Twilingate, Newfoundland - August 10 & 11, 2006 (Re-run)

 Twilingate is a town of about 2100 residents on one of the Twilingate Islands on the north of Newfoundland.  Cod fishing was once a mainstay of the local economy, but depletion of the species led to a moratorium.  While there is still some harvesting of crab and lobster, timber logging is now the big industry.  We drove all around in our unsuccessful search for icebergs, still enjoying the coastal scenery.

After climbing to the top of this rocky hill, we were puzzled by the number of broken seashells that littered the entire area.  The mystery was solved when we noticed sea gulls bringing clams, scallops, etc from the shore to drop them on the rocks below, breaking the shellfish open so the bird could get at the creature inside.  What clever birds!

St. Barbe & Twilingate, Newfoundland - August 7-10, 2006 (Re-run)

 St. Barbe is a tiny village along the west coast of Newfoundland.  Even when coupled with its neighbor Pidgeon Cove, the combined population is only 135 hardy souls.  Its only claim to fame is being the eastern terminus for the ferry to mainland Labrador, which we wanted to visit.  Unfortunately, winds in excess of 65 MPH arrived that afternoon, cancelling the ferry for a day or so.  A large motor home catches the wind, making it very uncomfortable.  Since the terminal closed for the night, we pulled up to the leeward side of the building only inches away.  This provided relief from the wind until we left early the next morning during a lull.  We did manage to tour the area before the high winds began.

You may have noticed how docks and fishing shanties are built upon "cribs" formed by logs or heavy timbers filled with rocks.  That technique is due to the lack of soil and the difficulty of driving pilings into the rock.  Even power poles are placed into cribs when the soil is too thin.

We were pleased to see a caribou, the only one seen on the entire trip.

This sled is obviously used for hauling cargo in the winter, when the snow must get pretty deep.

One of the unusual sights we saw in St. Barbe was the effort to salvage equipment from a fishing vessel that had run aground.  A track-hoe had been used to build a spit of rock to reach the ship, which undoubtedly had cost millions when new.

The town of Twilingate was well off our route, but is well known for having icebergs float past during the summer months.  Whales are also frequently seen off the coast.  Having never seen large icebergs up close, we chose to make the side trip.  It turned out this was the only summer for many years that absolutely no icebergs came by, and we failed to see a single whale.  However, the trip was worthwhile for the scenery alone.

The visit to Twilingate will continue in the next update.

L’Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland - August 6, 2006 (Re-run)

 About 25 miles north of St. Anthony is a re-created village where the Vikings temporarily settled a thousand years ago.  Here is an excerpt from the UNESCO web site: L’Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site contains the excavated remains of a complete 11th-century Viking settlement, the earliest evidence of Europeans in North America. Situated at the tip of the Great Northern Peninsula of the island of Newfoundland, this exceptional archaeological site consists of eight timber-framed turf structures built in the same style as those found in Norse Greenland and Iceland from the same period. 

Docents in the sod house demonstrated how the Vikings might have lived and performed daily functions.

Back outside, we got a glimpse of how rugged the land is for the current villagers.  Like most other areas, these folks are primarily fishermen.

We even spotted another moose in the nearby woods.