Churchill

October in Churchill

On 10/27, we leave for Churchill, Manitoba, to see the polar bears. It's an Elderhostel trip, so it should be well-organized and informative. We have the house sitter arranged so I don't need to worry about burglars or fires. I'm sure I'll forget something, however, and there's no Target in Churchill. In fact, I can't tell that there's much there at all.

We're going to fly to Winnipeg, and then take the train to Churchill. Since I am both way cheap and quite old, we'll be sitting up on the train for 36 hours (more or less), as two old people can travel for the price of one that way. Then, it's 5 days in Churchill, going out in tundra buggies to look at the polar bears. One day, we go dog sledding (away from the bears, I assume), and another day we take helicopters. Then it's 36 hours back to Winnepeg, a night in a hotel there, and then back to Minneapolis.

We'll be staying at the Churchill Northern Studies Centre, a non-profit sub arctic field station dedicated to research and education. They sent us a packing list, along with information about the weather, and I found it all quite entertaining. We're supposed to take long underwear, boots good down to -20 and so forth... but, the average temperature is between 0 and 32, which doesn't seem all that bad to me.

From Winnipeg to Churchill

We left Minneapolis yesterday, and arrived in Winnipeg after an hour flight. Finding our way downtown by bus was very easy (it helps having the language),and we got off a short walk from the train station. Dinner was at Erics (no apostrophe) and very good... salmon. Then on to the train station. The train is comfortable enough, even though the seats don't really fold down flat. And, don't ever call the 800 number for information as they don't seem to know anything. I'd called the night before we left and was assured that there were pillows and blankets available, but that's not the case. This morning we had breakfast in the dining car (OK blueberry pancakes). We've stopped several times, but the only one of any duration was at La Pas. Now we're on our way to Thompson, the next lengthy stop. I found a small newspaper with a lot of information about Churchill. Seems the train is really an issue currently as they are repairing the tracks and, as a result, it often arrives very late... like as much as 20 hours. Apparently there have actually been food shortages in Churchill as a result. OTOH, the word is that there are lots of polar bears.

October 25 ... the train

We've now had two nights on the train, and it's been a real experience. First, the good part... the food in the dining car is quite decent, and not all that expensive. Second, the other passengers, from a variety of places, are friendly and interesting. Plus, it's not very crowded so one can curl up on a seat of one's own to sort of sleep.

Then there's the downside. It's incredibly slow. We'll be getting into Churchill some 10 hours late. There are, as I mentioned, no pillows or blankets in spite of the assurances of the staff at the 800 number. Then there's the on-board staff. Last night, one of the toilets stopped working, and I asked the car attendant (Wendy) about getting it fixed. She informed me, in no uncertain terms, that she was off-duty and it wasn't her responsibility any more. She did reset something, and muttered “flush it” as she walked past me. That didn't work, and she basically shrugged, telling me that I'd have to talk to the new staff that had come on. I should have realized that talking to her would be futile as she had been so authoritarian and unpleasant when she “welcomed” us on board the train.

Later, when the guy came through to check the tickets of the new passengers, I asked him about the toilet. He said, very brusquely, “Those things happen on this train,” adding that I should leave him alone. A few other people responded in much the same way. Finally, however, someone did fix it. But, there were several tense moments, and we assumed that somehow we had gotten into the middle of something else that was going on with the staff. Who knows.

In any case, it's now nearly noon, and we should get to Churchill around 5 or 6 this evening. Of course, we then get to take the train back to Winnipeg... oh, joy. It does give me a lot of time to work on my French vocabulary, though.

Would I take the train again? Well, I'm pretty cheap so maybe. I'll decide after the return trip.

Later on the 25th...

We finally made it to Churchill late in the afternoon. At least we saw lots of caribou during the last few hours of the trip, which helped with the tedium.

We were met at the train station by a staff member of the CNSC, which is located 12 somethings (either miles or kilometers) out of town. We were given the bear warning information form, which we  had to read and sign, followed by dinner and a talk about polar bears. Tomorrow, we spend the day on the tundra buggy... they say that there have been lots of bears.

CNSC

This is an interesting place... the food is very good (and there is lots of it), with allowances made for our dietary peculiarities. The building is like a maze, so finding one's way around is a bit confusing but, when you get to t he “arctic hallway,” you know you're almost to the dorms. Len and I are sharing a room, which is preferable.

We spent today (from 8:00 – 4:00) on the tundra buggy. It's like a huge school bus, with heat, a bathroom of sorts, and gigantic tires. We rumbled around, looking for bears, and saw a few. There was a very strong wind, and the polar bears were apparently keeping their heads down. It wasn't cold, but the windchill was significant so that was probably sensible behavior on their parts. We did see some other animals, but there's not much as exciting as a polar bear so it was a bit disappointing.

They've had to change the schedule as tomorrow's helicopter tours won't be possible due to the continued strong winds. With luck, we'll do that on Wednesday. Instead, we'll go to town, and check out the museums... and shop, of course. Isn't that what tourists do?

The last 2 nights we've had talks on bears by a PhD from BYU, Tom Smith (really). He's also traveled with us in the tundra buggy. He's a funny guy... very knowledgable, but also irreverant, quite laid back, and very entertaining. I guess he'll be doing some more talks, which I'm looking forward to.

the town

Town today, to shop (oh, joy), visit a museum, eat lunch at some famous place, etc. It was interesting enough, but I'm glad it was only 1 day. We did get a tour of the town, which was worthwhile. Matt, the bus driver, let us climb up to the lookout over the old fort, and stop by the crashed plane. He got to make those decisions because he carries the gun... really! When we're outdoors, someone has to come along with a gun, in case of polar bears. The consensus is that they're not really very interested in people (as dinner or otherwise), but that there are some rogues, accidents happen, and so forth. We also visited the polar bear jail, where those bears who wander into town are kept until the ice freezes and they can head out.

