APRIL 2011 FEATURE
Churchill, Manitoba: Iffy Weather, Awesome Animals
By Roberta Sotonoff
About 300 feet from shore, my kayak sways to the rhythm of the Hudson Bay’s waters. Swimming around and under my kayak are maybe 30 beluga whales. These ghostly-looking creatures with their perpetual smile are as curious about me as I am about them. If only the wind didn’t suddenly change, if the water didn’t get choppy and if the sky hadn’t turned gray, we might have come to an understanding. But Mother Nature frequently throws a curveball in this part of the world.
In Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, which is about 910 miles north of Winnipeg and 544 miles south of the Arctic Circle, the weather can change on a dime—and often does. In winter, temperatures dip to -40°F and it isn’t exactly Florida weather in the summer. This far north town (population 952) is the end of the line for the airplanes, trains and hydroelectric power. Rush hour here is a car coming by about once every five minutes.
That doesn’t prevent Churchill from being a popular vacation destination, especially for non-humans. Every year, thousands of belugas flock to this town on the edge of the Hudson Bay. Even if the weather isn’t the greatest, capelin swarm the Churchill River. The white whales gorge themselves on these delicacies and then spend the rest of the time cavorting.
Sometimes beluga eating frenzies overlap with the polar bears’ stopovers as they float south on the ice floes. The world’s largest land hunters are loners, eat little and walk around half dazed. Their “walking hibernation” continues until the Hudson Bay freezes up. Then they go with the floe northward and start hunting again.
Usually, the whales stay from late June to August and polar bears from October to mid-November. If the bears come early, say mid-August, visiting humans can get a triple whammy—belugas, bears and the aurora borealis—if the sky is not covered with clouds.
For human vacationers, beluga watching is done by boat, kayak or by donning a dry suit and snorkeling with them. But you just don’t do it. The “ifs” take precedent—if the weather is right; if the tides are right; if the water is clear and even if the boat works. If all is right, it is heaven for beluga whale and polar bear watchers.
Take the cruises, for example. One day the boat couldn’t get up enough speed to get us up and back from the Seal River before the tides changed. Another day, “ifs” are not a factor. In two hours, we see about 200 belugas. Some moms come close to the boat just to show off their babies.
The boat then heads over to the 250-plus-years-old Prince of Wales Fort. To strengthen their position against French fur trade, the Hudson Bay Company constructed this fortress. It took 40 years to build. What a waste of time; the French quickly overtook it. Before entering the fort, rangers check for polar bears. They ride around like cowboys on ATVs shooting blanks in the air to scare off the big furry fellows.
Another sightseeing option, though a bit pricey, is the Wings over Kississing float plane (www.wingsoverkississing.com). If weather permits, the 4-seater Turbo Beaver glides on the water and then rises about 100 feet, skirting the coast and the peninsula in search of creatures. Our pilot, an excellent spotter, found pods of belugas and about 20 polar bears including a mother and her cub. I spotted a fishing shack that had “Need Beer” painted on its roof. As we landed, the fog rolled in as thick as soup.
But there is another way to see bears—by tundra buggy. The Tundra Buggy Adventure (www.tundrabuggy.com) has huge tractor-like wheels that look like something from a demolition derby. It trudges across the tundra at two-to-five miles an hour. For a better view, I followed a fellow passenger to the open area of the bus. It was so bouncy, we flew from one end to the other. Later, we did see a bear-from the inside of the buggy.
When not bear and beluga watching, everyone hangs out at Gypsy’s Bakery. The serve-yourself deli with Formica tables and resin chairs is nothing fancy, but it’s always crowded with locals and tourists either checking out the sugary, gooey pastries or chowing down on anything from pizza and sandwiches to chicken cordon bleu. The fish and chips gets raves.
The one thing left to do on every Hudson Bay tourist’s to-do list: go dog sledding. In summer, a wheel cart is used. While owner Dave Daley of Wapusk Adventures (www.wapuskadventures.com) demonstrated dog training techniques, flies feasted on my body. I badly needed bug spray. It was a welcome relief to escape them when the dogs happily trotted along on our 10-minute-mile trail ride.
The next day the weather was worse. Since the history of the Inuit /Eskimos is central to this region’s culture, I visited the Eskimo Museum. Old fashioned phones gave a quick tutorial of some of the 4,000 artifacts on display. I learned why the native artwork often contains human-headed animals. It’s a sign of respect for other living creatures.
The train station/visitor center also contains a small museum which highlights bear and other wildlife. Would you believe that under that white coat, bears have black skin to maintain their body temperature?
