AC News

 

When my husband Larry and I decided to embark on a journey to Canada's
North in September and October, 2008 to celebrate our 40th wedding
anniversary, little did I know that it would be such a life changing
experience.

We
went shopping for waterproof boots, jackets and pants. We gathered up
warm hats, thick socks, and extra mitts. We carefully packed our soft
bags, mindful of the lists we had been given, taking nothing that
didn't have a purpose on the trip. The only thing that seemed a trifle
out of place were the bathing suits we stuffed into a corner of our
cases. BATHING SUITS??? We were going to the land of walruses and polar
bears, icebergs and oceans, rocks and mountains. We were travelling on
a Russian adventure ship with 100 people, not a luxury cruise liner
with thousands. Why bathing suits?

The information we received
prior to leaving talked about a possible "Polar Swim" sometime during
the trip. Now I am someone who likes 'hot' showers, doesn't like to
swim in the lake at the cottage unless the weather is hot and sunny
(and the water has lost its winter chill). I happened to mention to my
kids that I wasn't sure if I would take my bathing suit as I didn't
think I would do the polar swim. What a reaction I got - "When else
would you have this opportunity? You are going to go all this way and
NOT do it? ARE YOU CRAZY???" So already the guilt was weaving a path in
my subconscious brain. I packed my suit.

There were days when
we got into the zodiacs to head to the land - the most amazing,
breathtakingly beautiful land - that I really pondered what insanity it
would take to jump into that cold, wind whipped water. I felt I was
safe to back out if need be, as the only person who knew I had even
considered it was Larry. Except how would I face my children? Their
mother would be a wimp, a chicken - who would ever listen to me again
telling them to 'just do it!'

The days passed in busy
whirlwinds of adventure - experiences overloading the senses, not
wanting to miss a thing. Then came the day they announced that those
who wished to do the polar swim should be prepared to do so - at Battle
Harbour. 

The 'Swim' was scheduled for 3 o'clock. Even as
Larry (who was doing it no matter what) and I made our way to the
building where we could change, I still felt that I had the option to
not do it - until Matthew Swan, the President of Adventure Canada,
handed me the flag and told me I could be leader of the cheering
section. It was at that moment that I KNEW I had to do this - not for
Larry, not for my darling, supportive children, but for ME!

Once
that decision was made everything just fell into place and it felt so
right! Standing on the edge of the wharf, looking at the dark, still,
salty water below, there was a moment when I wondered if I had lost my
mind. But before I could process that thought, I had jumped into - The
Unknown.

I
have never felt anything so cold in my life! But it felt like I
was being caressed by black silk - smooth and velvety, inviting and
enveloping. As I made my way to the surface, shaking the water out of
my eyes, ready to take a breath, I realized that I could not take that
breath. But there was no panic - only a sense that all would be right.
Even after I was standing on the wharf, and given a towel, I could not
take a breath. And then, it happened! I had been given new life in a
single breath. Although I have no memory of being born, I imagine that
that is what it must be like. Once you have taken that first
life-sustaining breath, there is no going back. It is and was the most
amazing life-altering experience for me. The 8°c air temperature felt
positively balmy after the 2°c water. I was euphoric, I couldn't stop
laughing, I was alive!

I feel honoured to have been given the
chance to experience a rebirth of sorts - even if it was in a
relatively safe environment. The question remains - would I do it
again? Absolutely! In a heartbeat!

Adventure Canada will be visiting Battle Harbour on our Atlantic Arts Float 2009, for more information, please click here.

Experience
your own polar dip in 2009 on any of our Arctic itineraries. To
download a copy of our Canada and the North brochure, please click here.

"What
did seals look like before they had flippers? This is what we think
they would have looked like," said Natalia Rybczynski, a vertebrate
paleontologist with the Canadian Museum of Nature, in an interview this
week.

In the summer of 2007, a team of scientists working on
Devon Island uncovered the skeleton of an animal called puijila, a
close relative of today's seals.

Puijila provides the first
evidence that these early members of the seal family lived in the High
Arctic, said Rybczynski, who led the scientific team to Devon Island
and co-authored a paper on puijila in the April 23 journal Nature.

