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July 10–12, 2001
We awoke to a dense fog we thought would dissipate,
but never did all day. It gave an eerie quality to our morning
at L'Anse aux Meadows, site of an ancient Viking settlement.
It was also the first day we had to bundle up against the cold.
A foggy July day in northernmost Newfoundland might feel balmy
to a Newfoundlander, but to Virginians, it felt more like winter!
A little history: the L'Anse aux Meadows site
was discovered in the mid-1900s and excavated by Helge
Ingstad, Norwegian explorer, writer, and politician, and
his archeologist wife, Anne Stine in the 1960s. The excavation
was later continued by Parks Canada, and L'Anse aux Meadows
became a World Heritage site. For a long time, "Vinland,"
which was recorded in Norse legend as having been discovered
by the Vikings and described as "a place where grapes grew,"
was thought to be somewhere south of Maine since grapes are
not known to grow north of there. However, artifacts and building
ruins found at L'Anse aux Meadows lead archeologists to believe
that the Vikings, possibly Leif Ericsson and his band, lived
on and off at this site for 25 years. The site was abandoned
after that, possibly due to hostilities with the local Indians.
The actual excavations are now covered to preserve the site.
Our interpreter said it was unlikely that any more excavation
would take place there for another 20 years or so until archeological
technology improves to the point where no further damage will
be rendered to the site.
Off to the side, there are some reconstructed
buildings where re-enactors show how life must have been, based
on what has been found and what is known about Viking lifestyles
in other areas they occupied.
The
afternoon took us back to St. Anthony where we planned our next
adventure over a light snack at the Lightkeeper's Cafe. I was
beginning to chafe over having inadequate time to concentrate
on photography, plus I wanted to see the north Atlantic. Consequently,
on some local advice, we headed for Goose Cove, located at the
end of an unlikely gravel road. It turned out to be a good decision.
We spent most of the rest of the afternoon hiking along a plateau
on a high cliff that overlooks the north Atlantic. It was deserted,
desolate, and absolutely gorgeous. And there was plenty to photograph,
from the interesting vegetation underfoot to the spectacular
sweeping vistas both seaward and on the
plateau — lots of steep, rugged cliffs, blue mountain ponds,
abundant wildflowers (see my special writeup
& photos), a red fox. A small graveyard on a protected
bluff reminded us that a hardy people once lived there and scraped
a living from the rocks and the sea.
Note: A former resident of Goose
Cove emailed to tell me that Goose Cove
(West), now an abandoned village, had eleven families
in the early 1960s. The little cove between the two headlands
(above) is known there as Harvey's Cove and the little pond
(also pictured above) is called Rocky Pond.
I couldn't leave the town of Goose Cove, a picturesque
little fishing village, without shooting a roll of film there
as well. We stopped to chat with some friendly fishermen working
on one of the boats. Their trade was shrimp and crabs they ship
to southern Newfoundland for processing and sale.
Because
the Lightkeeper's Cafe had a good Canada Select rating, we decided
to go back there for dinner, by this time in dire need of a
good (i.e., tasty) feed. We were not disappointed, and enjoyed
one of the best meals we'd had to date in Newfoundland. After
dinner, we wandered along some of the trails at Fisherman's
Point, and although some of the views were similar to what we
had seen from the cliffs over Goose Cove, none were nearly so
spectacular. The heavy fog was also rolling back in.
The next morning, we were up early, 5:30 AM, since
we had a one and a half hour drive to the ferry that would take
us across the Strait of Belle Isle to Labrador. Breakfast was
the usual delicious fare with rolls and jam. We enjoyed chatting
with Dot, the cook, who appeared to be related to almost everyone
at L'Anse aux Meadows and neighboring Norstead, the commercialized
version of the Viking story. This is a good point to comment
on the unusual and unique speech patterns and accents of the
people of Newfoundland, since the farther north you are, the
more pronounced the dialect.
The H sound is often dropped from the beginnings of words that
normally use it, and inserted in front of other words in unlikely
places. The slang word "yeah" is used frequently as
an affirmation or agreement, with the addition of a breathy
H sound. Used mainly by women, the overall effect can be quite
charming. Newfoundland was originally settled by Irish fishermen,
and consequently English is spoken with a lilting Irish or Scottish
accent, in addition to the more familiar Canadian habits of
speech (e.g., "aboot). Again, the farther north, the more
pronounced the accent. Listen to a group of fishermen or a gang
of teenagers conversing, and you will think they are speaking
something other than English.
