Journal Day 11

Day at L'Anse aux Meadows - We traveled the 25 miles up to the end of the peninsula to L'Anse aux Meadows, where the remains of a Viking camp that existed almost 1,000 years ago was discovered around 1960... we were given a tour of the "diggings" and the replicated Viking village built based on the discovery... the mounds of earth that existed there had been discounted by the inhabitants as having been no more than aboriginal origin... our guide told us of he and his friends playing in the meadows and around the mounds when he was younger and before the discovery.... the discovery was significant because it gave proof of the journey that originated in Norway, worked its way to Iceland, then to Greenland, and according to old manuscript onto a land referred to as Vinland... because of the erosion of the shores it was difficult to validate Newfoundland as having been the "Vinland" referred to in the early manuscript.... this discovery in 1960 with the artifacts found verified the landing and settlement of the area for a period of about 6 years... this year is considered the 1,000 year celebration, and the road leading to the Viking settlement from the TCH 1 was named the Viking Trail...

The drive up to the location weaved through several fishing villages and along shores that were picturesque and typical of Newfoundland... a beautiful drive if only under a mostly cloudy sky... we made several side trips on the way up and back, including one to Pistolet Bay Provincial Park, the most northern park in Newfoundland on near the tip of the Peninsula.. the park had a number of nice level camping sites, and a central bath, laundry, and shower house that was new and modern... we considered moving up there to camp, but have decided we did not want the work associated with such a move as we are nicely located for the next day stay.... On the way back, we stopped by a small shop that had a 2 year old Newfoundland puppy resting outside... Suzanne shopped while I played with the puppy.... we were sad to hear from one person that the Newfoundland dogs have a very short life, 6 to 7 years sometimes because of health problems common to the specie... Evidently they are also fairly hard to find through local breeders.... this one was brought in from Nova Scotia..... a beautiful dog though...

At L'Anse aux Meadows there is a small restaurant named "The Norseman", that is rated in the top 100 restaurants in Canada... tomorrow night they are having a soiree (a dinner with music and dance) so we signed up and will remain here another day in order to attend.... nice to be able to relax finally and not have to rush someplace else.... On Wednesday we will start back and try to get across on the ferry from St Barbe to Labrador for a day....