My initial itinerary.
There is a common understanding if you’ve ever traveled to the Arctic: expect nothing to go according to plan. There is so much that can get logistically in the way of your research: difficulty getting a permit, overbooked flights, and – my favourite – bad weather.
I have been having exceptionally bad weather. I expected a snowstorm on Thursday, March 3rd, when I was planning to drive up from Hanover to Montreal. To my surprise, though, the weather was perfect, and I made it there in no time.
That’s where the good weather ends. On Friday morning, I arrived at the airport only to find that my flight was cancelled. “There’s a blizzard,” they told me. I was rescheduled to fly to Iqaluit, Nunavut, on Saturday, but, since there were no flights available to Clyde River on Saturdays, I had to spend the night in Iqaluit.
REVISED ITINERARY
5 March 2016, 10:00AM: Flight Montreal-Iqaluit, stop in Kuujjuaq
6 March 2016, 3:15PM: Flight Iqaluit-Clyde River
I arrived to the airport again on Saturday, excited to finally board my flight. This time around, the airline made a mistake. “We don’t have flights to Clyde River on Sundays,” they said. “Come back Monday.”
REVISED ITINERARY
7 March 2016, 10:00AM: Flight Montreal-Iqaluit, stop in Kuujjuaq
7 March 2016, 2:45PM: Flight Iqaluit-Clyde River
On Monday morning, I awoke to a blizzard in Montreal. Despite the bad weather, we finally boarded our plane to Iqaluit, two hours late. I would have made my connecting flight to Clyde River, if it were not for the fact that we stopped in Kuujjuaq on our way there. In Kuujjuaq, we needed to refuel, but alas, the fuel truck was broken, so we had to taxi our plane to the fuel. Another two hours on the runway..
By the time I finally arrived to Iqaluit, it was 5PM. I had spent 7 hours in a plane, only 3 of which were actually spent in the air. I missed my connection to Clyde River, and was placed on standby for the next available flight.
REVISED ITINERARY
7 March 2016, 10:00AM: Flight Montreal-Iqaluit, stop in Kuujjuaq
8 March 2016, 1:15PM: Flight Iqaluit-Clyde River, STANDBY
(alternate) 9 March 2016, 7:45AM: Flight Iqaluit-Clyde River
But alas, we’re not done yet! I woke up this morning to a blizzard in Iqaluit:
The view outside my window this morning.
I don’t yet know if my plane is going to take off. I am constantly monitoring airport web sites. Please keep your fingers crossed for me!
These travel hiccups are frustrating, but they’re also commonplace: traveling to more remote regions means being prepared for delays. As many have already told me, I’m receiving a very Arctic welcome!
UPDATE, 11:01AM: I got off standby! Woohoo! The flight is still scheduled and I am running to pack my bags. Wish me luck!
UPDATE, 11:49AM: And the flight was just cancelled again 🙁 Better luck tomorrow! In the meantime, please tweet me any recommendations for Iqaluit.