Back at the CNSC, after dinner, people started getting sick. I think we ended up with over 15 people heaving and cramping before the wave ended. The health department said it was a virus... helpful, eh?

Better weather, more bears

Another day in the tundra buggy, and lots of polar bears. We saw well over a dozen, one within 20 feet or so and another playing in the snow like a puppy. They are incredible animals, and watching one stroll by, completely indifferent to us all-important humans, was wonderful. To see a video of one of our bears, go to polar bear. Those voices in the background are the Elderhostel group.

This bear watching is a very strange process... one gets all bundled up, packs a lunch, and spends up to 8 hours in a tundra buggy, hoping for at least a few minutes of bear watching. Most of the bears are a ways away, requiring binoculars for a good view. OTOH, we did get some closer sightings.

But, these animals are incredible (did I say that already?), and to see them strolling around or simply napping is amazing.

Just a note:  this group of polar bears lives farther south than many and, since they are dependent on the ice freezing in the fall to give them access to seals (their primary food), they are highly vulnerable to climate change.

Helicopter trip

I had never been up in a helicopter... I tend to associate them with either trips of questionable safety, like over the Grand Canyon, or with emergencies, as in flight for life. But, it was included in this gig so off I went.

And it was great! We had about 45 minutes of looking for wildlife, and exploring the terrain along the edge of Hudson Bay. The pilot know where the moose hang out, so they were easy to find. The polar bear were a bit more scattered, but we ended up seeing 14... some out on the ice, others napping in the willows along the shore.

Then it was back to base for lunch, a talk on the research done at the center, and a dog sled trip. Unfortunately, I came down with the crud that's going around and spent the rest of day with chills, fever, and various disgusting bodily activities. I understand that the crud has worked its way to town, and some 30+ people have gotten it. Fortunately, it's one that's over pretty fast.

Now it's Friday, and we're waiting to find out about the train. It's due in around 8:00 tonight (about 12 hours late), and will leave "sometime" after that... maybe around 2:00 am. The center will let us stay here until time to leave, and will bill our meals to the train people. Now we just have to worry about our hotel in Winnipeg.

Back to Winnipeg, and home

Thursday morning in Churchill ... we were told that we wouldn't know what time the train would leave Churchill until we knew what time it would arrive in Churchill. For that, we needed to wait until it got to Thompson, about 12 hours away. The call came about 9:00am ... the train had left Thompson and would arrive about 8:00 that night. “Then,” I asked naively, “We'll leave about 9:00 tonight?” “No,” I was told, “the crew has a mandatory 8 hour layover, but can take another couple of hours if they want.” So, it seemed that we would leave about 3:00 in the morning. Since the CNSC was feeding us (and sending the bills to VIA Rail), and giving us a place to sleep, that didn't seem so bad. We could sleep, I thought, until midnight and then go to the train station.

There was another complication, however. We were in the middle of a blizzard... not a terrible blizzard maybe, but high winds, and lots of horizontal snow. That meant that the staff of the center would pick up the arrivals on the train, and then take us into the station... probably about 10:00. That would leave us waiting in the station for some 5 hours.

Actually, it was closer to 11:00 when we left the center, and the roads really were pretty bad. We got to the station, where we found a pastry buffet and a sign announcing that the train would leave at 7:00 am (The pastries were not good enough to compensate for that many hours in the station.) Then we were told that the sleeping car passengers could board right away, and the the coach passengers could board around 2:00. That at least meant we could sleep some on the train. We did leave about 7:30, and arrived in Winnipeg 48+ hours later, after stopping a few times to have the electrical system fixed so that we had heat and power. That was enough time for Len to come down with the crud, and recover... all in the same trip.

OTOH, we saw several herds of caribou, got a couple of good meals for free, and Lenny got his counterpoint homework done. This time, the staff were great... George (the chef) did some shopping and trading to produce a great salmon stew, followed by salmon steaks and home made chocolate chip cookies that night. There was hardly anyone in the coach so we could spread out and get some sleep.

After we got to Winnipeg, we saw Ned and Carol, whose car had been stolen from the train station parking lot. We talked to them again after breakfast, and thy were still waiting to find out exactly what the situation was. Apparently, the car had been used in the commission of a crime, and they didn't know what condition it was in, or when they would get it back. We headed off to the airport, leaving them sitting in the station looking less than cheerful. I actually felt somewhat guilty.

But, now we're home.

So... now we're home

and what do I think of the trip?

There were certainly some really good parts, like seeing the polar bears. And the food at the CNS was decent (except for the ginger tofu, which was really nasty), with lots of salads. The train rides were too long, but actually not all that bad, given that we had good food, lots of room, and friendly fellow passengers.

Nevertheless, I'm left with some negative feelings about the trip. For one thing, the group was simply too big, and we never did have any group introductions. The fact that lots of people were sick probably contributed to the general lack of group feeling. Then there was the fact that we couldn't go outside without an armed escort, which was mildly bothersome.

OTOH, it was nice having everything arranged, rather than having to put together separate components to make a trip. Staying in town might have had some advantages, but then we would have missed the lectures by the bear man.

Summing it up? I probably wouldn't do it again (at least not that way), but I'm glad I did it once.