Day 05 – L’Anse Au-Clair, Labrador – Viking Settlement – St. Anthony

Today we leave Labrador and will take the ferry back across the Strait of Belle Isle and go to the Viking Settlement at L’Anse aux Meadows.  As we are leaving Labrador heading to Quebec for the ferry we actually see an animal, in this case a groundhog on the side of the road.   

We do not have to meet the ferry as early as when we crossed to Labrador since our ferry doesn’t leave until 9:15am.  It is foggy and a little drizzly when we leave and hope that it will clear by the time we get on board.  A cargo vessel is coming out of the fog bank as it is approaching the docks. 

On the ferry, up on the top outside deck and while we are waiting for the cars and trucks to get loaded, I watch the small cargo vessel load and unload cars in containers.   

This van is being loaded in a container which has no sides.  The container looks a little flimsy if you ask me.   

Out on the water, Carmen saw a whale, but no picture.  We are told that Minke Whales do not do a tail fluke dive like the humpbacks do and you only see their backs, maybe this is what she saw.  I did see a couple of fishing vessels dragging their nets.  Not sure what they are catching.  

We pass through rain and everyone that was out on deck head back in.  As the rain let up some I went out and see a number of birds that are moving out of our way.  I think this is a Puffin that is sort of swimming, doing the breast stroke, trying to fly away. 

Back in Newfoundland our destination is L’Anse aux Meadows.  To get there we pass places like Deadman’s Cove, Bear Cove, Sandy Cove and another 10 more coves.  This one has the fishing vessels docked ready for the next day’s fishing.

Later this stream has some sort of fish trap stretched across it.   

More boats which I think are dories used to catch cod fish.   

Entering L’Anse aux Meadows we learn that the Norsemen originally came here from Greenland and this sculpture on the grounds represents their arrival to Newfoundland. 

The walkway leading to the reconstructed buildings meanders along and over streams and through fields which once held other buildings. 

Nearing the buildings constructed to represent how the buildings might have been in the early to mid 1000’s you can see the example of the fence built to keep unwanted animals out.  You can also see at the near end of the long house there is a ceiling vent opened to let heat out. 

Inside the fence we get a closer look at the longhouse and side buildings.  There are two entrances on this side which pass straight through to matching entrances on the other side of the building. 

We entered the longhouse and get a representation of one of the rooms.  At the bottom right of the picture is a man representing a male member of the Norsemen along with a fire while a women representing the women goes about her duties.  The long house is separated into different rooms by walls with a passageway.

Another separate building which represented the smithy was also present and equipped with anvil and fire bellows. 

A close-up view of the buildings external walls.  It is clear that sod was cut, about 4-6 inch depth, and at different lengths and widths.  The walls were 5-6 feet deep and 6 foot tall making the inside temperature comfortable in both summer and winter. 

As we leave the interpretive buildings Carmen gets this picture of the roof of the longhouse through the fence.

After leaving the buildings we walked around the field area where other buildings once existed.  Here the building at this site is presumed to have been used for ship repair and iron forging, probably determined by items found in the depression.  There were about 7-8 other building sites similar to this one each used for a different purpose.

Carmen and I always include flowers and animals in our travel blogs.  Although we have not had many animals so far, we have had an over abundance of flowers.  This flower is very small and different from many others we have seen.   

Though these Irises and buttercups are not unusual, we have seen many of them sometimes a lone iris or buttercup to groupings of the flowers.  I can’t get over how often we have seen them. 

This has nothing to do with the Norsemen, but this dandelion puffball was so perfect I had to include it with the pictures.  I found it while I was walking back to the motorcoach.   

Back on the road again heading to our next stop, we pass coves similar to this one.  Docks with either a dory or motorboat with houses and store or fishing shacks near the water. 

Like we have before, we pass another river with fly fishermen hoping to hook that elusive salmon.  I wonder if either of the has caught anything yet? 

 

As we near our hotel for the night, we can see an iceberg in one of the nearby bays and the coach driver was able to take us down near the water.  The sky was overcast and it was getting late, but we could still see the iceberg fairly well. 

On our last turn to the hotel we pass this Canadian rescue helicopter in the field of a school.  Not sure why it was there, but it was gone by the morning.  Tomorrow we are heading back south through Gros Morne to the coastal town of Rocky Harbour.

Day 04 – Plum Point – Red Bay, Labrador– L’Anse Au-Clair

Okay, so today the plan is to take the ferry from St. Barbe in Newfoundland to Blanc Sablon in Quebec, where the other end of the ferry ends.  Here another tour bus is loading onto the Apollo just before our turn.

After departing the bus, we made our way up to the lounge and while Carmen settled in I went out onto the outer deck.  From here I can see a number of different views including these boats set upright on stilts. 

Just before leaving the dock and head into the Strait of Belle Isle, I look back at St. Barbe and the different colored houses.   

I and some of the others from our tour have been on the lookout for ice bergs and whales; so far to no avail.  So instead of whales we see a couple of mountains with part in the sunshine, something that has eluded us so far. 

The only action we seem to have is scaring a small flock of sea birds that were resting in the water.  

