Live from silversea explorer Churchill to kangerlussauq Aug 25-Sept 8 2013

And we are off! Sitting at the west jet gate in Toronto airport awaiting our flight to Winnipeg. We spend the night there then catch a charter flight tomorrow am to Churchill to embark on the silversea explorer.

This is George's dream trip of a lifetime. Ever since we met 33 years ago, he has been fascinated with Baffin Island and talked about going there. Back then, I just laughed because it sounded pretty impossible. Too remote, minimal infrastructure, and definitely too cold for me to enjoy. But when silversea announced that the explorer would be cruising there 2 years ago, I knew we had to make it happen. We were signed up the first day reservations opened.

So all our cold weather gear is packed, and we are ready for adventure.

I will try to post daily, though Internet access can be kind of quirky this far north, and it is not free. But I will give it my best shot. Sorry, no pictures as I am posting from my iPad.

I am particularly excited to possibly see the northern lights. We have been above the arctic circle before but only in June when it never gets dark. Friends onboard the explorer now (Dr Ron, Jan, and Leslie) have reported really outstanding sightings.

If anyone has questions as we go along regarding the explorer, trip, etc, I will try to find out the answers, so just ask.

Looking forward to your posts, Rachel!! Hope you have a great trip!

Karen

Sounds like a wonderful dream- looking forward to your stories! Have a great time and stay warm.

Echo Txladycruiser's and 5waldo's Silver Explorer cruise well wishes Rachel & George. Thanks in advance for using your valuable resources to keep us SS CCr's informed. We also send hopes for Fair Winds and Following seas & sincere wishes for terrific sightings of (Walruses, Whales, Caribou, Polar bears and numerous Norther Lights viewings too).

Have a great trip, and hope you have great sightings!

A dream trip of ours. Enjoy and thank you for posting.

Looking forward to following along your voyage Rachel! Thanks for taking us along.

Have a great trip Rachel and George.Hope it is at least as good as ours.The Beluga whales today in Churchill were fabulous with bonus Polar bear sightings.Last night again a good Northern Lights display-makes 5 nights on our cruise.And on Walrus Island around 500 walrus-that is about 1% of the estimated North Atlantic population.

Tomorrow heading back to complimentary Internet territory so will post a lot more pictures.

Best wished to Rachel and George for a wonderful cruise. Enjoy every minute of it and thank you for posting. Bon Voyage!

Keith

Thanks for all the well wishes everyone. And thanks for the bear/whale/walrus/lights forecast drron. It sounds great.

Flight to Winnipeg on Westjet was a bit turbulent as we descended into Winnipeg. Nothing to worry us, but one lady screamed (a real scream, not just a little one).

Nice dinner at Chop and a very comfortable nights sleep at the Hilton. Woke up before the alarm as we are ready to get going.

There is a live feed at the Port of Churchill site under the media section. The Silver Explorer looks like she's getting ready for the next group. It also looks like a beautiful morning.

The flight from Winnipeg to Churchill should not be as turbulent as yesterday. If I have read things correctly, you are on a charter flight. If the flight is on Perimeter Aviation, you might want to get yourself some earplugs. Those planes are quite loud. If you are on Calm Air, the noise level should not be too bad.

Have a wonderful trip!

Thanks for the info, mariners. I looked at the email they sent and it does not say what the name of the charter company is, just to go to general aviation.

Looks to be a very nice day today.

Rachel, I don't know of any of the airports close to Winnipeg that we call General Aviation. The choices would be James Armstrong Richardson International Airport where you landed on the WestJet flight; Perimeter Aviation which is at 626 Ferry Road and is very close to the International Airport; or St. Andrews Airport which is just over 10 miles north of Winnipeg. If you are flying out of any airport other than the Winnipeg International, you will likely be on one of the loud planes. Flights up north from any of the airports that are not Calm Air are, typically, on loud planes.

You should have spectacular views today for your flights. One of you should try and score a window seat.

Have a great cruise, Rachel and George. It's always gratifying to hear about a dream trip fulfilled.

Ron and I were in the Churchill airport awaiting the charter flight today.

Luckily Rachel has said George wears a cowboy hat - so I saw them and grab them for a quick hello and chat!! Also saw some staff coming off the flight as well - Grant the chef - he is replacing Christian, we really enjoyed Grant on our last Explorer cruise up the West Coast of Africa, also saw Colleen Batey, and the wonderful Stefan !!

Have a great cruise Rachel and George, and I hope the beluga whales put on a show when you got to the ship !!

Now we are back on land hopefully Ron will get his trip report finished :eek:

August 25--day 1-Churchill Canada

We woke up to a warm and sunny day in Winnipeg. Perfect flying weather. The Hilton shuttle driver knew right where we needed to go for our flight, the general aviation section of the international airport. It was on the other side from the main terminal, beside the golf course. Another couple joined us on the shuttle.

We were told to arrive at 9, and we were a little early. Already the very small terminal was full, no seating available. Eventually we were called up alphabetically to get our boarding passes. Very inefficient as there was only one person doing this. They didn't even check our id, so could have been much quicker IMO, but not silversea's fault as this was handled by the charter airline, enerjet.

While we were waiting, Nancy (Ms understood) and her husband found us, and we had a good visit.

The flight was on a very new 737 with nice upbeat flight attendants, but tiny seats. George is not used to flying coach, and this was an all coach plane. It really was pretty scrunched in the seats. But a smooth flight with no issues.

