Hi All,
Yeppa, it’s me again with a travel blog. I haven’t posted on the Mystic Moon Voyages website since we sold her last summer. But, I want to continue the website as a travel blog since recording our adventures continues to be the best way we remember the facts and post pictures:)))) People can read this blog two ways….by subscribing to the website blog or having this email sent to them. If you no longer want to receive this email please let me know and I’ll remove your name form the list….no offence taken, sniff sniff, but we understand it’s no longer a blog about cruising. At some point I will get around to changing the Blog’s name and website….any suggestions are always welcomed!!
Last month Kathy and me along with our good friends and neighbors, Tom & Melaine, went on a Natural Habitat trip to Churchill Manitoba Canada to see the Northern Lights. I have two 5-wow memories…..WOW, WOW, WOW, WOW, WOW….first, the Northern Lights are stunning, stupendous, remarkable, extraordinary, phenomenal, awesome, mesmerizing, emotional….ok, I’ll quit listing all the synonyms….but collectively they sort of describe the Lights….and second, I have never, ever been so cold….the coldest we felt was -23*F with -52*F wind chill…..brrrrrrrr…..for those who know Kathy’s cold body temperature can you believe she went on this vacation:))))….she did say she is picking the next vacation….hmmm, bathing suits here we come:))))
We continue to be very impressed with Natural Habitat adventures and highly recommend!! (In fact we are going on another Nat Hab trip in a few days to Brazil (Iguassu Falls and Rio) and then Machu Pichu and a Amazon River Cruise!!) A typical day: since you stayed out late the previous night (from 11:00 – 1:00am back to hotel) you sleep in until 8-9ish….a continental breakfast, activity, lunch, activity, small break, dinner, go see the Lights around 7-8pm until midnightish). Daytime activities included dog sled riding, snowshoeing, an afternoon in a cabin in the boreal woods with outdoor activities like hiking, curling, and roasting Bannocks and smores on an open fire (that day was -5-10*F with windchill in the -20’s…yes, frick’n cold!!!). We also spent some time touring the historical town of Churchill and having various presentations done by locals!!
Lights: we were scheduled to see the Lights for 4 nights, but due to a travel hiccup we got to see the Lights a 5th night as well…so we saw the Lights 4 out of 5 nights…..outstanding and well above normal!!!! The one night we got skunked it was cloudy…ugh!! As some of you may know the Aurora Borealis is in a cycle and 2025 was the peak of the 11-yr cycle. And Churchill sits under the Van Allen Belt which is the prime spot for the Lights!!!
I found the Lights mesmerizing and the first time seeing on the first night was right off the shuttle….they were a bit faint but then got brighter quickly. I have had a lifetime of failed attempts (Kathy has seen them once from Mystic) so I was actually mesmerized and shaking from the experience…ok, maybe the shaking was being so FRICK’N cold:)))) Each night we were taken to a different spot 20-30 minutes from town….we had the Aurora Sphere, Aurora Dome, a Yurt, and a Lodge. Each structure was heated and drinks and goodies were provided. I seem to be able to last 10-15 minutes outside and then had to come in and warm up for 10-15 minutes. The Lights were out most of the time, sometimes pretty dim but other times bright colors, moving, and dancing. We saw all sorts of shapes…..curtains, ribbons, arcs, bands, swirls, beams and then your imagination….I swear I saw a cat:))) Kathy’s favorite structure was the Dome which had on the 2nd story a plexiglass dome where you could sit in heated comfort with a 360* view!!!
The hotel we stayed in was just average (2-3 star) but clean and warm and close to several restaurants which were also average (but big portions) except one, the Ptarmigan which was excellent. The town of Churchill is located on the southwest coast of Hudson Bay, which was frozen, only has 800 people and mainly serves tourism….polar bears are the most popular tours, then the Beluga whales and then the Northern Lights.
COLD: Nat Hab provides excellent cold weather gear….parka, ski pants and boots rated to -40*F, fleece beanie, neck gaiter, baklava, and heavy mittens. We provided all the under garments including heavy wool socks and boot liners, snow boots/clothes to wear some around town. The gear added 10-15+ pounds and seem to take way too long to put on….as in having to learn the right order….we were pros at the end!!! On top you had 4 layers….thermals, light turtleneck, wool sweater, parka and on the bottom we had 3 layers….thermals, sweats, insulated ski pants. We both had spare gloves, gaiters and glove liners and clear goggles. Oh, Nat Hab also provided hand and boot warmers. Kathy had her heated vest and jacket!! My legs and core stayed warm, toes a little cool but my face and hands took the brunt. Anything exposed hurt right away. I did not take the big camera and lenses due to weight and it’s all night exposure camera use. I used the iPhone which only froze up a few times. But the glove liners finger tips I bought for the glass protection on the iPhone were only 50% effective causing me to go barehanded in order to take some pictures….yep, that stung…..arghhhhh!! I put hand warmers in the big parka outside pockets and that warmed up my hand quickly!!
Here is the website for more information on the tour:
https://www.nathab.com/alaska-northern-adventures/northern-lights-tour/
Churchill has an interesting past but one recent incident is highly discussed. In 2017 the area had a 3 day blizzard and afterwards the melt washed out the railroad tracks in 10 different spots. There are no roads into Churchill so the people get their supplies mainly by train, or plane (expensive), or ships (only in the summer months when Hudson Bay is not frozen). So for over 2 years while the Government and the company who owned the Port and Tracks, Omnitracks a USA based company, fought it out in Court over who pays for the repairs, the people did without and barely survived. The town went from >2000 to ~800 people. But right after the incident an already scheduled “SeaWalls Churchill” brought 18 world wide artists to Churchill to paint a series of murals all over town. It became know as “Know I’m Here” and is a testament to the hope and fortitude Churchill demonstrated during those hard times. We toured many of the murals during our stay and yes, they are indeed moving!!
https://www.cbc.ca/cbcdocspov/features/eighteen-artists-from-around-the-world-travelled-to-churchill-manitoba-to-c
Travel: Ok….you travel enough and sh*%t happens…..big storm in SFO delaying take off by 4+ hours, missed Winnipeg connection in Calgary requiring an overnight (actually had 55 minutes to make the connection but WestJet said bags would not make it….hmmmm), (got 4 hours of sleep that night), WestJet forgot our bags on the 6:00am flight the next morning (they only had 8 hours to find the right plane) so we got our bags with all the cold weather gear about 8 hours later at the hotel in Winnipeg. On the last day from Churchill back to Manitoba the charter flight was delayed by 10 hours (got 2 hours of sleep that night)….and so on. We will never fly WestJet (partner with Delta) again as they essentially abandoned us in the Calgary Airport and were very rude, surly attitude and borderline mean about it….are you really going to abandon us in the Calgary airport….yes, and I don’t care, you are on your own, not our responsibility the Agent said with tone/attitude…and we walked away thinking naively we could still make our flight as we had 45 minutes. Thankfully the Customs, Baggage Service and Information people were very friendly and helped us get sorted and into a hotel room. I have complaints into WestJet and Delta but as of yet to hear anything….ugh!!!
So that is it….northern lights bucket list checked!!!!!
Hope all is well!!
John
Gallery: Northern Lights gallery listed under Gallery:
http://mysticmoonvoyages.com/photo-gallery/nggallery/album/northern-lights-feb-13-20-2025
Artic Fox outside our restaurant!!
View of the highway going to boreal forest cabin….isolated, flat, windy and cold!!
