REFLECTIONS - Back home in Dartmouth, NS - June 24, 2017

I had the foresight to write down my thoughts a few days after I got home. Here they are, raw and mostly unedited.

Photo by Mike Sudoma

Leg 2 ended on Tuesday. It is now Saturday. I still haven't processed it all. Maybe I never will.
What I experienced, what I participated in, was much, much bigger than anything I could have imagined. Bigger than the group who made it happen, bigger than the ship.

First of all, the bonding was almost immediate. We felt like a cohesive unit by Day 2, and by Day 3 those bonds were so strong they'll never be broken. We are a juggernaut. The offshoots that will come out of this will be sprouting for years to come. We will change Canada.

The question hanging over me is: What will I do with this? I am not the same. I am stronger and more fragile, ready to accept and to make ripples. To be a disruptor, and to be wide open. During the trip I was surprised at how easily I cried. I allowed myself to feel it all - the joy, the suffering, the loss, the victories of people present and past. Physically and psychically I feel changed. My body is tired. My mind is unsettled. When I sleep my dreams are strange, and when I wake I don't know where I am. It feels like I have witnessed a traumatic incident, but I haven't. I have witnessed magic in its most potent forms: love and beauty.

  

LAST DAY - DAY 11 - Baie-Comeau - June 20, 2017

We spent our last day of Leg 2 at Baie-Comeau, docked alongside a huge industrial wharf. It was nice being able to walk off the ship, but it was bittersweet knowing that we were almost done our adventure, and there would be no more splashy rides in the Zodiacs. Our morning was spent at a conference nearby, within walking distance. The conference was the CCUNESCO Canadian Biosphere Reserves Association AGM, hosted in Baie-Comeau, part of the Manicouagan Uapishka Biosphere Reserve. The conference is hosted in one of Canada's 18 Biosphere Reserves every year (or second year? I'm not sure), and the timing and location lined up perfectly with the arrival of C3 ship. The sessions that we were able to attend were really interesting, as the focus of the conference this year was Reconciliation in Sustainable Development. There are three Biosphere Reserves in Nova Scotia, and wouldn't you know it? I ran into someone I know. My friend Katy Hopkins was there!

In our requisite conference credentials, drinking our requisite conference-catered beverages. Photo credit to an unknown conference attendee!

It felt weird and good to see a familiar face after 10 days of being a stranger in a strange land. Seeing her was very comforting (even though I didn't need comforting in any way!), like a nice cup of tea on a cold day. Because our ship was docked and not anchored, Katy was able to come aboard for a tour later that day.  She was excited to see the ship, but she was more excited to meet Alex Cuba :)

After lunch we headed up to the nearby Le Jardin des Glaciers. The Garden of the Glaciers is an interactive multi-media attraction inside a re-purposed cathedral, and it allows visitors to explore the geologic history of the region, and how it was formed by glaciers. I enjoyed it, but I would have enjoyed it more if it had been air-conditioned. Honestly, making us watch a movie about ice while it was 30 degrees in the building was a lot to take! However, we got through it, and I have to say it was pretty cool (pardon the pun).

After that we headed back to the ship to pack and clean our cabins for the participants of Leg 3, and to finish up odds and ends like signing the drum in the Legacy Room and put the finishing touches on the Leg 2 mural panel in the hangar that was spearheaded by Sandra.

A journal was placed in each cabin with the intent that there would be a unique thread throughout the journey within each cabin. Lyne and I were scrambling to complete our journal entries for the next people who would take over our bunks. I finished up my part, and Lyne was still working on the journal in the van to the airport later that afternoon! She got her part done and sent the journal back to the ship with the van-driver. Phew!

We changed sheets, made up the bunks, cleaned out our cupboards, and swept and vacuumed the floors, making everything as clean and welcoming as our welcome had been. Then there was nothing left to do but say goodbye. Final hugs were shared. Final pictures were taken, including this one, one of my favourites. That's me with Al, one of the members of the totally awesome Polar Prince crew. Oh, and Kevin.

To quote Al re. Kevin: "He certainly knows how to turn on the Manson lamps, doesn't he?" Hahaha!

I held it together pretty good, hugging everyone with promises of staying in touch (we have, by the way). Then I turned to Dardia, darling Dardia, and we cried all over each other!

Fortunately, there wasn't a ton of time to spend crying because about a fifteen of us had to get to the airport; we were all on the same flight back to Montreal, and from there we splintered all over the country. The airport in Baie-Comeau is pretty small, with just a few flights everyday. The plane we were about to board was the same plane that the Leg 3 people flew in on. As the Leg 3-ers walked in to the airport (which is pretty small) we formed up an impromptu choir behind the security windows and sang River of Nations to them. (I wrote about the writing of this song here.)  What a welcome for them, and what a way for us to say goodbye!

