Pond Inlet to Igloolik, 300 mi/480 km in 16 days. Endless sunshine, glassy water, and (mostly) firm tundra. Leaving Pond, we paddled for a few days, working our way towards the tundra that dominates the western side of Baffin. It was a bit hard to bid the peaks and fjords of the east coast farewell after 2.5 months of traveling through their majesty. The joys of the tundra did not take long to fill us with wonder, however. Trumpeting sandhill cranes and cackling snow geese became constant companions. Bilberries were bountiful, at times slowing our progress to a literal crawl as we grazed from bush to bush on hands and knees. Meandering rivers and wide, shallow lakes provided frequent opportunities for swimming, and for the first time this summer, the water was not frigid! We passed the Baffinland mine about halfway into this section. An extremely rich deposit of iron ore is worked 24/7, year-round, with over 800 people onsite at any one time. We were very impressed with the operation—massive ore trucks, helicopters short-hauling equipment to and from exploration sites, and very kind people! They gave us a proper mountain of food, an extremely welcome respite from our otherwise invariable diet. For the final stretch of this section, we returned to the water, paddling the rocky shores of Foxe Basin and crossing Fury and Hecla Strait back onto mainland North America and the lovely town of Igloolik. After a brief resupply stop, we’ll soon be on our way again, this time with seven weeks of food for the many miles down the west coast to Iqaluit.