Life Up Here: Iqaluit visitor's centre, the park, and the most northern shawarma in the world

The library and visitor's centre.

Our tour of Iqaluit continues! We took Wallis and Edmund to the Unikkaarvik Visitor Centre so they could get a feel for life in the north. Iqaluit has a really great visitor's centre. I wasn't expecting much the first time I went in, and was actually heading to the library (housed in the same building) to pick out books for the kids. There is a natural history museum-like feel the moment you walk through the door. A reception desk has a binder with all the local menus for the restaurants in town, and there is always someone on hand to talk about Nunavut and answer any questions you may have.

Continuing on through the visitor's centre you will come across a display of wildlife and the history of the Inuit. There is a small movie screen and benches where they show regular films about the north.

Outside the visitor's centre, around 2pm.

The movie screen is on the back wall, next to the walrus.

Wallis stands next to a muskox head.

Carved walrus skull.

As you walk through you can read about polar bears, caribou, ravens, muskox, walrus, fox, whales, seals, etc. That knowledge by itself is interesting, but they also include how the Inuit have lived side by side with these animals for so long-- how they are hunted, what parts of the animals are used for (for instance, caribou bones to make a sled, caribou and seal skin for clothing). There is also a display of traditional tools and games.

A whale hangs overhead.

Walrus-- prized for their meat, tusks, and skulls.

History of the seal hunt.

Traditional clothing. The male model (on the left) is wearing a caribou skin
parka and pants. The female model is wearing an amauti with sealskin kamiks
(boots).

They include facts about how the clothing was made, which I find fascinating.

Friday morning started with a trip out to Sylvia Grinnell Territorial Park. The weather warmed up (from -51 on Thursday to -41) on Friday, so why not head out for a quick hike? It was very, very windy at the park. JJ started to lose feeling in his fingertips when he took a panoramic shot from the top of the hill, but the shot was worth it (see below). After the hike JJ took our guests for a drive down the road to the village of Apex, Iqaluit's only suburb.

Wallis is a pro, with JJ in the background.

Father son portrait. Wallis looks like he's a little bit cold here.

A quick trip down the road to Apex.

The old Hudson's Bay building.

Apex

The panoramic shot that almost cost JJ his fingertips. Totally worth it.

Before Wallis and Edmund came up I contacted Captain Jack's teacher to see if she would be open to Wallis joining CJS at school Friday afternoon. Not only were the teacher and principal on board, but they sent Wallis home with a Joamie School lunch box, a spirit team cloth headband, artwork, a keychain, and his name written in Inuktitut.

Playing the "bone game". I don't know the rules, but
it has to do with trying to get seal flipper bones on
a string out of a knitted hat.

CJS and Wallis with the Joamie arctic wolf.

While Wallis went to school with Captain Jack Sparrow, we decided to take Edmund to what I have dubbed "the most northern shawarma spot in the world", or "the shawarma joint on top of the world". Its called Yummy Sharwarma and Pizza, and is the first and only Lebanese place in town. (When they opened in 2011 it made the local news.) Yummy Shawarma is a popular lunch spot, where you can get a quick bite to eat and have a place to sit down (the Snack is also a great restaurant, but at lunch it's hard to get a seat. More on the Snack later). They are also famous in town for their pizza, which they deliver. What's really neat is looking at the photos of Lebanon (drenched in sun and surrounded by palm trees) on the walls, and then glancing through the window at the snow and barren landscape outside.