Tidbits of life in Iqaluit...

Some of the differences I've noticed between life in Iqaluit and life in London, Ontario: For one thing, road vehicles stop to let you cross wherever you want to. Another is taxicabs - they charge per-person ($6.00 anywhere) and will pick up other fares on the way. You don't give them a street name, just a building number. Cabbies make good money up here and bar staff can make 50K a just in tips.

Another thing is alcohol - the only place you can buy booze is at a bar - no takeout. So... if you like to have wine with your meals, as I do, it seems you have to either order from a limited selection which is flown in from Rankin Inlet, or get a government import licence and ship it up from down south - both options at a greatly inflated cost.

There is the home-brew option, which I will probably explore (seeing as how I've already got the brew equipment), but frankly, I'm not that optimistic about the quality... . I understand that bootlegging is a thriving business up here; apparently, at some of the more isolated places like Arctic Bay or Pond Inlet, a mickey of liquor will fetch between $100 and $150. Prohibition has never worked anywhere, anytime, I don't know why they think it would work here...

Some Pictures from Around the Town...

This is the new Canadian North airline hangar that opened in Iqaluit:


Inuk mother & children:

This is an impromptu drum circle which assembled outside of my office:

This is the down-hole machine which is drilling the holes for the steel pile foundation of a new building in the core area:

A couple of people out on the flats when the tide is out (maybe they were digging for clams)...

Typical Iqaluit residential buildings. The concept of a "yard" hasn't really caught on here yet - there are no fences between buildings and nobody has a lawn: