NORTH BY NORTHWEST
We visit the tiny village of Itilleq with its rainbow-coloured houses – some with strips of meat drying on lines like washing.
It ’s not every day you can breakfast with celebrated author Margaret Atwood, lunch with Arctic explorer James Raffan and then dine with astronaut Charlie Duke, one of just a dozen men who have walked on the moon. But it’s all in a day’s travel for me.
Its big-name rollcall is one of the (many) things that recommended the Arctic expedition specialists Adventure Canada to me. Following a two-hour private charter flight from Edmonton, my cruise begins in Kugluktuk (formerly Coppermine) in south-west Nunavut. The Ocean Endeavour, a new vessel for the season, can cater to up to 198 passengers in 10 categories of comfortable cabins. Our company of 169 passengers comprises mostly Canadians, with about 20 Americans, a handful of Brits, Australians and New Zealanders, plus a crew of 125 and an expedition staff of 38.
Our route closely follows the paths
