To begin, three post-scripts to yesterday's blog:
1. The firewood stacked by the side of the highway is harvested legally. For a small fee, householders are given a permit that allows them to harvest wood for personal use. They are not allowed to cut trees close to the highway; so they go into the forest, cut the trees and saw the wood into pieces for the fireplace or stove. The wood is then hauled, often by sleds called komatiks--and sometimes behind quads or snowmobiles--to be stored by the highway until it is taken to individual households. The piles are numbered and identified according to the owners' permits. We were told that theft of winter firewood is rare.
2. The impromptu gardens beside the highway are another local custom. Because of the boggy soil in the forest that is hostile to vegetables, people living away from the coastline simply appropriate a plot along the highway closer to the water where both climate and soil are good. They plant potatoes, carrots, cabbage, turnips and other root vegetables. A fence is thrown up, a scarecrow often erected and nature takes its course. The would-be gardeners don't tend the garden often--they just wait until vegetables are ripe and harvest them for the winter. Theft from these gardens is also rare--except by moose who do not live by the same codes and conventions as native Newfoundlanders. Moose are not native to the island. Four were brought over from New Brunswick in 1904--and now the highest concentration of moose anywhere can be found in Newfoundland (over 50 000). John Connell, from New Brunswick , has a lot to answer for. He is said to be the man responsible for bringing two male and two female moose to the province--although no one can offer a reasonable explanation why. Moose now appear in moose burgers and as hood ornaments of vehicles they collide with at an alarming rate.
3. I noticed an article in the local paper, The Northern Pen, announcing that a ten-foot bronze statue of Leif Erickson will be erected at L'Anse aux Meadows on July 28. The news story begins: "History is in the making, after 1013 years, Leif Erickson will be returning to Newfoundland for permanent residency in L'Anse aux Meadows." Of course, it cannot be documented that Erickson himself ever set foot on the site, although his exploits as an explorer are registered in Norse legend. The absence of conclusive proof isn't getting in the way of the Leif Erickson International Foundation's support for the placing of the statue. The newspaper story inexplicably announces that the statue will be on the shore to welcome cruise ship passengers. Perhaps I was so busy looking at the actual historical site that I missed the cruise ships. Next, I suppose, a Disney theme park will spring up.
On to today...
We were looking forward to this day with great excitement. The tourist brochure for the Northland Discovery Boat Tours features a giant iceberg dwarfing the 48-passenger boat and puffins whizzing overhead. Not to mention spectacular close-up pictures of majestic whales (killer, humpback, fin and minke) and acrobatic dolphins. Alas, reality--while impressive--fell far short of expectations. The previous day, so we were told by a couple who gleefully and gushingly reported the boat approached a 200 foot iceberg and leisurely circled it. The same iceberg, today, was 15 miles away, a white speck on the horizon, floating contrarily north, against the normal flow of the water. One of the two guides on the boat showed me a great picture he took yesterday on his cell phone! On the up side, we did see several whales, including two fin whales. They are the second largest in the world, sometimes reaching 115 feet--about twice as long as the boat we were in. When they "blow" water, it can be seen from a great distance. Our guide saw the "blow" a couple of km away and we set off in pursuit. It's amazing the graceful picture whales present as they breach the water. Some of the passengers, a bald Italian in particular, were less than gracious as they elbowed their way in front of people to capture pictures. "Man overboard" crossed my mind a couple of times. We also saw several smaller humpback whales. If you are quick and in the right place it is possible to capture wonderful pictures of their tails just before that slip back underwater.
All is not lost on the whale-watching front: we have booked a whale tour at Witless Bay where we go out in a zodiac and will get close and personal with whales.
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| Tail of humpback whale (Click on the picture to get a larger view!) |
This afternoon we visited the Grenfell Centre, named after a British doctor Wilfred Grenfell who spent most of his working life helping the poor and neglected citizens of Labrador and the Northern Peninsula. He is rightly revered, even today. The guides in the centre speak respectfully of him as Dr. Grenfell. Referred to as the Schweitzer of the North, he first arrived in 1892 and made his way to the Labrador coast. Appalled by the poverty and living conditions of the outport people--conditions that gave rise to TB, beriberi and a host of other diseases that flourish when 12 people huddle together in a one room shack with no hygiene and virtually no food. Grenfell became an advocate for these people with whom he maintained close contact until his death in 1940. Almost single-handedly he is responsible for outport hospitals, nursing stations and an improved way of life for thousands. The Grenfell Centre is spacious and well laid out. A 12 minute video introduces you to the man. Artifacts, dioramas with period photos and well-written commentary give a good sense of the place of Wilfred Grenfell in Newfoundland's history. A poorly marked walking trail on the hill above the Grenfell House is the only noticeable flaw in the lay-out. Grenfell and his wife are buried there, but we were unable to find the gravesite. A vacuous teenager serving as a guide offered little insight, initiative or interest.
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| Dr. Wilfred Grenfell |
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| Ceramic murals by Jordi Bonet are part of the Grenfell Centre |
We also visited Goose Cove, a few minutes drive from town. It's a pretty little fishing community with a walking trail that gives great views of The Strait of Belle Isle from tall cliffs, a viewpoint from which the 200 foot iceberg would have been spotted yesterday. The only blot in the village is a sign on the wharf bragging of the Conservative Action Plan. Evidently, Stephen and his cronies sunk a bit of cash into the community. It can only be hoped that the Goose Cove community benefits, unlike the people of Shoal Harbour (over by Little Bay Islands) where a couple of million taxpayers' dollars were squandered on harbour improvements mere weeks before the ferry from Shoal Harbour was shut down!
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| Goose Cove |
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| Lighthouse at Fisherman's Point (seen from the window of The Lightkeeper's Restaurant where we had dinner) |
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