WINNIPEG

Our trip in Canada began in Winnipeg, where we spent a couple of days to acclimatize.

Winnipeg is the capital and the largest city of the province of Manitoba.

We arrived in late October and were very pleasantly surprised by mild temperatures and plenty of sunshine. The city lies on the confluence of two rivers, this predisposition made it an excellent trading post for indigenous people long before the arrival of Europeans. The French and the British later established their own trading posts buying furs from locals and trading other goods.

We visited Lake Winnipeg after which the city was named, it is a relatively shallow freshwater lake but of great size. The lake provides feeding and nesting sites for a wide variety of birds. We came across a flock of geese gathering for their southern migration.


CITY OF CHURCHILL

Otherwise called the Polar Bear capital of the world. That is the main reason that brought us here. In the late autumn, polar bears gather along the shores of Hudson Bay waiting for freeze up so they can go to sea ice where they hunt seals. We observed polar from the board of Tundra Buggies, which operates exclusively in Churchill. Its design allows it to traverse tundra with almost no chance of a breakdown. Every buggy is built with a rear viewing platform for excellent up close bear viewing.

Local authorities even operate a “polar bear jail“ for mostly naughty adolescent bears that come too close to town. The bears are tranquilised, put to “ jail “ and then released when the bay freezes. Winters in Churchill are very bitter, winds from the North Pole can lead to temperatures dropping to -40 C. There are no roads leading to Churchill. It is not accessible by road, only by a train or a 3 hour flight.