Two Days in Red Bay, Labrador

Days 14-15, June 2-3

Monday

One thing I keep noticing is the birch trees. They’re budding red and the birch bark, which peels like paper, looks like a child got at them with a dark pink crayon. The overall effect is a pink haze hanging on the mountainsides.

Labrador feels different from Newfoundland. Fewer people. Fewer buildings. Fewer roads, with fewer vehicles on those roads. But for all that sparseness, the scenery is, if anything, more. More majestic. More wild-feeling. More austere.

Getting Oriented to Red Bay

Our destination was Red Bay, which is a town, a national historic site, and a UNESCO world heritage site. As soon as we arrived in town we stopped at the Town Centre, which was empty except for Kevin, who enthusiastically told us what the town had to offer. He said we’d meet his wife Karen at the Right Whale Exhibit.

We drove down the hill until we saw an advertisement about boat tours. That day’s trip had been cancelled due to high winds, so we bought tickets for the next day, Tuesday. This isn’t a Zodiac — it a larger boat with a covered area and would take us to some icebergs at a distance.

Lunch at the Whalers Restaurant

There’s only one other place in town where it’s possible to spend money — the Whalers Restaurant. An empty tour bus parked outside the restaurant alerted us that we would not be eating alone. In fact, it was the same tour bus we saw on the ferry the previous day.

In the middle of the dining area was an exhibit about the Basque whaling — you can see the men making barrels and tending pots of oil. That’s a whalebone at left.

Exhibits in Red Bay

After lunch we visited the Right Whale Exhibit, which is quite small. I said “Hi Karen” when we walked in. She had lots to tell us — her roots in Red Bay go back four generations.

We also walked up the hill to the Parks Canada exhibit, which features a very brief film. Our tickets entitled us to take a 5-minute boat ride out to Saddle Island, which has a lighthouse and the remains of the Basque whaling operations.

Hiking in Red Bay

Karen had told us about two hikes. The Tracy Hill Trail is a boardwalk that climbs a steep hill and gives a great view of the harbor and its two small islands. The Boney Shores Trail, follows the shoreline, with whalebones from the 1500’s.

Instead of boating out to Saddle Island, we decided to try one of them, and ended up doing them both, back to back.

The Tracy Hill Trail (with icebergs in the distance):

The Boney Shores Trail:

Between the two hikes we covered 4 miles, all in a strong, cold wind, with virtually every step going either up or down. We felt good and worn out.

Boondocking

We boondocked in “downtown” Red Bay, i.e. a gravel parking lot near the restaurant. There was lots of open space and plenty of wind off the harbor. Doug fixed some warm ham and cheese buns for supper.

Tuesday

We got to the boat dock for our 10:00 tour but learned, at the last minute, that the high winds would limit us to staying inside the harbor. That wasn’t their fault, of course, but it wasn’t what we had in mind. So we were glad they gave us a refund.

Once again we had lunch at the restaurant, only this time it was empty.

Then we took the 5-minute boat ride out to Saddle Island (they let us use the previous day’s admission). The boat was very small, and only held us and one other couple. The captain dropped us at the dock and said he’d be back in an hour.

Saddle Island is under development. New boardwalks extend across the island. A crew of two guys was busy building at the far end. Most of the interpretive signs were not yet in place. Eventually they’ll explain the various locations. There are also artifacts such as red clay tiles that were brought over by the Basques.

At the height of the operation, 2500 people came over each summer to kill and process whales. In fact, they hunted the bowhead and North Atlantic right whales until they made such a dent in the population that it was no longer profitable to do so.

You can also see the remains of a shipwreck. Another wreck, of a 1500s Basque whaling boat, is nearby, but has been protected and is not visible.

Our hour on the island flew by. A highlight was seeing a pair of eider ducks, the male with its distinctive black-and-white coloration, and the female in brown.

The Day’s End

While I spent time in the camper using my hotspot to schedule a couple blog posts, Doug went back to the Right Whale exhibit to watch a 30 minute video. He also talked more with Karen. It’s obvious that she and Kevin are the movers and shakers in the Red Bay community and are encountering resistance to change.

I’ve served churches — she is singing my song!

We went back to the restaurant for another meal.

Here’s the sun setting over the harbor: