It was about a 40 minute ride south and east.
After we picked Brian and his guide up from the side of the road where they had been fishing we drove into the village to drop off the guide. He was a kind retired gentleman who proceeded to direct us around town to see the sights.
He had us drive up a curvy, rough road to the highest point on the peninsula. We could look out 360 degrees to see the bay, the ocean, lakes and land.
There were some icebergs. He called the small ones growlers. There was a large one just over the edge of land and we could see the tip. The fog was coming in and it was getting late (8:15) so we did not take the path out to look over the cliff to get a good look.
It is near the end of the iceberg season.
This plaque is mounted on a rock at the top of the lookout. Keep in mind that travel was done by boat and plane. The current gravel road to town was completed in 2002. Before that travel was only by snow
sleds and before that dog sleds.
sleds and before that dog sleds.
This plaque is also up on the hill.
You can see the Atlantic Ocean behind Brian and Susan. I got a picture of Lynn and Jeff but took it on their camera so don't have it to include here.
We peppered the guide with questions and learned a lot about his life and town. He and his wife have two kids and they have both moved to Nova Scotia for work. There are 30 students in the K-12 village school. All of the vast forest lands that we have been traveling through in Labrador are owned by the "Crown."
He gets a permit to harvest firewood and then gets it in the winter using a snowmobile and a sled. He burns about 10 cord a season. He harvests the black spruce that is the primary wood available.
He is 65 and retired from operating the town generator that makes the electricity for the 300 residents of the town. Initially it was wood fired but by the time he retired it was diesel and controlled by computers. He said at that point he didn't have to work very hard.
Historically, the town processed salmon and more recently cod. However, currently there is not much commercial industry in town. Cod and snow crabs are landed there and transported elsewhere.
As we were dropping him off at his house he offered us a piece of iceberg. Brian took a plastic grocery bag and got two pieces of iceberg from a chest freezer that he keeps in his shed. When asked what he does with it, he shared that he chips off some and puts it in his rum. I'm not sure quite what Brian will do with it but that sounds like a good use for 10,000 year old ice.
July 27
Cloudy, rainy and in the 50's. We stopped for gas this morning and look what we saw! That is a big enough hint for me. It is about time to leave Labrador.
Jack the fishing guide told us that these sleds are hooked to snowmobiles and used to gather firewood. He said they call them by their eskimo name, "qamutik". We saw them in various locations along the side of the road. These are very trusting folks.
More dirt road but we are now near the shore and have some ocean and bay views.
The Mildhogs in all our glory. (r to l - Lynn & Jeff Fish, Susan & Brian Smith, Chris & Bill Fowler and Deb & Allan Metzler)
We are concerned for Jeff. Looks like the harpoon is going to get him.
Bill was quite excited to find an old friend!
This is a replica of the type of boat that the Basque used to sail across the Atlantic to come here to fish for whales in the 16th century. They would kill whales and render the oil, place it in barrels and take it back. The whale oil was then sold for lamp oil all across Europe. They could fit up to 1,000 barrels in a ship.
This is a hooked rug. The fabric used to hook was very fine. The hanging depicts life in Red Bay during the four seasons.
This is the view outside of the museum looking up the bay.
On our way to our next stop L'Anse-au-Claire we saw a fin whale with its tail bobbing in the ocean. We think it was feeding. We also saw one breech. It was a fantastic sight to behold.
We got settled into our next hotel and decided that we had time before dinner so we all took a ride in the van to a couple of lookout spots. We drove through the next town which is where we were to catch the ferry the next day. We went out to the ferry terminal to check out the location. The ferry was just docking as we were there.
We went back to the hotel for dinner. During dinner the power went out. It stays light until about 9:30 so we had enough light to eat. After a bit a generator kicked in but it was only for the lobby. We found our way back to our rooms and dug around for our flashlights. Yes, as experienced travelers this has happened to us before.
July 28 - Cloudy and foggy, in the high 50's.
The ferry was leaving Blanc-Sablon at 10:30 and we knew we needed to arrive about an hour early. We had a leisurely morning and were all packed and checked out by 9:00. It was decided we would hang in the lobby for a while. Finally, the desk clerk asked us if we were taking the 10:30 ferry. Then she told us we needed to get going.
We arrive at 9:33. Quickly we found out that they hold reservations until 1 hour before departure. We no longer had reservations!!! We were given numbers and they would board as many extras as the ship would hold. We were numbers 42 and 43. They were able to board 21 extras.
Here is the ferry leaving without us. We tried to make phone reservations for the 3:30 ferry. They were no longer taking phone reservations. The next available reservation was for Sunday afternoon, today is Thursday! We were issued new numbers. This time we got numbers 8 and 9. We spent time watching for whales and we saw some. We played cribbage. I read my book. We ate our packed lunch. We were back and in line at 1:45. We made it onto the 3:30 ferry.
The day is still gray but we are delighted to be here in Newfoundland.
We drove up the western shore and across to the east. It is a small panhandle compared to the rest of the island. There were many villages.
I'm partial to the ocean and loved the diversity of the scenery compared to the black spruce of Labrador.
The fog traveling over the mountain was breathtaking.
This was the view from the parking lot of a small store where we stopped for directions to our cabin.
This is the proud flag of Newfoundland and Labrador. It was designed in 1980. Newfoundland and Labrador became the 10th Canadian province in 1949.
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