Rocket to the Moon

On Monday, after taking off from Ottawa airport, the plane went above the clouds and, eventually, land appears below. At first, there's so much water, and the land such a light translucent gray, I think we're above water with icy patches. But soon I realize, yes, it is land - land that's barren and sprawling, woven with lakes and rivers, where not a speck of road or building or human is to be seen throughout the flight.

More and larger patches of brilliant white snow appear as I go further north. The undulating patches of white almost look as though they're alive.

Surprisingly quickly, we've left the land, left northern Quebec, and are over water as the plane approaches Nunavut. The ice is broken up in crystalline shards. It looks like a starry cosmos below - it's amazing. There's less and less ice, though, as we go further out to sea; soon only little lines of bright white specks follow the currents. Then, just the open sea of the Hudson Strait.

Then, I'm there: Baffin Island.
It looks like this (at least, from the plane):


And finally, if you look closely in the middle, there it is - Iqaluit, my new home:I've spent the last couple of days getting settled: having my eyes pop out of my head looking at prices at the grocery store; getting on the waiting list for a P.O. Box, and going for walks around town. I took some pretty decent pictures yesterday as I walked near the waterfront; I'll post those later today or tomorrow. This weekend, I'm supposed to go camping, which should be great! Stay tuned.