On the Churchill tour, we passed multi-car freight trains and large wheat silos. They are not there because the locals are enormous bread eaters. Churchill is a huge port for wheat shipments to Europe. About a half-mile from the airport, we visited Miss Piggy. Don’t know how it got its name but this largely intact C46 cargo plane crashed in 1975. Before walking in and around it, our guide, Brian, shot some phony bullets to scare off any bears.
In winter, bears often wander into town and land up in bear prison, our next stop. Lured into huge traps, they stay in the slammer until they can be relocated.
For more information visit Travel Manitoba website at www.travelmanitoba.com
72 Hours in Montréal
By Susan McKee
Montréal has many advantages for the North American traveler. It’s a quick flight for one thing; less than half the time required to get across the pond from anywhere in the States. The city is truly bilingual so English-only speakers will have no language troubles. It’s less expensive; not only for airfare but also for everything else a tourist needs, from hotel to restaurants to museum admissions. Because it’s so accessible, it can be a weekend getaway if that’s all the time your client has to spend on vacation. And, you don’t need a car: public transport (both Métro and bus) is just fine, and there are public bicycle stands everywhere.
My visit to the largest city in Canada’s Québec province last May gave me a real taste for all it has to offer. The city is best understood as a collection of 29 distinct and named neighborhoods. It’s easy to tell when you’re moving from one to another as the style of both the street signs and lampposts change accordingly. I was staying in Vieux-Montréal, the historic heart of the city where the first settlers arrived in the mid-17th Century.
A quick way to get an overview of the city’s history is through the light and sound show (www.therewaslight.ca) inside the Notre-Dame Basilica, erected in the early 1800s. Headsets provide narration in English, French, Mandarin or Spanish. Nearby, the Château Ramezay Museum (www.chateauramezay.qc.ca) outlines everything in more detail, from Amerindian prehistory to the beginning of the 20th century.
Mystery readers have no doubt seen Montréal through the eyes of author Kathy Reichs’ Temperance Brennan, the forensic pathologist who also headlines the television series, “Bones.” Auto racing fans of course know Montréal as the site of the North American Grand Prix, held each June. What’s surprising is that fans can actually drive the road course when it’s not being used for race-related activities.
Another gem is the Montréal Botanic Garden (www.museumsnature.ca), with more than 180 acres, featuring 10 exhibition greenhouses and 30 outdoor gardens. Tourism Montreal (www.tourisme-montreal.org) details virtually endless choices.
With a multitude of nationalities calling Montréal home, the foodie scene is thriving. The city’s bagels are a special treat. Smaller and lighter than their New York counterparts, they’re boiled in honey water before being baked in a wood-burning oven. Buy yours at St.-Viateur Bagel (the first shop opened in 1957). Montréal’s ice cream also draws raves. One to try is Le Glacier Bilboquet.
My dinner at Europea (www.europea.ca ) downtown was one of my all time favorites. Each of the courses on the tasting menu was superb, from the “lollipop” of goat cheese, the “sip” of eggnog served in an eggshell, to the fois gras in espresso emulsion, veal cheeks and lobster ravioli. Finally, there was a trio of desserts alongside a cloud of pink cotton candy (made on site, of course).
Montreal’s city markets are a great place to wander. Atwater, near downtown, was filled with flowering plants during my visit. At Jean Talon, there’s a shop called Marché du Vieux St.-Paul that features all sorts of regional specialties including a blend of sea salt, peppercorns and granulated maple syrup that’s magic on grilled salmon.
Bicycles are a favorite way to get around Montreal for locals and tourists alike. The innovative short-term rental scheme, Bixi (http://montreal.bixi.com/accueil), makes it easy for visitors. There are 300 stations around the city. With a swipe of a credit card, select one of the thousands of bicycles available for $5 per day, and you’re off. It can be returned to any Bixi stand. Take a tip from the natives and load your bike onto the front car of the Métro (any time outside of weekday rush hours) and for the uphill climbs.
If your clients are museum aficionados, suggest that they buy a Carte Musées Montréal (www.museesmontreal.org), which, for $45, gives access to more than 30 attractions. For $5 more, it can include a three-day Métro pass.
My two nights were spent at the Place-d’Armes Hôtel and Suites (www.hotelplacedarmes.com), 55 Saint-Jacques Street. This charming boutique property, converted from two historic office buildings, has a restaurant menu designed not only according to region but season as well. Visit Aix Cuisine du Terroir (www.aixcuisine.com). The street-level bar, Suite 701, is the breakfast room by morning.
U.S. citizens need passports to return to the U.S. these days. The Canadian dollar is close to parity with the U.S. dollar, but your clients still should hit the ATM when they land or plan to change money (the Canadian $1 coin is called a “loonie”; there’s also a $2 coin). Remember that although Canada uses the same area code system as the U.S., you’ll pay a premium to call back home.