Each leg of the Expedition has some very special Canadians along as journey participants: Olympians! Leg 2 was exceptional in that we had two, Guylaine Bernier (1976, rowing, also unanimously elected as the Mayor of Leg 2) and Jennifer Jones (2014, Gold-Medallist, curling). Jennifer and I hit it off, and ended up being bus-buddies; we often wound up sitting together when we took a bus to an event or museum. Imagine our delight when, completely by chance (fate?) we ended up sitting together on the plane! It certainly made for a pleasant flight home.

We all got off the plane in Montreal, and more hugs were exchanged as we headed for our different gates and hotels. It was bittersweet. Sad that our time on the C3 Expedition was truly over, but so intensely grateful for the experiences and opportunities we had been given.   

DAY 10 - Rimouski - June 19, 2017

We arrived ashore via Zodiacs to a wonderful welcome: an elementary school (we would visit later that day) stood on the shores waving posters and banners and cheering our arrival. It was so cute!

Aftre a brief meet and greet with the children we headed to the DFO/Coast Guard base, Maurice LaMontagne Institute - Marine Science Research Centre.

The building is beautiful, with an airy courtyard in the middle.

We had a whirlwind tour of the facility, including Coast Guard rescue operations, the marine animal research facility, and hydrographic services. We spent less than two hours there; I could easily have spent the whole day.

Holding tanks full of turbot are studied at various stages of life.

SHRIMP!

The little white piece of equipment in front is used for remote-controlled survey. 

This is a self-righting vessel, meaning that if it capsizes and flips completely upside-down it will roll itself over so that it is right-side-up again. Now who wants to go for a boat ride?

This skeleton of a grey seal is on display in the corridor.

This is the skeleton of a beluga.

Before we left, we were all gifted a beautiful poster detailing the "Voyages and Explorations of Samuel de Champlain". It's gorgeous and, in light of recent revelations about my Acadian heritage, I especially love that it connects Atlantic Canada with Quebec.

Next up was a visit to the Pointe au Pere Maritime Historic Site where we visited the Empress of Ireland pavilion. The museum is full of artifacts from the wreck, thoughtfully displayed, and our costumed interpretive guide was excellent. But, far-and-away the best part of the museum is the short film they show in a small movie theatre off the main gallery. The intro to the movie is a 30-second time-delayed live shot of the theatre audience filing in and taking seats. When we realized we were the previews, all manner of subdued silliness ensued while we waited for the feature attraction. The movie tells the story of a few passengers boarding the ship, and then the collision that caused her to sink. Images are displayed on the screen and front, but also on the side-walls of the theatre, plus they use flashing lights, fog machines, and fans to make it total sensory experience. It is very effective story telling, emotional and terrifying in all the right ways. 

After lunch we were went to the Ecole Bleue, the elementary school whose pupils had greeted us upon our arrival at the wharf that morning! The school uses emergent-learning to teach the students, with an emphasis on their connection to the environment and the ocean. We were there for an open-house, where the children presented projects they had been working on all year, like a science fair that included biology, ecology, and social history. The displays and presentations were fantastic! 

After touring around and looking at the student projects, the C3 team spread out the giant floor map for a presentation to the kids.

After that, we had some time to wander around the school and take it all in. The school has been decorated by professional artists who worked with the children to paint murals all over the walls and lockers. They did an amazing job adding hundreds of species of the St. Lawrence River in very life-like and accurate portrayals. The upper floors are decorated to reflect the surface and middle-parts of the water column. The bottom floor is scheduled to be painted next, depicting the sea-floor. 

Imagine our surprise and delight to find that they had included our ship, Polar Prince, in their mural. What an honour!

C3ers were stoked to discover this part of the mural!

We had a wonderful day in Rimouski, our last full day of the expedition before the Leg 3 participants took over the next day. We spent the evening aboard ship, hanging out and saying good-bye over a special hangar-dinner prepared by Chef Matt.

The crew joined us for dinner, and for speeches and special presentations, including this one:

JR and Joanne present the Plunger d'Or.

This was a very special award, called the Plunger d'Or. I'm proud to say Leg 2 was the recipient of this award, for not having caused any of the toilets to back up during the entire leg... something Leg 1 couldn't attain, and for which the crew was especially thankful for.

The sunset was particularly beautiful that evening, and I couldn't resist the urge to take the mic and lead the Nova Scotians in a rousing version of Farewell To Nova Scotia.  

The sun was setting in the west...

When I was done singing, the bosun, Kevin "Canso" Newell, told me something strange happened to his eyes while he was listening ("They got all wet."), and Captain Guy hugged me and thanked me and told me it gave him goosebumps. That meant so much to me. I was glad to share a beautiful song in a beautiful place.