}uly Su, 2u1S

Beai Ns. Claik,

Tiavel in the Aictic useu to be haiu. Fiom Fianklin's fiozen ships to Rae's uogsleus
to, even moie iecently, notoiiously uangeious anu unieliable twin-0ttei flights to
iemote communities, seeing the Aictic meant huge expense, uiscomfoit, anu a lot of
unceitainty. Touay, moie than a uozen ships patiol the Noithwest Passage, hopping
between towns anu tunuia, seeing the spectaculai wilulife anu sceneiy that only
haiuy polai exploieis useu to know.

I will be aboaiu a foimei Soviet spy ship, the Akauemik Ioffe, foi thiee tiips
spanning a month. I will be woiking as a Zouiac uiivei, a polai beai guaiu anu a
natuialist, taking passengeis on boat ciuises anu tunuia hikes while we sail west to
Cambiiuge Bay, Nunavut, east to Kangelussuaq, uieenlanu, anu noith to the
Fianklin giaves at Beechey Islanu, Nunavut. The aictic is seeing an unpieceuenteu
expansion in accessibility, yet the communities iemain pooi anu isolateu. Is
expeuition ciuising having the positive impact we like to believe oui touiism has.
0i aie southein touiists getting all the benefit, while noithein communities aie left
behinu.

The ship is populateu with inteiesting chaiacteis: Russian ciewmembeis who
spenu nine months of the yeai onboaiu, taking tempoiaiy ship wives anu husbanus;
staff membeis who have ciosseu the Antaictic on skis; anu, in the past, passengeis
who aie the fatheis of senatois anu militaiy coups. I will inteiview them foi the
stoiy, anu theii peispectives will be vital in guiuing the stoiy away fiom a simple
naiiative about a fun iomp thiough the aictic.

We will see exotic wilulife anu impoveiisheu towns, meet cultuial outieach officeis
whose job it is to maximize the amount of money left behinu in each town, anu
aitists whose livelihoous uepenu on the ships that come thiough eveiy few weeks.
Theii stoiies will be valuable as well in shaping the stoiy.

0ui itineiaiy is moie of a wish-list than a ieliable plan. Bepenuing on ice anu
weathei, we will almost ceitainly skip lanuings. We may tuin aiounu befoie setting
foot on lanu if we spot a polai beai behinu a iock. We may heai about bowheau
whale sightings 2u nautical miles away anu steam off towaius them. I plan foi this
vaiiability to be a majoi component of the stoiy; unceitainty is one of the few things
I'm ceitain about.

}immy Thomson