This
morning we woke to bright blue skies and no wind. We would have been
better off staying in St Barbe and crossing on the 8:00 ferry this
morning. Especially as we were not particularly quick at getting up
and out so we were probably no better off time wise either. Stef
rang Relais Nordik to get an update on the ferry down to Havre St
Pierre, still not due in until early tomorrow morning.
We met an Alaskan couple at breakfast who had also been on the
ferry. They are traveling in a larger RV than ours and we had seen
them on the road yesterday as we drove down to St Barbe. In my view
they were doing the sensible thing and they had pulled up and turned
around to find somewhere safe to wait out the storm. It turned out
that they did this four times along the way and that when they
finally hit the coast line they were only doing 20mph because they
were being buffeted so hard.
As we were packing our bits away in Morty the Canadian couple we had
met at the ferry terminal pulled up and stopped to chat. I had
chatted to them on the ferry about the information we had been given
for onward travel to Labrador, mainly on unpaved roads some of which
is not great, and they had been mulling it over overnight. They are
traveling for about a month, sleeping in their car at any place they
find where they can stop. I am not sure what they did in the end but
we did not see them on the ferry down to Havre St Pierre which was
also an option for them.
Today is the only day we will spend in Labrador. It is again a vast
province and it would be good to have the time to head up to
some of the more remote northern areas but that will have to wait
until another trip, and be done at an earlier time of the year. We
set out to explore what we could easily do within a day, without
having to drove too far over bad roads.
Leaving L'Anse aux Clair in daylight we could see that it is a small
community nestled at the end of a valley along the coast. There is
not much here to see or to do but that was part of the attraction of
coming here. From here, a paved road runs north as far as Red Bay,
about an hours drive away. After that it is unpaved up to Cartwright
from where you have to get a ferry if you want to continue through
to Happy Valley-Goose Bay (great name!). The road from Happy
Valley-Goose Bay back through Labrador to Labrador City is unpaved
but a tarmac road then winds back down to Quebec.
The road winds up and down the coast over hills and down into
valleys. It is as if the sea has taken a great knife and carved off
the edge of the land revealing cliffs along the way. Looking inland
on tope of the hills, the land is bare and barren, rocks covered
with low bracken type bushes and trees. Its a very remote and rocky
landscape and again we found ourselves saying "its just like
Scotland". There is still water around everywhere in small lakes and
rivers running to the sea. In the valleys there are forests and
woods and where the rivers run through there are idyllic views, the
kind that you see in marketing material of wooded hills
surrounding sparkling dark blue lakes of water. One of the bridges
we crossed had this type of view up and down stream and it was a
common stopping point for photos.
Generally the road was good. We passed over one bridge where the top
layer of planks had eroded in some places but it was still sturdy
and strong. It is a bit disconcerting to see but I am sure it would
be closed if it was dangerous, they would not risk the legal suit
that would follow otherwise. We would down and though a few more
coastal villages, each getting smaller the further north we went.
You could see signs of people getting ready for winter as the wood
stockpiles are starting to grow. Here though, as on the north coast
of Newfoundland, they do not have piles of chopped wood. A few times
we have passed whole tree trunks bundled together teepee style
awaiting use in the winter.
Before long we arrived at Red Bay. There was a power cut in the
village so we carried on north for a while on the unpaved road to
Cartwright. We have driven on our fair share of unpaved roads but
this time I was wary and I do not really know why. It could be the
memory from a few days ago of seeing a car with a puncture about
100m after joining an unpaved road in Newfoundland (it was being re-tarmaced).
Although we have a spare wheel and all the kit required to change it
I call out VW Assistance at home if I need to do things like this
and do not relish Stef and I trying to work it out for ourselves. On
our way back to Red Bay we passed a pick up truck with a puncture.
For the couple inside it was just part and parcel of everyday life
and the husband had put on his overalls and was ready to get to work
to change it.
Stocking up on wood to
keep the
home fires burning
The route from Red Bay to Cartwright is a new road, only opened four
years ago. No doubt its expensive to do but I cannot understand why
they had not also taken the trouble to whack a layer of tarmac on
top. It would make such a difference! It took us out and through
remote landscapes, beautiful views with just occasional signs of
habitation. Every now and again we would see small cabins just off
the roadside and always near a lake or stream. Not houses, we
reckon they are used as hunting lodges or as stop off points in the
winter when people are out on their ski-doos.
We drove along for about 15km or so before deciding to turn back to
Red Bay. We knew we did not have time to make it up to Cartwright
and wanted to make sure we had enough time to see the Basque Whaling
historic sight, the main attraction of Red Bay. The Bay allegedly
got its name from the wreck of a tanker which is rusting in the
harbour but I suspect the name has an older history than that.