Puijila's
fossil remains also suggest that the Arctic may have been a centre of
evolution for these early marine mammals, she said.

Puijila's
full species name is puijila darwini.Puijila, which means a "young sea
mammal" in Inuktitut, is usually used in reference to a seal pup. The
Government of Nunavut's Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit Katimajiit helped
select this name to recognize the people of Nunavut, Rybczynski
says.Puijila's species name, darwini, honours the British scientist
Charles Darwin.

Puijila also gives an idea of what seals looked
like before they became fully flippered, Rybczynski said. Puijila is
not directly related to any modern seal, but a common ancestor probably
gave rise to puijila and the flippered seals and walrus of today,
Rybczynski said.

The next step is to see where puijila fits in
the family tree and determine how puijila may have made the transition
from land to sea.

If you're curious to learn more about puijila,
you can see the creature for yourself at the Canadian Museum of Nature
in Ottawa from April 28 to May 10.

Adventure Canada will be visiting Devon Island in 2009, please select one of the following itineraries for more information.
High Arctic Adventure: August 9 - 21
Into The Northwest Passage: August 21-September 1
Out Of The Northwest Passage: September 1-16

Something new is on the horizon! For those
enthusiasts who survived the trek to Igloolik in January, were raised on the prairies, or just love
snow,
Carol Heppenstall has put together another exciting winter adventure!
For one week in February of 2010, a small band of travellers will
journey to Whitehorse - capital of the Yukon - for an exhilarating
taste of northern powder, larger than life taiga landscapes, Native
arts, Klondike follies and more. Did we mention the northern lights
(aurora borealis!) and Takhini River hotsprings?

For more information on the Yukon Quest, February 15-22, 2010, please email Judy at judy.harper@adventurecanada.com

Ever want to travel the arctic in comfort and style? Well you are one
step closer to that dream with the announcement of our Sweet Suite
Deal! For a limited time Adventure Canada is offering a 25% discount off the cost of the Owner's Suite aboard our vessel the Clipper Adventurer,
The 275 sq ft suite is located on the Captain's Deck and is equipped
with a bathtub, separate shower, two single beds, a desk, refrigerator
and microwave. It also has separate sitting area with a couch and
chairs. The Owner's Suite has two double windows that can be opened and
individual climate controls.

To download a copy of our 2009 Canada and the North Brochure, please click here.

Join
Past-traveller Sarah McDougall on our High Arctic Adventure 2009. Sarah
is joining us as an artist-in-residence onboard hosting a series of art
classes.  Sarah first travelled with Adventure Canada in 2008 where she
was bitten by the Arctic Bug. One taste of this remote and beautiful
location has not only humbled her, but changed the way she thinks and
lives her life.

As much as we are possibly heading into hard
financial times, and as much as everyone's life is full and hectic,
taking advantage of a cultural and spiritual opportunity should not be
missed. What will these breathtaking and fragile geographical locations
be like in the future? Will they still be there? Will they be melted,
soiled, destroyed or eroded? Given the chance to see it, experience it
and envelop it is, without a doubt; priceless.

For more information on the High Arctic Adventure, please click here.

To find our more about Sarah and her art, please visit her website by clicking here.

What is Elfshot? Long ago, when people found stone arrowheads on the ground they believed they were left by elves or faeries. They called them Elfshot. Elfshot is a flintknapping business created by AC Resource Staff Member & archaeologist Tim Rast. Tim has started a new blog about about Elfshot and invites you to check it out by clicking here. Check out Tim's blogs from past Adventure Canada Expeditions by clicking here. Interested in archaeology? Travel with archaelogist Latonia Hartery on Out of the Northwest Passage or with archaeologist Robert McGhee on Heart of the Arctic. For more information on Out of the Northwest Passage, please click here. For more information on Heart of the Arctic, please click here.

Adventure Canada has a brand new Twitter account! Follow us on Twitter @AdventureCanada to get the play-by-play of what's happening at AC headquarters!

Sign up for a Twitter account by visiting: http://twitter.com/

Spring bursts forth in the Southern Hemisphere during our voyage
to this extraordinary region of the world. From Ecuador to Chile, from
the high Andes to remote offshore islands, the rich diversity in both
cultural and wildlife experiences is unparalleled.


