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!

Oh Canada! June 14th - Back to Blanc Sablon

Day 17 Wednesday, June 14^th – Goodbye to L’Anse Aux Meadows

We were sad to leave our hosts at the Viking Village B&B, but anxious to begin the next interesting leg of our trip.  We said our good-bys on a foggy morning, but not before buying one jar each of Dot’s homemade jams.  There was dogberry marmalade, squashberry jelly, bakeapple jam and partridgeberry jam.  Mmm Mmm Good!

Chris and Dot at Viking Village B&B

Our trip back to St. Barbe and the ferry to the mainland was punctuated with blue skies – the fog having either lifted or been left behind in L’Anse aux Meadows - and beautiful roadsides filled with blooming dandelions.  The lowly dandelion is much maligned given the beauty of its bloom and the fact that it’s edible.  I sometimes wonder why we don’t just grow dandelions in our yards and be happy.

Point of interest:  Most of the churches we saw in Newfoundland were Pentecostal. 

This little store needed to change it's logo to 'A Little Bit of Almost Everything' as we didn't find any post cards there.  

The ferry crossing was beautiful and provided us with yet another iceberg sighting during the trip.

Back in Blanc Sablon, Quebec, we found our hotel, Quatre Saisons, or Four Seasons, with little difficulty and had a really great four course pasta dinner there; home cooked with a fabulous desert of fruit salad cake with butter sauce.  Yum! 

It was a good thing we thought to ask about what time zone the ferry schedule is based on  (remember the weirdness of Eastern time, Atlantic time and Newfoundland time all sort of coalescing in one small spot on the map?)  Turns out it was based on Newfoundland time regardless of the fact that it was leaving a harbor that is on Eastern time.  If we had assumed Eastern time, we’d have missed the boat by an hour and a half!

Given that our wake up time just got an hour and a half earlier than it was – which was already pretty early – we hit the sack right after dinner and slept like logs.

Oh Canada! June 13th - L'Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland

Day 16 Tuesday, June 13^th – L’Anse Aux Meadows

We headed out right after breakfast to visit nearby Burnt Cape Ecological Reserve, which is part of Pistolet Bay Provincial Park.  On the way there we FINally saw moose!  Not one moose in all of Labrador, but today we spotted 8 on our way to the park.  Yea!

The reserve is on the NE side of Ha Ha Bay (no, really), and is a geologically rare limestone barrens which sports even more rare flora.  The area had been an active quarry until an observant botanist from Harvard found endangered Burnt Cape Cinquefoil growing all over the area.  

Burnt Cape Cinquefoil

There are a couple dozen other plants rare to the province found on the reserve, but our guide told us it was the Cinquefoil that clinched the decision to take the area out of production and turn it into a reserve. 

You'd never know by looking at this seemingly barren place that it was home to so many special and rare plants.  

The plants are very very small and stunted due to the harsh environment.  And many of them are astonishingly old!  Here are some pictures of ones we were lucky enough to see.  

This is a 400 - 500 year old Tamarak tree, and yes, it has grown absolutely flat to the ground.  It isn't 3 inches tall.

Alpine Azalea

Lapland Rose Bay, which is a Rhododendron

This is a 'very old' Willow tree, according to our guide

Alpine Birch and Alpine Willow 'trees'

The flowered spike in front the finger is Alpine Meadow Rue

very rare Arctic Bladder Pod

very rare Crepis Nana or Dwarf Hawk's Beard - not blooming, alas

Butterwort, a carniverous plant - not in bloom

A Moss Campion plant that may be as much as 50 years old

A very old Juniper tree

Rare Alpine Pussy Toes

The ground surface in the reserve is made up of gravel to cobble sized pieces of sharp, angular limestone.  This covering is made from centuries (millennia?) of freeze/thaw cycles breaking up the limestone.  Because of the harsh weather environment, these cycles produce in the limestone bed an interesting phenomenon - polygonal ring structures that are visible on the surface.  It almost looks as if someone built a circle to use as a fire ring or something, but the structures are totally natural.

If you look closely, you'll see roundish depressions spread across he surface in the foreground of this picture.

Our guide standing next two some of the polygonal forms, and below, John's hat in the center of one to show scale.

Not to be outdone by New Hampshire, the Burnt Cape reserve has its own cliff-face persona, a formation they call (unimaginatively) The Face in the Cliff.  To me it looks like an old woman with an old fashioned lace trimmed bonnet.  Our guide told us some people think it looks like Queen Victoria.  What do you think?

On the way out of the park we saw yet more moose.  I guess this was our day for moose sightings.  

Hey, who you lookin' at?

Now you see me......

Now you don't!

We had lunch in the Highlander at the wharf in Quirpon.  Now here’s a little tidbit.  How do you think you’d pronounce Quirpon?  I guarantee you won’t guess unless you are a local.  It’s pronounced kar-POON, like harpoon.  I’d have never thunk it.  

As we walked around the wharf, we saw this lonely scene - so indicative of the area.  Evidence of a once thriving way of life that is steadily passing away.

One lonely curtain flying in the wind reminds us that this was once someones home

Our afternoon was spent visiting Norstead, a re-created Norse trading post.  It was a bit early in the season, so they didn't have their full complement of costumed interpreters, but the few who were there were fun and informative.  John was especially interested in seeing the scale replica of a Viking knarr, the type of vessel Leif Eriksson used to sailed across the Atlantic in about 1000 a.d.  My impression was the same as when I saw scale replicas of the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria, 'Gosh, that's a darned small boat for sailing across uncharted seas'.

Norstead welcome center

Boardwalk from welcome center to the village

Goat paddock and Newfie goat, with whom we got up close and personal.  Well.... up close at least.

The Viking knarr replica which you are able to step into, if you like, using the ramp beside the vessel.

I guess that's a landing boat next to the knarr.  It looks pretty small and tippy, but it probably is a very worthy craft.

All the structures are built with sod roof and walls.  This is the church with an inside shot below.

While John was admiring the Viking boat, Chris had fun taking pictures on the rocky shore.

On our drives along the area, I couldn't help taking more pictures that pay tribute to a former way of life.

On the brighter side, John was determined to see some Newfoundland dogs while on the island.  The proprietor of the Dark Tickle store had two 'grand dogs' owned by her daughter.  They were coming to the store as part of the Iceberg Festival going on that week, but we weren't able to be there when the dogs visited.  So the nice lady told us how to get to her daughter's house where we did see the dogs cavorting in the yard.  The owners were not at home, but their nice neighbor came over to visit with us and let John pet the pups.

The dogs are named Sebastian and Nevis.  They were so active, it was hard to get a good picture of them, but they are big and fluffy and slobbery and friendly.

We also saw this fellow who lived at, or near, the dogs' house.  The neighbor told us he had been a stray who chose to stay, and he appeared well looked after.  Notice the one blue eye and one gold eye?

Dinner that night was at the wonderfully laid back Daily Catch where among our fellow diners was the couple from Queens who had been with us on the ferry over from Blanc Sablon.

If you visit the area, you do need to eat at The Daily Catch.  Yum!

http://www.thedailycatch.ca/


By the way, The Dark Tickle store's web site has a weather cam with a couple of good photos/maps of the area.  You can also buy their cool stuff from their web site.

http://www.darktickle.com/content/6-tickle-cam

One final parting shot for the day is this hand made road sign - indicative of how thoughtful people are in this place.