ANCIENT PATHWAYS

The 10th sacred stone symbol was to go to the Torngat Mountains National Park region of Labrador, Canada and all we had to do was find someone to sail us to the area and then we would be guided. So we thought!

We knew it wouldn't be easy and there would be challenges and the first challenge was to let go of how, when and where.

We were pushing for a certain timing and place not knowing truly what we were asking of spirit and the people we had contacted in Labrador. Things were just not falling into place, too many red lights and so in frustration we just let go of trying to organise a boat of some description for June.

Two hours later an email arrived from our contact, world-renowned Inuit carver John Terriak. It put us in touch with Captains Rick and Karen Miles who ran cruises into the area in a 90ft refitted Dutch fishing vessel. They would be going into the area we felt we needed to be, Baffin Island, in late July into early August. We looked at the dates and the cost and said to each other if it is meant to be this way then it will all fall into place easily from here. We sent off an email expressing our interest in joining that particular journey and why, sending our website so they could suss us out.

Almost immediately a reply came back and they were excited at the prospect of having us with them and being a part of the stone journeys. O.K......we had our green lights! 

To pay for the journey and because of our strong belief in what we were doing, we made a huge sacrifice and sold our land that we had been nurturing for over 8 years and dreamt of building a home on.

Now for the flights...because we were in the area..well sort of..we arranged a rest stop in St John's, Newfoundland before our push to Makkovik (Mack oh vick) in Labrador where we were to meet our fellow passengers and board our vessel the "Wanderbird". All up it would take us 7 flights with 13 stops to get there. 

Our journey began and we had made sure to take lots of layers of warm clothes with us.

With each flight the planes became smaller and more basic. As we boarded the twin otter that would take us on our last leg to Makkovik we knew we were in for a treat as the pilots now wore jump suits. The plane was not pressurised and so it flew low over the Labrador landscape below us and  what an amazing sight it was. Now we knew why there was so much land and not a lot of people.  Water everywhere and no trees to speak of, a land that would have been a challenge to even walk across. We realised then that the only way to get from community to community especially in summer would be by plane or boat..there were no roads except for those inside the tiny communities. In winter of course, with the ground covered with snow and the waters frozen, then the skidoos and dog sleds made travel so much easier.

We loved the towns and the people and felt welcome wherever we went, from our funky B&B in St John's, to the Adlivik Inn in Makkovik.

Joining a local BBQ for lunch in Makkovik connected us to the two crew of the Wanderbird and one of the other passengers. A great beginning to our sacred journey. Two days later we were on board the "Wanderbird" and had met Rick and Karen whom we loved immediately and felt we had met kindred spirits. Getting to know the other passengers would be a bit of a challenge for us as it was quite obvious from the get go that we saw the world through very different eyes. We did of course all have the desire to visit and see the beautiful, wild and remote places of Labrador, Greenland and the Arctic in common and that would be a great place to start. The one thing we both learnt was that there is always two sides to a ship.

We are so used to the outdoors and space that we at first glance thought our small and beautiful cabins might feel a bit claustrophobic. In fact we felt like little snug bugs each night as we snuggled into our bunk and both slept like logs except for one night and that is a story for book 3.

On the deck of the Wanderbird in Arctic Waters. In actual fact we had just gone over the Arctic Circle and that night we had a visit from King Neptune and he turned our noses blue and made us kiss a cod so we could get our certificates that verified we had sailed over the Arctic Circle..oh and we had to drink a very chilli hot jam as well. Our heads were saved from being shaved which apparently is the usual custom.  Wouldn't have minded that as it would have saved us a few haircuts.

The further we journeyed the more obvious it was that we had not even begun to imagine the enormity of getting to where we felt the sacred stone symbol was to go. No wonder the Universe had taken the arrangements out of our hands. The land was wild, remote and accessible only by boat for the most part and the Wanderbird (being the only ship to take cruise passengers into these areas,) was small enough to get into stunningly beautiful fiords and bays that larger vessels would not have been able to. So we got to see and visit some spectacular places.

So much magic happened along the way, we saw seals and white bears (polar bears), feeding pods of humpback whales and visited places that were once thriving Inuit settlements along the way. Each with their own history, full of joy, sadness and yet, we felt, so much hope. There are so many stories to tell here.

When sailing into Illulissat in Greenland where we were to fly home after a 3 day rest by the glacier where most of the worlds icebergs originate, we were stopped by a fifty kilometre wall of floating ice. The worlds' most productive glacier, which we had to go past to get into the settlement had certainly been pumping out ice in historically unprecedented amounts.

Did we get passed? and where did the 10th stone symbol finally rest and how did the ceremony go?

We are saving all of that for Book 3 and yes Book 2 is being finished as we write. For now enjoy the pictures in the gallery below.

A huge thank you to Captains Rick and Karen for making our journey so memorable, to Kyle and Ryan, the two crew who worked so hard for us all and always had a smile on their faces even when we knew they were exhausted. In our hearts always.

Thank you also to our fellow passengers the two Bobs, the two Daves, Rosemary, Dennis and Arik...you added such a special dimension to it all....and to the people; Bruce Peters of St Johns, Newfoundland. In Labrador, especially John Terriak and his wife Johanna, Brian and Fran, Lori and Randy, Buddy and Jenny and all the beautiful young ones we met along the way....a huge thank you to you all for coming into our lives and enriching it all the more...and of course our furry companions on board Paulo and Pitsik.