The ferry ride to Labrador was an uneventful trip
during which I spent most of the hour and a half trying to keep
from getting seasick. The seas were a bit choppy, and I am no
sailor when it comes to keeping my stomach in line. We disembarked
in Blanc Sablon, Quebec, had a quick lunch at the Northern Light
Cafe, then drove east along the coastline. Man, was it cold!
We stopped a few times for photos at my request. George waited
in the car while I braved the buffeting wind to take photos
of the fog.
We
didn't have much time in Labrador — only a day — so
we quickly found our B&B (Lighthouse
Cove), checked in, quickly toured the nearby Pointe Amour
lighthouse, then headed for Red Bay and the end of the paved
road north. Beyond Red Bay, the road is a Class A gravel affair
that goes to Mary's Harbour. This road was supposed to be extended
to Cartwright very soon, and to Churchill Falls in six years
or so, mainly to benefit the logging industry
I think. Very sad since the extension of the road will lead
to the same rape of the virgin forests as has occurred in Newfoundland.
At the time of our visit, there were only two
paved roads in Labrador, with the other connecting Quebec to
Labrador City. Aside from logging, Labrador's only other industry
is fishing along the coast. The only access to these fishing
communities is via a packet boat that travels up and down the
coast from Nain in the north to St. Anthony in the south. Passengers
can travel on the Northern Ranger for about $3,200. It takes
12 days to make the run, which includes stops at all of the
fishing communities along the way.
Recreational
fishermen head for the Pinware River where a lot of fly, salmon
and trout fishing takes place. In the winter, ice fishing is
popular amongst the hearty.
In Red Bay, we visited the Basque Whaler's Museum.
Much of the artifacts and history is based on a 400 year old
whaling boat discovered at the bottom of the bay and a grave
site found on a nearby island. We had hoped to take a motorboat
across to the island to explore, but the weather wasn't cooperating,
and we ran out of time.
The park interpreters we encountered both in Newfoundland
and in Labrador were extremely well-informed and helpful during
the entire trip. The fellow we met in Labrador seemed especially
interested in talking to us (probably because he doesn't usually
see many people). He was a seasonal park ranger — we couldn't
quite figure out what he did for the rest of the year though,
this same being true for many of the people we met in the far
north. They probably get iced in and can't do much. Apparently
snow-mobiling is a big thing in the winter. We also chatted
with a 17 year old boy in the gift shop. It's such a pleasure
to talk with these northern Canadian teenagers, who have not
yet adopted the prevalent American teenage behavior of irreverence
and rudeness. These kids are friendly, have positive attitudes
and good family values, appreciate what they have (which is
a lot less than the average American teenager has), and can
beautifully articulate their thoughts and ideas with "adults."
We met several of these teens during our trip. This particular
young man was looking forward to joining his friends in college
at Memorial University in St. John's the following year. The
young lady who was the tour guide at the Pointe Amour Lighthouse
(near our B&B) was also hoping to attend the university
in St. John's to study education and psychology. Many of the
young people of Newfoundland and Labrador are taking advantage
of opportunities to get a college education, which then open
up the possibilities for employment elsewhere in other provinces.
They wish they could stay at home, but jobs are scarce. The
fishing industry there is crippled due to a moratorium on cod
and salmon fishing caused by foreign countries being allowed
to fish Canadian waters for so many years. The area is fished
out. There's still a market for shellfish — crabs, mussels,
shrimp —but it's not as lucrative as it used to be.
On the nature front, we saw some really huge saddleback
gulls, a whale (probably a menke), and a seal off the coast
near the lighthouse. No moose in Labrador. We wondered if we
would see a polar bear, but no, we didn't. Polar bears apparently
arrive in Newfoundland and Labrador in the spring, via iceberg
from Greenland and Baffin Island. Unwelcome visitors, they are
always escorted back off again.
We had dinner at the Whaler's Restaurant in Red
Bay (pretty much the only game in town), then headed back to
our B&B (an unassuming home), where we enjoyed a very pleasant
social evening with the owners and their assorted guests. We
ran into one couple who had also been with us at our last B&B
in St.
Anthony. The owners of the Lighthouse Cove B&B were a retired
fisherman and his wife. They had plenty of interesting stories
to tell about the local community and its families, and they
were interested in hearing about their guests' adventures. Breakfast
the next morning was another very social affair, and quite delicious
as our hostess had plenty of homemade bread, muffins, and jam
on hand. It was hard to tear ourselves away, but we had a ferry
to catch. |
