We woke up to a cold and windy
morning. Temps were probably in the low
40°s. The sky is clear but the wind has to be 15-20 with gust near 30. So we decided its turkey lunchmeat sandwiches
again this morning. We departed L’anse-au-Clair
around 9:00 AM. There are hardly any
trees and of those none that are more than about 16 ft. tall. Most are fir or cedar surrounded by small
brush where the rocks will let it grow. We are now on the Labrador Coastal
Drive, which is a section on the Trans-Labrador Highway, route 510.
While passing through West Saint Modeste we were both
ready for a cup of coffee. We found a
little bakery/coffee shop where we enjoyed fresh made flakey apple flips
(turnovers) and a layered chocolate cheesecake with caramel topping. A bit sweet for breakfast but delicious and
... (Drum roll please) … the best cup of coffee since we started the trip!
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Lighthouse marks the rocky island
West Saint Modeste |
At this point the highway is a two lane,
rather rough paved road. At speeds over
40 MPH there are dips and rises that will nearly throw you out of your seat. Every once in a while I hear a ”WHOOPEE!”
coming from the passenger seat. There are elevation changes of at least 400 to
600 ft. in just a mile and signs warning of 10% grades. I’ve used second gear up one side and down
the other.
About half way to Red Bay from
L’anse-au-Clair is the Pinware River.
It’s a wild flowing river that finds it way to the Strait of Belle Isle through
a steep valley. It is said that the
Pinware River has some of the best Atlantic Salmon fishing anywhere.
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| Pinware River Valley |
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| Red Bay is at the bottom of these hills |
We made it to Red Bay!
By 11:00 we made the 50 mile trip to Red
Bay. Here you'll find a small village of
people who have had to quit the whaling trade to change to fishing, and now
with the moratorium on cod fishing, there are only two fishermen left. Most of the men have jobs in mining or oil
and have to commute hundreds or thousands of miles to work. They are gone for weeks at a time. The houses are modest but look homey and
comfortable.
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| Our first glimpse of Red Bay |
I know I said I was not going to drive on
the gravel portion of the Trans-Labrador Highway but, I just had to try the
first mile. I’m not so sure it wasn’t
smoother than the paved portion.
We went to the Red Bay Museum and
Interpretative Center. There is a lot of
history here that may have lain unnoticed if it hadn’t been for a young lady in
the 1970’s, who was reading some old transcripts from the Basque area of Spain. She found copies of wills from the Basque
whalers of the 1560’s and discovered they were describing Red Bay,
Labrador. Then an archeological interest
centered here and there was evidence of Tryworks (Sheds with caldrons for
melting whale fat into oil) and skeletal remains of people of that time. There were also descriptions of a missing
whaler ship, the San Juan, which was believed to have sunk in Red Bay after the
anchor broke loose in 1565. Using the
path of a modern day ship that also met its demise in Red Bay, they started a
search for the missing ship. It was
found in about 40 ft. of water and many of the beams and other artifacts were
intact.
Using the original beams and
planks and the descriptions of other like ships, they have recreated a 10th
scale model of the ship they found. Just this year Red Bay was listed as a
United Nations historical site.
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| Whale jaw bone |
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| Site #1 at BNL's RV Park |
Supper time found us at the Whaler
Restaurant where the hot roast beef sandwich and the Whale of a Dinner sure
beat the heck out of another round of cold turkey lunchmeats. Oh, I must mention it’s raining again. It was just a short shower.
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| A replica of a Basque cooperage |
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Waiting for my
"Whale of a Dinner" |
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| That about says it all. |
While we have probably seen all of the hot
spots of Red Bay this morning we are going to spend the night and start working
our way back to the ferry tomorrow. Then
it will be time to explore the upper western peninsula of Newfoundland.
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| The United Church |
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| Labrador's Flag |
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| The Basque Flag |
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| Basque Memorial School |
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| Abandon Cod Processing Plant |
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| Let's Rock and Roll |
At 7:30 the electric went off. All of Red Bay is in the dark except for the
lighthouse beacon on the tip of the island at the entrance to the bay.
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| The only light shining on Red Bay |
We were in bed just after dark. Then we heard a loud SHHH. It was the air brakes on a tractor trailer
stopping right behind us in the parking lot.
I noticed he only had one headlight and he was getting ready to start
the gravel road north. In about a half
an hour he was all aglow and ready to go. Varoom and off he went. Now, for some peace and quiet. Shhh…Shhh, now there are another two trucks
parked behind us. Soon their engines
went quiet and the drivers took a nap.
These are experiences you only get sleeping in a van in a convenience
store parking lot. I never had this pleasure
in a five star hotel. Around 4:00 AM….RRRRROooommm X2 and they too
were headed up the Trans-Labrador Highway.
zzzzzz
We made it to Red Bay!
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