Living In Apex

In 1942, the town of Iqaluit was established by the American air force. The area was chosen for the construction of an airbase that would serve as a refueling station for short range fighter aircraft. The fighter aircraft would then be ferried across the Atlantic Ocean to fight German forces in occupied Europe during the Second World War. The Americans would stay in Iqaluit until 1963. Until 1987, the town was officially known as Frobisher Bay, but to the Inuit, the area was known as Iqaluit, meaning "place of many fish."

Apex, a suburb of Iqaluit, was founded in 1949 by the Hudson's Bay Company, by moving their south Baffin operations to the Apex Beach area in order to have access to the landing strip at the American base. Because the air base was off-limits to everyone who did not work there, much of the Inuit population lived in Apex. When the Americans left, much of the population, including government administrators, moved closer to the airfield because it provided a vital commercial & transportation link to the outside world. There had been an attempt to close the settlement but the idea never came to fruition.

Today, however, Iqaluit prefers not to increase housing in the suburb because the water and sewer systems are serviced by trucks and the costs are expensive. Currently, Apex is home to about 60 families, and has a women's shelter, church, and primary school. Until a bachelor pad was found, I would be living in this small community.

Pascale, the guidance counselor that took me in, had been living in Apex with her Inuit husband and two children since last August. She had met her future husband in Kimmirut, a small community located south west of Iqaluit. They lived there for 18 years before she got a teaching job at Inukshuk High School. She & her husband purchased a spacious house in Apex to get away from hussle & bussle of Iqaluit. I can understand because there is vehicle congestion; everybody either drives a pickup truck or a land rover. The family also owns a dog team. Three of the dogs, Saku, Odin, and Pocket, live around the house. They are fed dog food, and seal & caribou meat.

The children are in elementary & high school respectively, and enjoy watching Japanese animation (Anime). They know more about Anime than I do. What's also interesting is that for the past few summers, they have attended summer camps at Camp Tawingo, near Huntsville, Ontario. This is significant because I too have stayed at Camp Tawingo way back in the 1990s, but during the family winter/New Year's program.

During the first school week, the days began at 6am, getting out of bed and having a quick breakfast. Then it was off to the high school in the family truck, driving up and over the hill that separates both communities. There's only one road that connects both towns and it's called Road to Apex. The road slowly ascends and descends a hill in an 's' pattern. On that section of road, it is very difficult to pick up the local radio stations in your vehicle unless you have a tall antenna. Because of blizzards, metallic posts with colourful reflecting sheets line the road so that drivers do not veer off into a ditch and/or rocks. Thousands of these posts also line the roads in Iqaluit.

On Sunday (Feb. 5), I decided to hike up to the top of a nearby hill next to the house and snap several photographs of Frobisher Bay. I had just come back from the high school, having spent several hours planning for next week, so I deserved a break. Many Apex residents walk their dogs up and around the hill. Grey clouds hovered in the sky but there were some cracks that let in sunlight. Armed with my digital camera, I slowly trekked up the sides of the hill as large black ravens watched in amusement. After about 15 minutes, I had reached the summit and could see the vast bay & the surrounding mountains, all of Apex beneath me, and Iqaluit in the distance. The view was fantastic. Despite the occasional sounds of a distant snow mobile, there was nothing but silence. If only I had a pin to drop. Growing up as a city boy, it felt surreal, like I was lost in the vastness of space. As I continued snapping photographs of the bay, the distant mountains, inukshuks, and the cloudy skies, the reality of my situation finally started to sink in. Oh yeah, I thought, I'm really here in the far north. And I thought New Zealand was remote. This is more. Much more.

I slowly descended the hill after enjoying the spectacular scenery for several more minutes. It was starting to get colder and I had not brought my toque with me. My body was adapting to the new climate at a steady pace; I was no longer wearing a face mask everywhere I went. I also noticed that I was beginning to use the local lingo. For example, up here, when you talk about the south, you mean southern Canada. Once inside, I had dinner with the family and then proceeded to do last minute planning, checking my email, and surfing the Internet.