Red Bay, Labrador

I was totally charmed by the small fishing villages in Labrador. The small historic towns each had their own charm. To photograph this one, I fought mosquitoes and another biting insect as I tried to bracket my shots and get decent photos to use. The lighting was such that my guess was correct that I needed to be shooting for HDR so I could catch the subtlety of the clouds and still get the town sufficiently exposed.

Red Bay was the 16th Century World Whaling capital. The Basques Whalers hunted whales in small boats called shallops to render into the oil that lit the Europe's lamps during the late Middle Ages. They built a whale oil factory on Saddle Island to produce this oil. The Basinview Bed & Breakfast has accomodations in Red Bay. Nearby Battle Harbor has accommodations in restored historic buildings. At Battle Harbor there are opportunities for boat tours to see whales and icebergs as well as seabirds.

Labrador is in the middle of an extraordinary road building project. These small village used to accessible only by boat. This new road goes from the Ferry Terminal at Cartwright and connects with the ferry terminal to New Fewfoundland at Blanc Sablon. We were amazed at the engineering behind this wonderful gravel road. Built high above the perma frost, it has a base of big boulders and towers above the small tiaga trees.



Southern Labrador is an area worth allowing time to explore and savor the beauty of the landscape as well as the ambiance of the historic villages. On a more extended visit to Labrador I would like to explore the northern village that still require the ferry for access.

L'Anse Amour Historic Site and Point Amour LIghthouse

As we travelled south along the coast of Labrador, we had seen the L'Anse Amour historic site on the map. Since I am really interested in early man sites, this one captured my attention because it dates to 7500 years ago. As with many early man sites, there is not a lot to see - this was a special burial mound of an adolescent boy - special because there seems to have much ceremony related with the burial: The body was buried in a deep and wide pit, fires burned, food was cooked and weapons and tools were placed as offerings in the grave. A large stone was placed on the boy's back and a large mound of rocks were placed over the grave. The archaeologists believe that the elaborate detail of this burial means that this young man either had a special role or association with the tribe or there was something significant about his death. The site has been excavated and the human remains have been removed. Since the grave has been reconstructed, it loses a little of its historical sense for me - I always marvel when I see things still remaining from human activity so long ago.

I also knew I had a light house to enjoy - the Point Amour Lighthouse.

It was an overcast afternoon, and it looked like there was an event going on in one of the buildings. Lighthouses always need electricity so I explored trying to find a camera angle to minimize the distracting wires. As I was photographing I heard a noise coming from the sea, a harumph! I glanced over and a minke whale was feeding just off the shoreline, gracefully surfacing to breath. I was shooting with my landscape lens, so I didn't try to photograph the whale. Instead, I just enjoyed the magic of the moment, the quiet evening, the peaceful sea, and the amazing whale as it moved off into the distance.



I came back the next morning. The clouds were still covering the sky, but the light and clouds were still different than the evening before. While the whale was no longer hanging around, this lighthouse is still a peaceful and beautiful place to sit and enjoy the beauty around you.

Crab Pots

One of the main industries and certainly the oldest industry in Labrador is fishing.

I wanted to see what I could do artistically with these crab pots that we were seeing so frequently.



I was hoping to capture both texture and abstract ideas.



The colors are subtle, including the rusty frame.



And I was also trying to find views that would work as marine still lifes.



For many reasons, the fishermen in Labrador and Newfoundland face difficult challenges - declining catches, over fishing, fishing from foreign nations, and recession caused slower demand. I suspect that being a fisherman has always been a physically demanding profession, but for many reasons, I hope that the small fishermen in this area can find a way to continue this traditional way of life.

Bakeapples!

We had noticed a number of cars parked along the road in what seemed like the middle of nowhere. There were usually no people in sight. We wondered about it, but couldn't think of a good explanation. As we were enjoying our picnic lunch, we saw a lady coming back to her car carrying a plastic container and wearing high topped water proof boots. It was bakeapple season! And she was gracious enough even in a year that was not a good crop of bakeapples to give us a sample. She warned us that they were better with sugar. As we travelled through Labrador and Newfoundland, I took every opportunity to try bakeapples - bakeapple sunday, bakeapple cobbler, and bakeapple jam.