Just before we are called to meet to board the bus, a couple of us see a whale blow and are awarded with the whale doing a fluke dive.  The whale was quite a distance, maybe 2.5K (1.5 miles) away from us, but I was able to get a fair shot of it. 

A couple of small icebergs were also spotted, even further away then the whale, but a sighting is a sighting no matter how far it is. 

We are only in Quebec for a few minutes and begin our travels into Labrador where we stop at the entrance to the Canadian Provence.  Carmen is standing in front of the signpost with the Canadian, Newfoundland, Union Jack, and Labrador flags.  As you can see from the flags flying straight out, the wind is blowing pretty hard.   

So, we are staying in L’Anse-au-Clair tonight and will pass by our hotel on our way to Red Bay.  Since we must return here later in the day, we stop to unload the luggage and allow people to take a break.  Guess what?  The icebergs we saw from the boat are here in the cove just below our hotel.  So while they are unloading the luggage I go to get a better picture of the iceberg 

We have seen many flowers here in Newfoundland and Labrador including many buttercups.  I don’t know when I’ve seen so many buttercups in my travels as we have seen here.  Here is just a small grouping. 

On our way to Red Bay we pass through West St. Modeste and the lighthouse on the island in the bay. 

The sun made a short but appreciated appearance while we Ride down the road.  Many of the sights we are seeing are very similar to this, only so far it has been mostly cloudy. 

The sun remains shining while on our ride along the Labrador Coastal Drive and we great views like this.

We drive over the Pinware River Bridge and Rod, our bus driver, because we cannot stop along the road, drives very slowly so we have a chance to see and photograph the river.  Now this is great, almost a gorge with the river, rapids and even a couple people fishing (not in the picture). 

On a high spot of the road, we get another view of the Pinware River with the mountains in the background.  What a fantastic view.  Can you imagine yourself fishing in this river? 

Making good use while the sun is out, we get this view, typical of some of the sights we have had so far.  As you can see, much of the area is of a tundra type of foliage.  The fir and spruce trees are stunted many not even 6 feet tall. 

Just before getting into Red Bay I see this camp.  How would you like this fishing/hunting camp?  What a great location. 

We are now in Red Bay where we learn about the Basque whalers from Spain.  An interpretation center demonstrates some of the artifacts found in the area.  Not sure if these figures were part of the Center, but they still looked good. 

A scale model of the San Juan whaleship found sunk off the coast.  These would be loaded with barrels of whale oil that would be returned to Spain. 

From the deck outside the Center we can see across the river to some old docks and storehouse buildings used in the past, now crumbling. 

While at the Red Bay Basque Whalers Interpretive Center we can see several working fishing docks.  

According to the information in the Center, this island was used to render the whale blubber into the oils used for lighting.  The furnaces were near the shore and apparently there were several, one to the right of the small boat and one to the left of the building. 

We left the Whalers Center and walked around a little.  This quaint little church was sitting at the top of the hill. 

Outside the historic Whaling Center were four rock formations called Inukshuk which translates to “likeness of a person”.  Not sure if they belonged to the Center or the house next door, but I thought these three looked pretty good with the houses and docks in the background. 

The sun has been out for about 15 minutes, so I am running around trying to get some interesting pictures before the dark clouds come back and we leave.  Here an old boat with a hole in it makes for a good foreground for the dock and waters behind it.   

Back on the bus and on the road again, we stop at an overlook of the Pinware River.  What a great view, I can imagine myself on the river now with a fly rod trying to catch my daily salmon for supper. 

Looking left from the river view, pictured above, we can see some of the hills and a couple of rocks deposited from the receding glaciers after the last ice age.  It is easy to lose time while looking out over this landscape.  Good thing we are on a bus or we would have spent way too much time at this location.

The sun has remained out for far longer than at anytime so far on this trip and I take advantage of it when we drive past this small dock and red shack. 

On the road to the L’Anse Amour Lighthouse on Amour Point we make a quick stop at an ancient burial mound.  The burial mound in the bottom right, within the circle, has what is assumed to be a child that is about 9000 years old.  

For most of the time we were at the lighthouse we had pretty good visibility.  Carmen and I were one of the first to ascend the stairs and after climbing 132 steps and two ladders we find ourselves at the top on the light platform. 

From here we can see quite a distance. 

Walking around the grounds of the lighthouse I see many wild Irises.  I am quite surprised and pleased to see so many around since I do like the looks of the Iris.  Great color. 

It was time to leave as we begin to get on the bus someone sees a whale blow spray and most everyone who were just starting to get on stops and begins looking for the whale.  It never flipped its tail up for a deeper dive, but when it did rise again for air I was able to get some of it.  Hopefully when we are on our whale watch later in the trip we’ll see more whales and tails. 

Just before getting on the bus I also got a picture of a couple of Gannets.

 

One last look at the lighthouse as we leave and before too long we are at our hotel in L’Anse au Clair.  The sky does not get dark until well after 9:00pm so as we eat and finish dinner it look early, but it isn’t.  Tomorrow we head back to the ferry to cross the Strait of Belle Isle back to Newfoundland and our next stop at St. Anthony.