Our journey takes us along the nutrient-rich Humboldt
Current, encountering graceful dolphins and whales on their
Antarctica-bound migration, and beaches literally smothered with sea
lions. Birdlife, too, will be prolific, as we spot plunge-diving
pelicans, Peruvian boobies, and Humboldt penguins. In the high Andes,
we'll stand in a natural setting reminiscent of an art deco painting,
with ebony-colored giant coots and pink flamingos feeding in a
turquoise mountain lake. Off-shore, Zodiacs bring us to islands teeming
with seabirds, while hundreds of seals splash around us. Chile's Lauca
National Park is unforgettable, with its towering snow-capped volcanoes
and wonderful South American creatures such as viscachas, vicuñas, and
guanacos.


Join us as we explore one of the most fascinating, and biologically
rich, regions of the planet; the West Coast of South America.

For more information on the South America Traverse, October 14 - November 2, 2009, please click here.

Adventure Canada is saddened to announce that Archaeologist Pat
Sutherland will no longer be able to join us on our Heart of the Arctic
Expedition 2009. She is, however, being replaced by fellow
archaeologist, Robert McGhee.

Robert
has carried out field research in most areas of Arctic Canada and
occasionally in other polar regions.  His investigations have included
pioneering studies of the first peoples to occupy Arctic North America;
the development of the Inuit way of life; and the archaeology of early
European exploration of the Arctic regions.  He has lectured and
written widely on Arctic history, for both academic and general
audiences.  The latter books include Ancient People of the Arctic (1996); The Arctic Voyages of Martin Frobisher: An Elizabethan Adventure (2001); and most recently The Last Imaginary Place: A Human History of the Arctic World (2004). He is currently a curator of Archaeology at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Hull, Quebec.

For more information on the Heart of the Arctic Expedition, please click here.

In
the 2008 Massey Lectures, Margaret Atwood takes a wide-ranging,
entertaining and imaginative approach to the subject of debt. Debt, she
says, is like air - something we take for granted until things go
wrong. And then, while gasping for breath, we become very interested in
it. She writes, "These are not lectures about how to get out of debt;
rather, they're about the debtor/creditor twinship in the broadest
sense - from human sacrifice to pawnshops to revenge. In this light,
what we owe and how we pay is a feature of all human societies, and
profoundly shapes our shared values and our cultures."

The Massey Lectures by Margaret Atwood will be playing on on CBC Radio One's Ideas with host Paul Kennedy between March 23-27, 2009.

Broadcast time: Weekdays at 9:05 p.m. (9:30 NT) on CBC Radio One

Margaret
Atwood will be joining Adventure Canada on Scotland Slowly, May 23-
June 2, 2009. Onboard she will host a series of lectures, including Scrooge McDuck: "Payback" and the Scottish factor, Robert Louis Stevenson, with special emphasis on "Kidnapped" and Robertson Davies, JK Galbraith, Alice Munro and the "Scots" of South-western Ontario in Canadian writing.

For more information on Scotland Slowly with Margaret Atwood, please click here or email Loretta for last minute specials on select cabins.

John
Houston has recently set up a Facebook account and is asking you to add
him as a friend.  John will keep his friends updated on all his
adventures including exclusive photos and behind the scenes reports on
set of his new film The White Archer.

To add John as a friend on Facebook, please click here. (Setting up a Facebook account is free, if you don't have one).

John
is travelling to the Arctic with Adventure Canada on two 2009
expeditions: Out of the Northwest Passage and Heart of the Arctic.

For more information on Out of the Northwest Passage, please click here.

For more information on Heart of the Arctic, please click here.

If our Senegal to Spain Expedition has caught your eye, now might be
the time because of available deals on flights! Air France has lowered
it's rates for flights into Dakar and return from Malaga. A flight from
Toronto is listed as low as $1,230.44 CDN - that's less than 14¢/km!
Adventure Canada is also offering up to 50% off select remaining
cabins. For more information please email Sheryl at
sheryl@adventurecanada.com.

For more information on our Senegal to Spain Expedition, please click here.

To check out flights from your city, please click here.