It's been another incredible week for the team of Expedition Akor.

In-between rain and wind storms, in a freezing, water-soaked cold front, our friends arrived last Friday in Baker Lake, Canada's geographic center and third supply post of the expedition. 

The last hours of this section of the expedition were irritating, to say the least. However, the welcome they would receive upon arrival made them forget all that very quickly.

The Inuit community of Baker Lake is, according to them, remarkably welcoming. It took them less than an hour to dry off, drink coffee, eat doughnuts, and find a place to sleep (the garage of a certain Matthew Nagyougalik, whose hospitality we want to acknowledge). 

He welcomed four grimy and bearded travellers and gave them pickup lifts and valuable information about the community. The guys also get lovely smiles and four-wheel lifts from Inuk people they don't know: everyone wants to help. Even the police and wildlife officers gave them tips about the territory they were about to enter south of Baker Lake.

The guys are extremely proud to have experienced and finally completed the full winter-summer transition as it happens in Canada's far north! 

They had to show a great deal of adaptation and improvisation. They experienced some difficulties that they could manage given the conditions and the equipment at their disposal. 

A truth, whose importance they knew until now only in an abstract way, appeared to them in all its concreteness and depth: the unforeseen is an integral part of expeditions. The question is not if it will happen, but when.

Also, Philippe Voghel, one of the four expedition members, has chosen to leave the expedition boat and return home to Quebec City earlier than planned for personal reasons. 

Catherine Chagnon, an adventurer herself, an avid climber, expeditionist, and Guillaume's girlfriend, will replace him in Baker Lake on Sunday. 

She was already scheduled to join the team for the cycling section (which was to start in a month and a half), so she brought forward her arrival to take part in the second canoeing section. 

We all warmly welcome her to the Akor expedition!

Now comfortably basking in the summer warmth and waiting for Catherine's arrival, our friends divide their time between the durable repair of the canoes and rest. They also give interviews to the media.

Make sure to follow along on our social media accounts, @naakbars to stay up to date with any breaking news and photos from Expedition AKOR. Be sure to read more about the team on our previous Blog Posts.

Visit expeditionakor.com to read more about the teams’ journey, or follow them on Instagram @expeditionakor.