Aug 31, 2019
It was a breezy night all night and the sound of the waves crashing on the beach was a soothing sound to wake up to. We talked about where we were going to explore today. There are several places that we wanted to see. We headed out after a warm shower. It was a typical east coast day with a strong steady wind blowing from the ocean. The route we were on is 510, which follows the coastline north. Our first stop is Red Bay, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Archeologists have determined that this was a 16thcentury Basque whaling station. We visited the information center that featured the model of a Basque whaling station. We had missed the boat that would take us to the original site, however because of our time constraint we opted not to take it. Instead we went for a coffee and pie in a restaurant overlooking the bay. We talked to the owner who was born and raised in Red Bay and well established in the community.
We talked about life in this small community, especially in the winter. They experience up to 15 feet of snow! He told us the story of his 86 year old mother’s house. This past winter the wind blew over 150kms/hr and blew the roof and one wall off of her house and tossed it into the bay. She had lived in the house all her life. Unfortunately the stress of losing her house was too much for her and she died shorty after. The homemade pies that we ate were partridge berry pie and bay apple pie. Delicious.
We also wanted to visit Mary’s Harbor. This little community is tucked into a cove along the shoreline and is the jumping off point for a ferry ride to Battle Harbor. Battle Harbour was established in 1750 as a fishing port and is a preserved in time fishing village. It is a National Historic Site. The ferry was not coming back until later in the afternoon which would not work into our schedule. We toured the village and enjoyed looking at the quaintness of this community.
We had travelled almost 200 kms north and we wanted to find fresh seafood for dinner tonight. We started our drive back and stopped in at West St. Modeste to buy a baguette at the local bakery. No such luck, but we bought fresh bread that had just been baked. We topped up the truck with fuel at $1.30/per liter. (This is the highest price of gas since The Pas, Manitoba).
We drove south past Pinware Provincial Park and stopped in at the fish plant in L’Anse au Loup. They did not have mussels but they had “caught an hour ago” cod. We bought three fillets and then headed home. There are about five tiny villages just a few kilometers apart, along the coast. The homes are painted in bright colors, neat and tidy. The coastline is rugged with tiny bays and coves. Small skiffs and boats are either tied to a small pier, anchored a short distance from shore or sitting on their keels on the ground out of the water. The main industry is fishing but there are several other support industries in each village.
The road to Red Bay and Mary’s Harbor is paved and passes through two types of terrain, either the boreal forest that stretches along most of the road, or suddenly you pass through the sub-arctic tundra and hillsides with very little vegetation pock marked with small melt ponds. As you crest a hill the entire vastness of the land is overwhelming. The tourist brochures boast about Labrador being the “big land”.
When we returned to our campsite, the wind was still blowing and the tide was coming in, bringing large rolling waves crashing onto the beach. Seals were bobbing off shore and gannets were plunging into the water. Debbie and I stood on the sand dunes and watched and admired the scene.
We fired up the barbeque and we baked the one fillet of cod, baked the potatoes in butter, onion and cheese all wrapped in tin foil. Robert came and visited us. He was also camping in the same campground, so we invited him for dinner. We had a few drinks, learned more about each other, and enjoyed a delicious meal. We talked until after 11:00 and finally decided it was time to go to bed. Robert will be staying in the area for a few more days before he too will be coming over to Newfoundland. We compared itineraries and realized that we would probably be crossing paths again on the “Rock”.
Quilting in a Kayak 