Bakeapples are orange berries in the bramble family (raspberries, blackberries) that grow in bogs, coastal marshes, and moors in far northern climates. In Scandinavia they are known as cloudberries. They grow in the Nordic countries, a few places in the moors of Britain and Ireland, Canada, Alaska, northern Minnesota, New Hampshire, Main and even a few on Long Island, New York. They don't propagate well, so if you don't live near an area where they grow wild, you are not likely to run across them. They require both male and female plants to create the berries from the blooms.

One source said they only produce one berry per plant which would certainly make them harder to get outside their growing areas.

We found them to be mild in flavor, slightly tart. We enjoyed them wild and fresh, but we also enjoyed the ice cream sauces, the jellies, and the baked products.

The Dark Tickle Company carries bakeapple jam that can be ordered and shipped. $15.00 is the minimum shipping charge for up to $25.00 worth of jam.

I brought home some small jars of jelly and jam for some of my friends, but I put them in a "safe" place. I can hardly wait till they come out of hiding so I can pass them around.

South from Cartwright

While there was a long string of cars leaving the ferry at the beginning of the road south from Cartwright, everyone travelled at their own rate. We were not in a big hurry, so before long we had the road to ourselves. I loved the local greeting!



This fish trap reminded me of one's we had seen on our Alaska trip.



This stretch of road is dotted with small fishing villages to visit. I was amazed at the ingenuity and use of local materials. Note the wooden platform boat ramp. We did not see much concrete up here.



I was fascinate by the nets hanging out to dry.



We were on the Islands and Coves loop. We saw these wooden sleds everywhere. So much of the land is "crown" land. People are allowed to cut wood on crown land and they leave the piles of wood, properly labeled, near where it is cut. Then in the winter, they make runs with these sleds to bring wood back home.



The small fishing villages are just so photogenic! I love the beautiful white frame houses and the small communities.



This is Fox Harbor Labrador.



We were thrilled to see an iceberg in the bay.

Trying to catch up with Tweets & Blog

I had intended to keep up with my blog as I went on this trip, but at the WorldCon in Montreal, my intermittent computer problem decided to become a full time problem - it is hard to work on a computer when the computer works but the screen doesn't. So, Henry and I have been sharing the computer. Another issue - internet access has not been something we can count on. I've done some tweets - but even they do not show up as a steady stream - I compose them as we go using the Bird House app on my I-phone and then post a stream of tweets all at one time - not a perfect solution.

When we get home, I'll come back and revisit the highlights of this trip with blogs with photos, but here is a synopsis.

We headed north from Amarillo - going through Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario on our way to Montreal. After the WorldCon, we continued east through Quebec Province following the St. Lawrence River. We did whale watching at Baie St. Catherine - seeing Beluga whales, minke whales and humpback whales. We continued up the St. Laurence to Baie Decomeau heading north to Labrador. We saw the amazing hydroelectric system that Canada has built - including the amazing dam at Manic 5. At Churchhill Falls in Labrador there is another amazing underground hydroelectric plant utilizing the Churchill River.

Continuing southeast we ended up at Happy Valley/Goose Bay to take the Ferry to Cartwright. From Cartwright we continued south to the coastal fishing villages. We took the ferry from Blanc Sablon to St. Barbe, Newfunland. We have spent two nights in St. Anthony. Today we visited the Viking site- proof that the Vikings visited North America in 1000 A.D. We are hoping to go whale watching/iceburg watching tomorrow. That excursion was cancelled today because the wind was coming from the wrong direction making the sea too choppy for them to want to do the trip.

Last but not least, we have noted that Hurricane Bill has formed in the Atlantic. It has grown to a category 4 storm. Now you may be asking - why would the Meltons worry about a hurricane when they are so far north? Well . . . last time we were planning to visit Nova Scotia and take the ferry across the Bay of Fundy - we were told at the campground in a nice Scottish brogue, "Well, we had beautiful weather today, but tomorrow a hurricane is coming in." When we checked our satellite internet, sure enough a hurricane was coming in - and a Category 2 at that! The current storm path for Hurricane Bill has it crossing Nova Scotia and Newfoundland! We are not in the RV and we have weathered a hurricane at this point . . . but . . . I sure hope that Bill stays in the Atlantic and doesn't hit land ANYWHERE!!!! We are likely to still be in Newfoundland needing to cross a ferry about the time, it would likely decide to hit . . . so . . . we'll keep on with our itinerary and hope for the best. But I do find it strange that the two times I've been in this part of the world, that a hurricane has been part of the story!