Out on the water

Today was our beluga boat tour, and it did not disappoint. We had gorgeous weather with clear skies, a bit of wind and belugas.

Where the Churchill River and Hudson Bay meet, the belugas enjoy a feeding frenzy. There were literally hundreds of belugas that it was hard to tell where to look at times. Absolutely amazing!

Prince of Wales Fort
Our first stop was across the river to the Fort. Created by the British, it was taken over by those pesky French for a short period of time. Over time weather has done quite the number on the site, and now it is being slowly reconstructed. It is hard to imagine this Fort being built in the 1700s! A highlight was seeing a little masonry symbol carved in one of the stones.

Baby Beluga in the Deep Blue Sea
I love belugas. They're playful, not too big, and just so cute. We saw tons of babies, which are grey and swim right along side their mothers. We even had a sonar to listen to their squealing and squeaking. Our two hours on the water passed by like minutes. I just wish I could reach out and touch one!

They don't really have much fear and swim around and under the boats. Sometimes they'll swim behind the boat (under water), enjoying a facial from the bubbles from the boat's motor. If you want to see belugas, this is the place to come.

Tides
A lot of the tours are not only weather dependent, but also tide dependent. When you think of Manitoba you don't really think of it as a maritime province. When you come to Churchill, you can't help but think of it as such.

Eskimo museum
The Museum is home to one of the oldest and most comprehensive collection of Inuit artifacts and sculpture in Canada. Free of charge (donation appreciated), it is an easy way to spend upwards of 45-60 minutes.

Eskimo dogs
A guy in town raises Eskimo dogs, and apparently holds a good chunk of the existing population he is trying to revive. We passed the little pups who were, like pups, bounding about and curious. The best part was their talk - yipping, yelping and a little bit of howling. I've never seen such talkative puppies! I wonder if they could pull me to work in the winter time.

Dining in Churchill
I came here with few expectations, including minimal veggies and fruits. I've been pleasantly surprised with the variety and relative cost. Tonight's meal was at the Tundra Dining room, featuring pizza with olive paste, tomato, artichokes, caramelized onion and feta. Yum!

Creatures spotted: belugas, seal, arctic turns, parasitic jaegers, and horseflies.
Flora: fireweed, yarrow, purple paintbrush, yellow ones, white ones and others I can't remember.