At the Churchill terminal, the debating passengers were waiting. We were able to briefly meet Drron, Ann, Leslie, and Brad. Then off to our awaiting transport. 3 school buses and a big van, all armed with rifles just in case of bears.

We had a tour around Churchill, quick since there are only 2 main streets. We saw the store, the churches, a couple of shops and hotels, and the hospital. Then we ended up at the beach off Hudson Bay. George was ecstatic. And it really was pretty cool to see something so far north that you have only looked at on a map.

Boarding the ship was pretty quick, though everyone's luggage had to be manually examined before boarding. Apparently this is a Canadian rule.

Lunch buffet, unpacking, lifeboat drill quickly followed, but the highlight of the afternoon by far was the view from the ship of the literally hundreds of beluga whales gallivanting all around. They were everywhere in the water. Tomorrow we get to see them up close from the zodiacs, but the shear number of whales is astounding. The water was literally alive. Sometimes 3 or 4 would surface together all at once. They are so beautiful and some have babies.

Dinner was with a couple from Ottawa. Food was good, not great. The mozzarella terraine starter could have been more flavorful. But my lamb curry and George's salmon were quite good. Albert, one of our favorite waiters from last year, is aboard and took great care of us as did Dominic, another of our favorites.

We have seen many crew who we remember from last year, so it is like old home day. Several of the naturalists are the same as well as our bear guards. The bear guards got us outfitted with the properly fitting boots, so we are good to go as far as that.

Sounds like a good first day of getting acclimated. So exciting!

Hi Rachel, thanks for the update on the flight. Enerjet is only a few years old and I didn't realize it was doing special charter flights out of Winnipeg. You had a much nicer plane than "the regulars" get flying to the north.

Fabulous that you got to see so many beluga whales yesterday. According to the forecast, today's weather is going to deteriorate and you could be in for quite the night. Enjoy everything you can today. May the Belugas continue to dance for you; and the Northern Lights, too.

What a fabulous start to your adventure, with so much more to come. What does the food matter anyway. Very best wishes.

Welcome aboard Rachel and George! We will be eagerly following your trip and wish you calmer seas than we had in a few spots. Leslie

Hey Rachel & George... I'm a bit tardy in our well wishes to you guys (just back from a 3000+ mile road trip towing a race car) but had to offer fair winds and following seas for this special cruise for George. Tell him, DW was just talking about him because she wants to go to Bonnell's over this holiday weekend.

Enjoy, and we'll look forward to your sea mail.

Day 2--Aug 26,2013--Churchill Canada

Thanks again everyone for the well wishes. we appreciate them.

Awoke to a very overcast sky and steady rain and wind. Temp was 50F and only predicted to get cooler.. Churchill is a pretty bleak looking place anyway, and this just accentuated that. No real trees, just scrubby spruce. Low hillocks covered in rock and patches of lichen and tundra plants. The attraction here is the wildlife. Belugas were still frolicking in the water as they don't care about the rain.

We had a morning bus tour. We were supposed to hike some but that got scraped due to the rain. Saw the polar bear jail where the naughty bears (mostly adolescent males--no surprise) have to stay till they can be relocated out on the ice. Went to the old rocket launch place which is now a research center, the indoor dump, and the holding area for sled dogs since they aren't allowed to live in town. Between these sites, we had a couple of stops for pictures of the landscape.

The weather continued to deteriorate, and I was afraid it would be too windy for us to do the afternoon zodiac cruise to see the belugas up close. But it calmed a bit, and we went out for about 1 1/2 hrs. Saw a few belugas very close (I could see the wrinkles on their skin) and a lot further off. Very wet ride, but not cold due to sufficient layering and waterproof clothing.

A few people walked into town afterward to shop, but I decided I had had enough wet and wind for the day. So I visited the gym instead. There is 1 elliptical, 1 treadmill, 1 recumbent bike, and a weight machine. Very good quality equipment, but potentially crowded. And since our cabin is on the side of the ship toward the water, I was able to look at whales at my leisure. Too bad for the people on the other side as their view was the quite dreary port.

A lecture about oceanography was laid on at 5 due to the poor weather. More interesting than you would think. And sail away delayed until 7 due to the weather conditions.

And the sea was rough indeed. (You were right in your forecast, Mariners). By the end of dinner, I was feeling queasy as I had neglected to take my meclizine. Lying down and going to sleep seems to help more than anything. Tomorrow seas are supposed to be calmer.

Thanks for the update Rachel. I can only begin to imagine how wonderful it must have been to be so close to the Belugas. And, I loved the description of polar bear jail.

Rest comfortably and hopefully the seas will follow your lead.

Rachel, thanks for the report. I always wanted to go to Churchill to see the polar bears but never made it. Enjoy your trip.

Hi! On board the Silver Explorer with Rachel aan George and many other really well-travelled people. This is our first time on Silver Explorer. So far staff is friendly and the food is pretty good. No Belvedere vodka but plenty of Grey Goose so all is well in that regard. The Beluga whales were amazing in Churchill!

The seas last night were very rough and my husband was quite ill. But today it is calm and the sun is shining. 2 groups have gone ashore in the Zodiacs to visit an Inuit village. I know the last trip only the first groups made it and then the weather prevented the remainder from getting off but I am hopeful that we will board the Zodiacs this afternoon for our turn.

This is really the most well-travelled group of people I can recall ever encountering. Everyone has been just about everywhere including one lady who has made 15 trips to Antarctica.

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Helen