Dave & Meredith's Travel Blog

Ahoy from the balmy shores of the Hudson Bay. Seriously, we arrived in Churchill today and instead of the arctic blast I expected when we got off the plane, it was probably 25-30 degrees. Supposedly that’s very unusual. They’ve warned us that the rest of the time will be much windier and colder. That’s ok with me but I’d like to at least get some sun. It’s supposed to be overcast and snowy the whole time.

Above: our plane at Churchill airport

Above: Yours truly enjoying the warmer weather

Churchill is a small town but not terribly small. It is after all a working grain port and also there is the 6-week window of the year when people come up to see the bears so there’s all the usual things here you might expect. A grocery store, post office, bank, gift shops, etc. That said, we walked up and down the main street this afternoon and I think we’ve done the town. We also were driven around on a tour and we saw a field where a guy breeds Eskimo dogs. There were dozens there including puppies. It’s hard to deny they’re cute. People took a lot of pictures.

We also were taken to an example traditional dwelling like the local Inuit used to use. It’s basically like a teepee. While we sat in a circle, a local couple sang for us, did a traditional dance with a drum, and answered questions.

After dinner, we had our orientation. Right after the slideshow ended, we heard gunshots outside and a truck with blue and red flashing lights flew by. This was the polar bear patrol and when a bear wanders into town, they race towards it and fire blanks to scare it away. A few minutes later, we saw the bear come up the road! He came up one side of the hotel and turned the corner down the other side of the hotel. We watched from inside – we have been warned dozens of times already about going outside after dark. I thought the bear was huge but supposedly he was only a teen. Wow.

We head out tomorrow at 7:30 and stay out on the tundra buggy until 4:30. They say the polar bears are very active right now so it should a great time.

– Dave