Circling the Midnight Sun: A Journey to Baffin Island and Greenland

One of Canada's greatest singer-songwriters, Ian Tamblyn, wrote in his masterpiece, 25th Hour of the Day, "…So we walked to higher ground/And there watched the sun refuse to go down/In that glorious hour of the day."

You feel a little defiant against time on a midsummer trip above the Arctic Circle when the days stretch and bend under the midnight glow. Your watch says one thing and your heart another. Lingering hues of gold and crimson dance on the horizon saying "no" to night.

It's a space of infinite possibility amongst whispering ice and stark, rugged land that invites you to witness, wonder and connect. The Arctic is not just a place, it can be a transcendental journey—enriching, uplifting, humbling.

It is such a privilege to travel with the people who belong here, whose connection goes back 4,000 years or more. You hear their stories and songs, share their knowledge, see their dance, and connect with their hopes and concerns about the path ahead.

A journey to Baffin Island and Greenland under the golden light that never ends—what could be better?

Iqaluit

The journey begins in Iqaluit, the capital of Nunavut, Canada's newest and largest territory, founded in 1999 when the predominantly Inuit population established self-government. With a population of about 37,000 and a land mass about the size of Mexico, Nunavut is the least densely populated major country sub-division in the world (Antarctica exempted).

Situated at the head of Frobisher Bay, it has a tidal range from seven to eleven metres—it is not as high as the Bay of Fundy, but it's up there!

Iqaluit is Canada's northernmost city where Inuit culture, both traditional and modern, is the foundation for a vibrant community blending modern conveniences with freighter canoes and dog teams. It is a hub for essential, northern services and a gateway for adventurers.

Monumental and Lady Franklin Islands

Just north of the mouth of Frobisher Bay, in Davis Strait, are two remote islands, Umiannguaq (Monumental) and Kitigtung (Lady Franklin). Enveloped in ice for much of the year, they tower above the flat icefield that is the hunting platform of polar bears. When the ice melts, the bears often land on their rugged shorelines to rest and wait for good feeding times to return.

Southeast Baffin

A typical stop on South Baffin Island is Tarralikitaq or Butterfly Bay. You might see a butterfly here, since climate change is luring insects to the north that are normally found further south, but it is not likely. A flock of eiders, winging past is much more characteristic.

An expedition landing in this region will bring you up-close and personal with the tundra and its summer gems like Arctic cotton and dwarf fireweed.

Panniqtuuq (Pangnirtung)

Simply "Pang" for short, this picturesque hamlet is nestled deep within Cumberland Sound at the mouth of Panniqtuuq Fjord. It is the southern gateway to Auyuittuq National Park and a hot spot for Inuit art and craft. In fact, the town is renowned for its vibrant arts scene, especially for its tapestry studio and print shop. Local artists are gaining international recognition through their stunning works that depict both traditional and modern Inuit stories and landscapes.

Many years ago, during an Adventure Canada visit, our guests spent more than $50,000 within a few hours on precious hand-made items in this thriving, creative community. One of the much-prized items is a "Pang touque," a colourful and distinctive knitted hat, that says to anyone in-the-know, "I've travelled in the Arctic!"

Cumberland Peninsula

The Cumberland Peninsula embodies such classic Arctic landscapes that they have made a big chunk of it into a national park, namely Auyuittuq National Park, meaning "the land that never melts" in Inuktitut. With its rugged beauty, characterized by dramatic fjords, expansive ice fields, and towering mountain peaks, Parks Canada could not have made a better choice.

Visitors arrive through either Panniqtuuq from the south or Qikiqtarjuaq from the north. As a vital part of the Arctic ecosystem and a testament to Earth's natural beauty, the Cumberland Peninsula embodies the wild, untamed spirit of the North.

Across the Strait

After our visit to south Baffin, we head across Davis Strait to Greenland and the Sisimiut coast. The area is dominated by the town of Sisimiut, the second largest community in Greenland.

Arriving by ship, you immediately notice that the fishery is a keystone to the economy, and life on the water is perhaps more important than that on the land.

This town thrives on the unique blend of contemporary Greenlandic life with deep-rooted Inuit tradition. Every etched and rugged face tells of long days of simple outdoor travel, by dog team, small boat, or foot; of journeys through icy fjords to return with country food like seal, caribou, ptarmigan, muskox, or salmon—"soul food" for their families.

Yet here too are sparkling supermarkets and fancy boutiques selling, among other things, qiviut yarn and knitted goods made from the underfur of muskoxen, said to be the earth's warmest, natural fibre. "Software by Nature" declares one shop sign.

Disko Island

At midsummer, Disko Island is a green gem off the west coast of Greenland. Our landing here is about tundra time and space.

As you walk, you sink ankle deep in the cushiony plant mattress where decomposition is so slow that new life grows on top of old, and has done for millennia. A strange sound overhead that sounds more like a large frog than a bird, signals that a red-throated loon is passing by.

This is a place to find a rock and listen to the mighty silence for a spell. Let your eyes perceive the details of the short-lived blossoms that are working so hard to get through their reproductive cycle before the harsh temperatures and piercing winds of winter bring everything to a halt. It is a place to contemplate lines and circles and interconnection, both your own and those of the land.

Ilulissat

Ilulissat Icefjord lies next to the third largest community in Greenland, also named Ilulissat, which means "icebergs" in Kalaallisut, the language of the Inuit in Greenland.

Here the Sermeq Kujalleq glacier, the most productive glacier in the Northern Hemisphere, reaches the sea causing icebergs, the size of city neighbourhoods, to calve into the fjord. The icebergs fill the fifty-kilometre-long fjord until they are pushed into Disko Bay and get picked up by the Greenland current.

They first flow north, then west across Davis Strait, and eventually enter the southward flowing Labrador current. This is the source for about eighty percent of the icebergs that eventually reach Newfoundland/Labrador waters before they melt away.

It is obvious to any observer why this place deserves its designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

Kangerlussuaq

On the final day, the passage up Kangerlussuaq (Greenlandic for "the long fjord") is like unnecessary icing on the cake. At 190 kilometres in length, it is one of Greenland’s longest and most picturesque fjords. Steep-sided, snow-capped mountains line the shore on either side; the tongues of glaciers slip down some of the valleys; and the ribbon of water stretches ahead to the utilitarian town also known as Kangerlussuaq, the journey's end.

The town sits on a massive alluvial plain just thirty or so kilometres downstream from Greenland's ice cap. Formerly a US Air Force base, it is the main airport in Greenland that accepts international flights. It also serves as a jumping off point for adventurers seeking the local wildlife like muskoxen, caribou, and Arctic hare.

Closing

This is not just a journey about stunning destinations. It is also a journey during the Arctic's ephemeral summer—a season of boundless vitality when “all systems are a go,” twenty-four hours a day. Plants are racing to capture the ceaseless solar bounty and animals are raising their offspring in the small, high-summer window.

It is the glorious time of long light and preparation for the night to come, when winter whispers once more across the tundra.

Let your heart swell with a respect for the lives etched on this fragile canvas of soft tundra, hard rock, azure sea, and translucent ice.

We, the travellers, also have a role in this grand, interconnected tapestry. Consider the footprints we leave behind, both while we are in the high north, and from afar as we make our daily, life choices, many of which can touch this Arctic realm under the midnight sun.