We met a gentleman the other day, a Canadian rocket scientist, who was on the verge of retiring until offered a unique project. He was asked to join an international group of scientists to create a way of predicting the Northern Lights. I love how scientists know no borders. They all have a common objective when on a project and that’s what is important, not whether somebody Chinese or Russian or Australian. Anyway, they feel they’re getting close and one day, there will be an “app for that,” and you’ll never have to wonder when/where the Northern Lights will appear. Did you know it takes 3 things to have a bumper crop of These Dancing Angels and Ancestors–a proper solar flare, enough concentration of excited ions in the atmosphere and the current location of the magnetic north. The solar flare part was interesting to me. Don’t quote me, here, because I’m not a scientist and I may have this all wrong (that’s what’s Google is for) but here goes. There are two bursts with each flare up. The first burst is like a concentrated laser and gets the molecules excited when it touches earth. Then, hours later, the second one happens and it’s a broader band of energy that gets the Lights dancing when it hits earth.
Saquenay, the last big town in Quebec before the Arctic Circle….miles of wilderness for a backyard. To reach it, we sailed up a lovely fjord where fresh water floats atop saltwater and the fish can enjoy their natural habitat. Isn’t that fascinating? Think of all the different fishes that must live in that fjord.
The leaves are just beginning to turn–bright pops of color over the hills.
We tendered from the ship and were bused to the live stage show…I don’t even know how to describe it. Unique? It tells of the history of the region, from the Inuit to modern times…all done in song, dance and mock battles. There were fireworks, fires, floods, HORSES, a pig, a gaggle of geese, soldiers dropping down ropes from rafters and, later, balloons dropping from the ceiling. The horses really left an impression on my mind…6-8 of them actually galloping on the stage in mock battles with cannons booming, rifles firing. And, as there were several battle scenes, the horses appeared quite frequently…galloping. Did I mention they were actually galloping? With every crack and boom, I jumped like a jumping bean, while the horses just followed their riders’ instructions.
Oh, and there were cars and jeeps, too, driving around, along with a tall ship, a wagon, a tree being felled, and a sleigh…a cross between a Cirque de Soleil and a Broadway Musical.
And the actors? As many as 200 on the stage at one time, all shapes and sizes, were volunteers. They did all this for free.
Today is our last day. We are just pulling into Quebec City where we will walk around, maybe have some French onion soup, and take a carriage ride. We did most of our packing during our last Day at Sea so we could relax and milk the last drop of delight from this amazing adventure.
Tomorrow, there will be lots of time in airports (perhaps too much of it,) and I plan to upload those pictures I’ve been promising of Iceland and Greenland.
Have a great day, peeps!
