Daniel MacIsaac
Northern News Services

INUVIK (July 30/99) - Raymond Claes crossed nearly half the globe to Inuvik to do, well, nothing -- and he got a little help doing it.

A corporate executive from Ghent, Belgium, Claes said he retired just last month and is now free to do everything he wants, or nothing at all.

"I worked for an American company, 3M, for 20 years and now I don't do nothing," he said with a laugh.

In truth, Claes has been pretty active since arriving in Canada last month and the staff at the Inuvik Research Centre made sure he gained some insight into Inuvik's wildlife before heading off home.

"I came North because I had to see Canada," he said.

But despite a quick visit to Tuktoyaktuk, Claes was foiled in his attempts to get to Herschel Island -- and that's where Aurora College came in.

The Belgian signed up for the institute's scientific canoe trip last Thursday, but the rainy weather scared off the other would-be voyageurs and, again, threatened to leave Claes high and dry. But a sympathetic staff and a burst of sunshine by early afternoon meant Claes' fortunes had changed for the better.

"I just couldn't turn him down after he got burnt on Herschel Island," said Heather Swystun, the centre's research and technology manager.

What followed was a afternoon-long eco-tour of Airport Lake and the surrounding Mackenzie Delta. Battling choppy water and a steady wind, Swystun and colleague Kimberly Merritt led a party of just two canoes along the lakeshore, describing the local flora and fauna, including a protective, swooping peregrine falcon.

Claes was clearly pleased to be out on the land and out on the water.

"I won't say there's nothing like this in Belgium," he said, "but it's all industry and there's almost no chance to canoe there and there's nothing compared to the size of the MacKenzie River. I'm loving every minute of this."

Swystun and Merritt, a zoology graduate now studying education in Calgary, were obviously enjoying themselves as well, taking turns lecturing on animal life, the permafrost and the delta itself.

One might think that Claes would have got his fill after all that, but he was back at the centre the following day where librarian Dave King gave one of his regular slide presentations on Inuvik and the surrounding region. The dry-weather event attracted a slightly larger congregation of some 20 tourists for the hour-long presentation and tour of the facility.

In showing the slides and describing the local history and attraction, King brought his own insight and sense of humour to the presentation. He spoke of the creation of Inuvik, Aklavik's "Never Say Die" motto and the Mad Trapper's grave and the particular design of the celebrated Igloo Church built without stilts, but in such a way that it doesn't damage the permafrost and sink into the ground.

"This leads some people to believe that it's God that keeps it up," he said with a smile.

As Swystun said, the centre is trying to reach out to tourists and provide them with a better understanding of the institute's work and the workings of Inuvik. It appears to be succeeding.