Not much happening today, as the sun wasn't shining and the wind was coming from the south, and you just never know what's going to happen when the wind's coming from the south... Just went out for a walk up and around the perimeter of the hill that sits just north of the town of
Igloolik.A nice walk, it was only -3C (unseasonably warm), but a steady wind, so it was like a cool fall day on the way out, and then a different story on the way back, but not too bad. Once you get out there and the town is out of your view, you begin to see the logic behind the
inuksuk (pronounced ee-nook-shook, it means "like a man," man being "Inuk," the singular form of "Inuit"). An inuksuk is a stone sculpture out in the middle of nowhere that serves as a landmark (among other things). There's not a lot out here, just white, so it's nice to have the inuksuk to guide you. One other thing about being out there is that your depth perception is shot. You see the town in the distance and walk for 20 minutes and it seems that you're no closer to it than you were when you first saw it. Strange. Paul tells me that the Inuksuk is also simply a friendly sign to passers by that someone has been here before them. They also mark good fishing spots when made a certain way. Apparently their purpose is marked in the way that they are built and the number of stones used, among other things.Well, that's pretty much the news for the day. Oh, I had some caribou leftovers and it's even better the second time!!
Lynn