At the historic site we learned about the history of the bay, which
was an important Basque Whaling village. Apparently the Basque
people were the first to hunt and catch whales and they then taught
their skills to the English, Dutch and Spanish. Red Bay was one of
many sites along this coast but to date it is the only one where
there has been extensive archeological research. A historian based
in Europe spent many years trawling through old legal papers piecing
together the history of the whaling industry here and from this work
they pieced together that Red Bay was the location of a major
whaling port.
The underwater excavations have identified the wrecks of eleven
different vessels in Red Bay harbour. These include the main ocean
going ship that was used in effect as a floating warehouse and hotel
and the smaller chaloops that the whale hunters used to do their
trade. Considering the size of the animals they caught, the chalops
were not very big.
Once their target was in sight, the hunters would harpoon the whale
and then bring it along side to start the process of stripping it
down. Its flippers, fin and head would be cut off and then its
blubber was removed in large strips. The skeleton and internal
organs were originally used by the Basques but in the whaling fleet
here they were just discarded. The large strips of blubber were then
brought on shore and cut into smaller pieces for the rendering
process. In effect all they did was cook the whale blubber in big
copper vats until the oil separated. This was then scooped off and
put into another vat with water, which cooled the oil and separated
out any impurities. The pure whale oil was then stored in barrels
and the remaining blubber meat was used as fuel for the fire.
The sooner this process took place after catching a whale the higher
the quantity and the better the quality of the oil that resulted. At
Red Bay alone they have so far found evidence of sixteen different
sites for rendering whales. The smell must have been incredible, not
just of the rendering process but also of rotting whale carcasses
and a thousand or so men who had not had a wash for about six month!
Once produced, the oil was then sent back to Europe where it was
used for heating and lighting. The baleen from the whales, the
"gills" they use to filter their food from the water, was the only
other part of the whale used. Soaked in water it becomes very
pliable and easy to shape but once dried it is tough and durable.
The whale bone used in corsets, dress hoops and for hair combs and
slides is not whale bone at all, it is baleen.
The guides who showed us around the displays were both about the
same age as us. They confirmed that life here can be tough as work
is only seasonal and lasts for about four or five months of the
year. The rest of the time they live off government assistance
programs. The male guide, an ex fisherman, confirmed that the
situation got worse in the 1990's when fishing came to an end. About
75% of the people who live here are retired and everybody knows
everybody else. In Red Bay there are about 210 people and they are
all related or friends with each other.
IN winter, it is common for them to get between twelve and fifteen
feet of show. In the local restaurant they have a photo album with
pictures of people digging out their houses and their cars as they
have been totally covered in snow drifts. Before the road to
Cartwright was laid, people wanting to travel north would do so by
ski-doo stopping at the little cabins we had seen along the way if
they needed to warm up. Whilst they do not necessarily get ice-bound
here in the winter they do rely heavily on the supply boats that
work their way up the coast.
Driving back to Blanc Sablan we passed a well trained dog on
important dog business. Not the morning, or evening, paper for this
pooch. He was walking along with a polystyrene take out box clasping
gently between hit jaws. As we slowed down to watch him and take a
picture he slowed down to watch us. If he could have talked I reckon
we would have got a "what do you think you are looking at" comment
from him!
Back at Blanc Sablon we went to check the latest on the ferry. Stef
had called again at lunchtime and we were still none the wiser. It
was about 6:00pm when we got to the port, good timing as the man who
organises the proceedings on land had just turned up, also to get
the latest update on progress. We paid our fare, got our tickets and
he confirmed that the ferry would probably arrive at about 5:00am or
6:00am tomorrow. We decided to stay at the terminal for the night
and he kindly let us fill up with water and hook up to electricity
overnight. I though the electric hookup was a bit dodgy as we had to
use an extension cable which was open to the elements.
With our bed for the night sorted we went in search of food. At the
junction of the road leading down to the ferry terminal we had
passed the Corner Cafe, with a sign outside saying "breakfast all
day". It looked like a place where we would get a quick but good
meal, an assumption reinforced by the trucks outside. In practice it
was a bit different. It was full of truckers and their conversation
stopped as soon as we walked in. We were definitely interlopers and
it took about five minutes before they started chatting to each
other again. The truckers were getting a three course meal of soup,
fish, chips and veg and a slice of pie. For us this was not an
option. Their all day breakfast sign did not mean that you could get
breakfast all day it meant that all day, all they served was
breakfast!! It was odd eating eggs, bacon and toast with strawberry
jam at that time of day. It took away the hunger but did not really
hit the spot for either of us!
Back at the ferry terminal we hooked up to the electric and tried to
watch a film for a while but by 9:00am we were both nodding off. The
last couple of days have been long and tiring and we were both ready
to crash out for the night.
