Oh Canada! June 15th - L'Anse Amour Labrador

Day 18 Wednesday, June 15^th – L’Anse Amour, Labrador

We enjoyed a good home cooked breakfast.  And having satisfied ourselves that we did, indeed, know what time zone the ferry schedule followed, we drove north to L’Anse Amour, a village we didn't have time to visit earlier on our way south from Labrador. 

The first place we wanted to check out was the site of an ancient grave site purported to be the earliest known burial mound in North America.  While the site itself is unimpressive at first glimpse, you can’t help but be impressed at its antiquity.  It is the grave of a 12 year old Maritime Archaic boy who was buried about 7,500 years ago – some 3 thousand years before the great pyramid in Egypt was built.   He was found wrapped in skins and birch bark before burial, and he was buried with what appear to be ritualistic items such as a walrus tusk.

So much for Columbus discovering America – or even the Vikings for that matter.

This interpretive sign is in 3 languages.  I'm not sure if the one on the left is Innu or Inuit.

John kneeling next to the burial mound
Notice it's covered with rocks that have been placed there specifically.

After paying our respects to the young lad, we drove to Point Amour lighthouse; the tallest lighthouse in Atlantic Canada. 

Fortunately for us, the fog horn did not sound while we were in such close proximity.

 We opted not to climb to the top (I’m not even sure it was open at this time of year), but instead chose to hike along a portion of the HMS Raleigh Trail which runs along the shore below the lighthouse.

Chris on the trail.  Notice the outerwear.  It was darned chilly, damp and windy, but a wonderful day for walking the trail and taking pictures along the way.

A truly interesting aspect of the HMS Raleigh Trail is that the shoreline along which it runs is made up of prehistoric patch reefs.  Quoting from the interpretive sign,

‘The mound-like formations present along this shore are composed of the calcite skeletons of an extinct group of sponge-like animals called Archaeocyathids.  The Point Amour Archaeocyathid reefs, which were formed about 530 million years ago, provide evidence that this region was once a warm shallow sea near the equator.’

Schematic of the Arcaeocyathid's structure

The skeletal structures are the blocky almost interlocking pieces along the store.

A closer look at the skeletal remains above, and below with John's hat used for scale

One of my favorite pictures of the lighthouse and the reef

Another interesting part of the trail was the presence of an old shipwreck littering the beach for yards and yards.  The HSM Raleigh was a British cruiser that ran aground in thick fog on August 8^th, 1922.  The ship was stripped of salvageable items by British Admiralty and civilian salvage teams after which it was destroyed with explosives.  The salvage did not, however, manage to clear all ordnance from the wrecked ship.  Over the years, projectiles and cordite explosives washed up on adjacent beaches.

Other than that, the wreckage provided some good photographic opportunities for Chris.

Someone had left a cascade of artificial flowers in this section of wreckage.  

After our visit to Point Amour, we had enough time before our ferry to get a meal, so we found a place to have pizza in Blanc Sablon, then headed down to the wharf to await the arrival of our home for the next two and a half days.

Our first glimpse of the Nordik Express

It was very interesting to watch our Highlander driven into a shipping container and hoisted aboard by the ferry’s built-in crane.  It soon became obvious to us that the crane operator and the ground crew were highly skilled at loading/unloading these shipping containers.  A bad move could easily lose someone life and/or limb!  Strong magnets and a steady hand grasped the large containers which were then lifted, positioned and lowered into and out of the cargo holds.

The Highlander waiting to be crated and lifted on board

The Nordik Express pulling into port

This large crane was built into the ship.  It was fascinating to watch it work.

Securing the ship onto the dock.

It cost roughly $1,500 for the two of us, plus the Highlander, to make the ferry ride.  Berths are obtained on a first come, first served basis, and we were a bit worried when we found out that some folks put their names on the list months earlier than we did.  In the end, we were fortunate enough to secure a berth with private bath.  It was – well, small.  But it was clean, and we had quite a fun time of it.

Our berth.  Bunk beds, a small, but adequate bath with shower, and the 'hallway' below with closets to the left and bathroom door to the right.  Oh yes, and this was the luxury accommodation aboard this ferry.  We loved it!