR turboprop, short take off and landing aircraft. The whole of the apron and runway was gravel and because of the ‘mud flaps’ that prevent stones from damaging the aircraft and engines when we boarded by the drop down stairs under the tail it looked as if it was sitting on the apron. An hour or so later we arrived in Resolute but because of the curvature of the earth we entered +6 GMT for this stopover. Resolute airport is one of the most northerly in the world and was completely covered by snow and ice but it was so cold and dry that no de-icing was necessary. On approach to the airport we could clearly see how our ship was prevented from sailing here. It was mostly pack ice with a few open channels and by this time we could see the first signs of daylight. We transferred to a Boeing 737-200 series built in the 1980s. It was in good condition, but a flying museum piece. The Far North of Canada is the home of the largest collection of these aeroplanes. We made a technical stop for fuel at Iqualuit before flying on to Montreal. We landed at the former Mirabel Airport at 10:00 a.m.on Tuesday morning and transferred to our city centre hotel. Here we changed our plans and stayed overnight in order to catch up on 30 hours without sleep.
