Cold (10-12C) and rainy in paradise! I can take it! We sadly left The Tickle Inn this morning and went on our way. We visited the national historic site/UNESCO World Heritage Site at L’Anse aux Meadows. This was a fascinating site to take in. It tells the story of the small group (70 to 90) of Vikings who sailed from Greenland to the tip of Newfoundland and settled for about 7 or 8 years before leaving to go back because of fear of the Innu or Innuit and Beothuks. The information is very well displayed in the Interpretation Centre, and the walk around the village site is quite earie. There is a reconstructed long house where people in costume are enacting life as it would have been in the Viking Village in 1000. It was all very interesting. On the way there, we also saw an iceberg – the closest we have seen one – and as we were watching it a chunk of ice fell off the left side. The boom and crackle of the ice was so loud it was quite amazing. We were watching this from the top of a cliff with a German family we met up there.
After visiting L’Anse aux Meadows we had lunch in a restaurant in the village of L’Anse aux Meadows by the side of the ocean. Towards the end of our meal, a chap came up to me and asked me to move so he could unplug his computer. Ray asked him if there was wireless internet. He answered yes and told us he was looking up the weather conditions as he was just leaving for Iceland. We watched him cross the road, get into his little motor boat and go out to his 40/45 foot yacht. No customs, no fuss. Just leaving for Iceland!
Next we went to Norstead. This is billed as a re-creation of a Viking Village with costumed interpreters weaving, baking, forging, etc. more so than the National historic site. I think it must have been a combination of the rain, and information overload, but we did not enjoy this experience was as well as the federal site. Nonetheless, we were glad we went and that we had the opportunity to see it.
After that we headed straight down the east side of the Northern Peninsula to Englee, a little fishing village. There are lots of boats in the harbour, many of them pulled out of the water. The town stretches up the sides of the rocky mountains that rise from the sea. Many of the houses are boarded up. There is an atmosphere of distress. We learned from our host at the B & B we are staying at that the fish processing plant closed about 3 years ago. The town had a population then of about 3000; now there are about 500. The plant closed with no warning. None of the workers there got any compensation. Its tough to make out here. Many of the young have left and gone to Alberta to make their fortune. Some of the parents board up their house and go too. Some work part of the year in Alberta and then come home for part of the year. But, they all say: You can’t take the Newfoundlander out of a Newfoundlander. They will come back.
After visiting L’Anse aux Meadows we had lunch in a restaurant in the village of L’Anse aux Meadows by the side of the ocean. Towards the end of our meal, a chap came up to me and asked me to move so he could unplug his computer. Ray asked him if there was wireless internet. He answered yes and told us he was looking up the weather conditions as he was just leaving for Iceland. We watched him cross the road, get into his little motor boat and go out to his 40/45 foot yacht. No customs, no fuss. Just leaving for Iceland!
Next we went to Norstead. This is billed as a re-creation of a Viking Village with costumed interpreters weaving, baking, forging, etc. more so than the National historic site. I think it must have been a combination of the rain, and information overload, but we did not enjoy this experience was as well as the federal site. Nonetheless, we were glad we went and that we had the opportunity to see it.
After that we headed straight down the east side of the Northern Peninsula to Englee, a little fishing village. There are lots of boats in the harbour, many of them pulled out of the water. The town stretches up the sides of the rocky mountains that rise from the sea. Many of the houses are boarded up. There is an atmosphere of distress. We learned from our host at the B & B we are staying at that the fish processing plant closed about 3 years ago. The town had a population then of about 3000; now there are about 500. The plant closed with no warning. None of the workers there got any compensation. Its tough to make out here. Many of the young have left and gone to Alberta to make their fortune. Some of the parents board up their house and go too. Some work part of the year in Alberta and then come home for part of the year. But, they all say: You can’t take the Newfoundlander out of a Newfoundlander. They will come back.
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