Friday, September 07, 2007

Goodbye POV

On our last night in Puvirnituq we were treated to this lovely sunset with the towns fuel tanker acting as a lovely backdrop.
After months of trying I finally got a photo of the northern lights that is worth a damn. It seems that the key would be to pack your equipment in a box and send it a few thousand miles away, then just make due with what you have left. These shots were taken with the new "dishtowel scrunched up under the camera atop the BBQ tripod", one which I now highly recommend. The lights showed up for us briefly on our final night, providing these images.


Hello everyone,
We have arrived safe and sound in the city of Montreal. And as usual traveling with a child causes way to much stress to allow for the enjoyment of a very long and tedious series of flights. On the plus side we were able to clock off one of the last small planes on our list by flying in King Air 100, a nice little plane that seats 9 but tends to be blown around a lot more than the Otter ever did. The Landing in Kuujuaq became a little hectic when the tail was suddenly blown about about 10 feet from landing, when we were suddenly no longer looking at the runway but rather the grass the stands beside the runway.
We have been traveling around the north for over 2 years pretty much straight and haven't had much experience traveling in the city since then. I'm not sure what has changed, the city or us, but things seem different. I looked out the window this morning and saw buildings, that's all just buildings, oh yeah and people driving around going places. The level of activity at 5:00 am just seemed preposterous. Now to Montreal specifically, I lived in this city briefly in the past and it never really grew on me, the only things I learned were that its dangerous to drive in Montreal, but not as dangerous as walking. It seemed to be a city stuck between trying to be European and retain the character of a St- Johns, for example, but failing both.
Yesterday we rented a car from Hertz (or as I like to call them now, king of the free upgrade), on of the free upgrades was a vehicle with a GPS system. Now, I've never been one to shirk technology, but last night I was just too damn tried to give a poop and just got in, asked someone where the hotel was and went. The when looking for food, I just drove in ever increasing circles till I found the tracks of the illusive Subway, then drove in ever decreasing circles till I found the hotel again. This morning by contrast I was feeling up to the task and sat before the unit with a renewed vigor at how this device could make my life easier. Now thanks to this device my 5 minute drive this morning to McD's took just under a hour, for the 7.9 km drive I put 50 km on the car. Now, your thinking I hate the GPS.... but that is not the case, I love it. I spent most of the trip trying to screw the machine up, it surprised me in the end by not asking me to get out and walk, if it said left in 2 km, I went right in 2 feet then as it was working on a solution to this problem I would quickly preform a high speed J-turn, snickering all the way. despite my best efforts the thing got me home without calling me any names. If we return to the city again this will be one of the first things I add to my wish list. for now, I'll stick to my Explorer GPS however, as it'll get you home in the worst storm of the year.
That's it for now,
Take Care
CG

3 comments:

Rob, Tina and the boys said...

Thanks for the laugh. I can picture you laughing and attempting to mock the GPS. That's hilarious. You'll have to let us know if you end up in Yellowknife on the way back. If so we'll make the trip in to say hi!

Anonymous said...

Welcome to Montreal. I hope you did not limit yourselves to fast food restaurants when the city has a full range of eateries of different styles and budgets. Some of the best are not expensive. In fact a much better deal than McD's. But i know having lived in the north (Kangiqsujuaq and Kuujjuaq) that when you get south the junk food calls out. I enjoy reading about your northern travels.

Enjoy Montreal.

Morrie

Anonymous said...

Just thought I would let you know it was nice to see you and Melissa again....too bad Christopher wasn't there but ......... Vince and I had a nice visit it was short but we made it anyway.....take car see you next year..........