Once outside the normal suburbia with geometrically perfect, but rather boring housing units, Northern Canada is much more beautiful than I ever imagined. The place is simply stunning. We stop every once in while to enjoy the scenery up close, and to make many wee-wee stops.
We spot some unsuspecting caribou and give chase until they reach their aerobic limits. Their camouflage is amazing. How many animals can you spot in the picture on the right? The answer is half my age minus 3. We pick up a small trophy to mount on the front of the heli and hope that Customs officials don’t ask too many questions.
As we spend an evening in a far-north outpost of Canada and plan our next flight with the help of a globe and high doses of Absolute Vodka, we meet an artic explorer who describes a special island he discovered ten years ago close to the North Pole. Apparently, everyone who visits this place feels like they are on massive doses of the drug Ecstasy. It must have something to do with the strange magnetic fields in this region. The feeling is very intense and last for as long as you are within 20 miles of this area (N 81º 20’ W 75º 30’).
Michel and I check our maps and reprogram the GPS. We prepare to fly there, but realize we can’t make it that far north without prior delivery of fuel, so we stick to the traditional stimulants. By the end of dinner, we run the numbers and decide to come back next year and build a lodge there. The tourism potential is huge. We’ll call the place Ecstasy Island.
Our first day of flying over North Atlantic waters in an arctic survival suit. For the first time I combine my two favorite hobbies, scuba diving and helicopters. A three hour flight from Canada brings us to Greenland by way of incredible landscapes and icebergs. These monster ice cubes are the size of 5 story buildings and can supply Israel with enough fresh water for years. If only I could find a way of dragging them back home, or at least as far as Ecstasy Island.