Around 9:00 this morning we arrived at the small community of Ulukhaktok.  This is by far the smallest community we have visited so far.  While a full day of activities had been arranged in advance with the community elders, the decision was made this morning not to land on shore due to COVID concerns.  We do have several cases on board amongst the crew and some passengers.  Everyone is very careful and they have pretty good procedures for isolating and taking care of anyone who tests positive.  The agreement with the community included reporting COVID cases and the decision was made this morning by the town elders for us not to visit.  Keep in mind that we are the first (if not only) large passenger vessel to visit this community in years.  It is very remote and it’s possible that they have been unaffected by COVID, so they probably made the right decision, which the passengers and crew all respect. It’s a tough decision for them because our visit does bring some welcome revenue to the locals.

 We are now underway seeking another adventure for today.  It is absolutely gorgeous weather and we will probably find an isolated bay (well they are all isolated) and do some hiking and kayaking.

Stunning weather today approaching the harbor..

The Community of Ulukhatok from deck before we turned the ship around and left..