Another packed day in Newfoundland with lots of driving! We enjoyed a hot breakfast of eggs, toast, and bacon/ham at the Viking Village B&B with homemade jams accompanied by other guests. Coincidentally, there was another couple from Vancouver Island who sat with us, as well as a couple from Ottawa. It seems the number of tourists from BC in Newfoundland has been higher this year - I wonder if the political situation in the US is encouraging travel within Canada.
After eating and checking out, we went straight to the L'Anse aux Meadows historical site in hopes that we would be the first people to enter. There was a little trail to the top of a hill just off the parking lot, which led us to a group of Vikings (cast in metal) in search of new land and a great view of Islands Bay. By the time we walked back down the hill, they were ready to open the doors for us, and we gladly entered the information center. It was interesting reading the exhibits which were built for visitors, explaining how the Vikings would have reached Newfoundland from Europe and why they built a settlement here - they were searching for wood and other resources. That gave us the background to appreciate the archaeological site showing where the Vikings had lived (which had also been used by the Aboriginal people), and the reconstructed Norse site which offered visitors a chance to see what those dwellings would have looked like and how they were used. I didn't realize that this was Canada's first UNESCO world heritage site - but definitely found it was worth seeing even in the rain.
To complete the Viking experience, we went a bit further north to Norstead, which also offered a reconstructed Viking village. This one had a full-scale working replica of a Viking warship - which was sailed to Newfoundland from Greenland, which was cool to see even though it was stuck inside without much light to appreciate all the details. The village also had a chieftain's hall, church, and blacksmith's workshop. There were costumed interpreters to help explain how the Norse people would have lived, similar to the historical site. Since we were the only people there, it was nice to have the attention and not have to wait for the information.
From Norstead, we began the scenic drive back down south to Deer Lake. We stopped for lunch at the Daily Catch in Saint Lunaire-Griquet, a small town built around White Cape Harbour. The food there was top notch - I ended up having fresh local snow crab, and battered cod tongues. While we were in the restaurant, we were joined by a family from Pitt Meadows who were on a vacation similar to us, touring PEI, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland! It's been fun running into fellow British Columbians so far from home, sharing stories and reflections.
Passing through Gros Morne National Park this time around, we managed to do quick stops at the places we had missed yesterday. We peeked at the Coastal Trail, drove to the Lobster Cove Head Lighthouse, picked up some homemade jams from Rocky Harbour, and paused at the various marked viewpoints along the way to Wiltondale.
Dinner was at a small cafe in Pasadena, where we had some pizza, then we settled into our B&B in Deer Lake. Whew! Tomorrow will be another long day of driving as we head back to St. John's.
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