June 3, 2006

June 3, 2006

Quirpon to L'Anse aux Meadows to St. Anthony to St. Barbe, Newfoundland

YEAR 2 DAY 351

 

Today was a lovely day for this time of year in Newfoundland, sunny and mild, warm in the afternoon.

This morning we prepared for departure and left Viking RV Park, driving about 3 km. to the National Historic Site at L'Anse Aux Meadows. This is the site of the Viking Leif Ericsson's landing on the northern tip of Newfoundland in about 1000 A.D.. Too bad the Americans perpetuate the myth that North America was discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1492. We spent the morning wandering around and exploring the Interpretive Centre, and then the reconstructed Viking sod house settlement with costumed interpreters. It was very interesting and educational. And the really lovely weather didn't hurt.

As we wandered around the grounds, looking at the small settlement of ( reconstructed ) sod houses, there was a loud commotion overhead. We looked up and watched a Sea Gull chase away a Bald Eagle. Wow ... didn't know a gull would or could chase away an eagle. Maybe Canada should adopt the Sea Gull as our national bird ( nudge nudge wink wink ).

We left L'Anse aux Meadows and drove to a nearby restaurant for lunch, the Northern Delight in Gunners Cove. We had fresh cod and chips. I had a small side order of cod tongues to try. I liked them. Joanne didn't. For dessert we had Rhubarb Soup. It was a sweet dish of stewed rhubarb and cinnamon. While we waited for our lunch to be served, we looked at their collection of locally hand made crafts for sale. I bought a birthday gift for my sister-in-law. From there we drove to The Dark Tickle Company in St. Lunaire-Griquet to buy some jars of pickled rhubarb. I liked it when I had it with my salt cod cakes in Bonavista. From St. Lunaire-Griquet we drove to the town of St. Anthony. Yesterday there were 3 large icebergs visible from the harbour in St. Anthony, and we were hoping they would still be visible today. We parked at the top of Fishing Point on the edge of St. Anthony. There was thick, cold fog along the shore. Nothing was visible out over the water. The wind was cold. There was a wedding party taking pictures there. The bride, and especially the bridesmaid, appeared to be slowly freezing to death while a photographer took pictures. Disappointed that we couldn't see icebergs, we went into a local gift shop. They had an internet café so I got the laptop and got online for a few minutes.

In the gift shop at L'Anse aux Meadows I was looking at an authentic Newfoundland Sou'Wester rain hat. It was fleece lined, with fleece ear flaps. I thought it would be great for those mornings when I have to prepare for departure in cold rain. It was a bit expensive, and I didn't buy it. By the time we got to St. Anthony I decided I wanted one after all. I went to 2 gift shops, a general store, and the shopping mall in St. Anthony, and couldn't find one. Darn ! Another missed opportunity. Not only would it be a great thing to wear on cold raining mornings, it would be bound to be a great conversation starter.

We left St. Anthony and drove west, then north, then west, then south, then west across the Northern Peninsula, and finally south again, along the west coast back to St. Barbe. We' re catching the ferry there tomorrow to Labrador. We were planning to boondock overnight on the ferry dock. We drove onto the ferry dock, then noticed a large salt company warehouse adjacent to the ferry dock. I guess they still use a lot of salt in the cod industry. The warehouse was obviously closed for the weekend, and there was a large fifth wheel rig like ours parked beside the warehouse. We figured if they can park there overnight, so can we. We pulled into the warehouse property, and backed in behind the building, beside the other rig. HEY ... it had Manitoba license plates. As we parked, the people in the other rig came out to see us. They live in Norwood, on Lyndale Drive, very, very close to both Joanne's and my childhood homes. What a small world ! Before we even turned on the propane and went into the rig to turn on the fridge, we chatted with the "neighbours" for a couple of hours. The man and I chatted about trucks ; my new great Dodge, and his piece of shit GM. Joanne and the woman talked about travel plans. We talked about WorkCamping. We talked about fifth wheel trailers. We talked about Birchdale Betty. A few of the readers of my blog, who grew up with us in Norwood, will know what that means. Finally, we went inside to feed the animals and ourselves.

Parked behind a salt warehouse, we have the most astounding view. I'm typing this as we watch the sun set on the Strait Of Belle Isle. We can see the lights coming on in Labrador across the strait.

DSK