Ignace Airways & Outpost
Attack in the middle of the night
One day I woke up the on the shore of the Agimak Lake after being attacked by hundreds of mosquitoes on the spot I chose before. I was preparing my dinner when the hordes came in and started their bloody attack. The only way I saw to get rid of them was eating my dinner while I ran circles around the parking lot to make sure these suckers could not stick onto me. This must have been a weird sight in itself.
After I finished my plate I just threw the remains into the back of the car and hit the road. I lowered the windows and opened the fans of the car to the maximum to create a stream of air that would keep me safe. Driving 2,5 hours into the middle of the night I arrived at the safe spot that Agimak Lake was. Sleeping close to flowing water is preferable to a true lakeside spot I learned that night.
What woke me up in the morning was the sound of a starting water plane. I glimpsed outside and could only see the yellow plane lift into the sky above the water. I thought I’d be on a plane like this as well.
When I finished my morning routine of breakfast, exercise and cleaning the van I pulled the car back onto the street and was ready to continue my eastbound route.
I said yes because no did not come to my mind
When I came across a building that looked like the airport of the water planes I took my heart in both hands and entered the premises. I went into the office to ask how much it would cost me to be a passenger on one of those flights. As I did not have a precise schedule or destination to fly to my question must have sounded more than vague.
A nice woman at the office named Karen told me about the business model of this company that consists of outposts and fishing huts on the lakes that can only be accessed by plane. When I met the owner Brad we sat down and had a nice chat about their place, my travel and life in general. Both of them did the perceived Canadian friendliness more than justice.
When it came to flying they told me they would take me onto one of their flights but couldn’t guarantee when and if it would work in the end. I was not having a schedule for the day so I told them I would wait at my car and have a coffee. They refused me to wait outside and instead invited me for coffee and introduced me to their awesome dog.
When they explained about the planes and that my fortune was based on the amount of gear that passengers would bring I understood why it is such a lucky situation that I would encounter not much later that day.
When Greg and Kathy, two nice fellows from the US showed up to board their flight at around 11:00 AM I was invited to go out with them. Go out over the beautiful landscape and the vast lakes of the area.
Exclusive flight
When we dropped the couple that would spend their next week on one of the lakes outside I came to recognize that I’d fly back with Brad all by myself. That man was such a nice host and I was so lucky to sit in the front of the 5 seated plane with him. While flying back to the origin of our travel we had a nice time in the air. We chatted over the planes own intercom system and when the topic turned to photography I learned his wife Karen would be an avid photographer of the night sky. One of the things I was thinking about during the last days as well. She sparked the last bit my inspiration, but this is stuff for another time.
I think the luck I had during this day is more that I would have expected when I woke up that morning. So sometimes the best alarm is the one that inspires you to think out of you box during the day?
