An idea is born
I planned this group trip in a lot less time than I usually take to put together a vacation like this. One of my clients asked me if I would host a group to Churchill, Manitoba this fall as it has always been on her bucket list to see the Polar Bears.
Within two weeks I had pricing and a three-night itinerary in place to start spreading the word. Amazingly, it did not take long to have my group sold out. Just two more weeks and we were ready to go from Oct. 22-25.
My group consisted of 16 persons, including myself, with a mix of singles and couples from Alberta and Saskatchewan. I met all of them on a Thursday evening (Oct. 22) for dinner at the Grand Winnipeg Lakeview where we would also spend the night. Friday morning was an early one as we jumped in several taxis with our masks on and restricted weight luggage to the charter flight hanger just five minutes away. We were warned that if our combined luggage was too heavy we would need a fuel stop in Thompson so we were diligent in only packing 30 lbs each.
Next stop: Churchill
After a pleasant and smooth 2 1/2 hour flight in the 16 passenger charter plane, we arrived in Churchill around 10:30am. It was fascinating seeing the Hudson’s Bay from above and then landing on a gravel runway, which we had no clue about until Remi, from North Star Tours, filled us in.
Our next stop was the Polar Inn and Suites to drop off our luggage, a cozy hotel with a gift shop framed in the middle and friendly staff that made our stay enjoyable. Some of the rooms come equipped with kitchenettes so you can do your cooking and the hotel usually provides breakfast but things are different now with COVID-19. Because we were a group, they provided us with a prepared continental breakfast, which we found in our fridge later that evening. To use the word continental would be an understatement. It was a COVID-style continental buffet!