Newfoundland's Viking Trail

 We traveled the snaking, winding Viking Trail along the Northern peninsula coast of Newfoundland to get to our next stop, Oceanside RV Park in Port Au Choix, Newfoundland.  We’re right on the ocean (Gulf of St. Lawrence). We traveled through rain and the roads were very bumpy.  Some of the areas we drove through reminded me of what Norway and those countries must look like with the fjords.  It started raining during the night and continued raining all the next day.  A nice day to sit in front of the fireplace and read a book and take a nap.

 

Rocks painted like a village in Port Au Choix

All of the folks in our tour group!

Campsite view

Port Au Choix is a quaint little fishing town. There is a National Historical Site here that gives a lot of information about all the previous inhabitants.  The name means ‘choice port’.  The area is regarded as one of the richest archeological finds in North America.  Burial sites uncovered in the town in the 1960s and 1970s provide evidence of the earliest settlers from prehistoric times.  The Port aux Choix Lighthouse is also very pretty, and we found some of those cool red chairs there!

 

Have to love the name on the boat!

The red chairs at the Port Au Choix Lighthouse

Had some caribou visit in the campground.

The next segment of the Viking Trail took us to the northernmost part of the peninisula to the town of St. Anthony.  Heads up!  The roads are just horrible.  Everything got shook up pretty well and Ron had to do some shelving reinforcement.  The main tourist thing to do here is L’anse aux Meadows which is home to the only Viking settlement in North America, with the exception of Greenland.  Here you will find a glimpse into the Viking life, Viking artifacts, the actual archeological site and a re-created village with actors.  This dates back to the year 1000. Another interesting fact is that it’s widely accepted that this is also the home of pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact. What that means is this site is likely where Europeans first had contact with America’s indigenous population.  We also visited the Norstead Viking Village where there is a Viking replica ship.  There’s also a statue of Leif Ericson, the famous Nordsman.

Leif Ericson

They were Pagans, but started into Christianity

Symbolizes the Native American and first Europeans meeting

The sunken ground is where the Viking structures were

Neat to see how they were made of sod

We toured the Grenfell House Museum and the Grenfell Interpretation Center. You may ask who is Grenfell?  He was the pioneering doctor in Newfoundland and Labrador.  We were pretty amazed at this man and what he did for the people here.  Most of the work was by dog sled in the cold weather, and then boats when it was warm. 

 

We did a little whale watching!  That was great fun!  There was a group of 2, then they met up with their 3^rd friend, while a 4^th one was out in the water napping!  Never thought I’d see that!

Hmmm

 

And let me not forget the Viking Feast we attended.  The room where we ate was a re-created Viking structure, dug into the ground with sod for the roof.  We were asked ahead of time to think of some possible crimes against our friends.  Well, there was one against poor Ron.  His crime was “He’s too helpful.” (Not sure that was a crime but see it to the end.)  The complainant said Ron would be the first one at most campsites, was willing to help you get backed in. He fixed motorhome mirrors, reconnected slide doors, fixed leveling systems.  Long story short, he and his accuser were eventually accused of wasting everyone’s time.  So, they got tied up with the rope and instead of being hanged, they had to dance a jig. Lol.  The second crime was against our friend Nancy. I unknowingly supplied her with a plastic fork (Viking’s didn’t have forks, only spoons) that would cause this crime.  She would not rat me out, so she was picked up by a Viking, thrown over his shoulder, and carried outside to suffer.

 

Poor Nancy didn't rat me out!

Ron, Danny and Mark getting tied up by Olaf

Ron on the rock, defending himself

Our appetizer, or what's left. We ate the cod cheeks, but not the capelin.

Can you imagine moving your house this way?

The Viking Feast was held in this building.

What’s the best part about Newfoundland?  It’s the people!  Cod fishing was just getting started up here.  Ron got a hankering for some fresh cod so off we go to a fisherie to see if they would sell us any.  Nope, they wouldn’t.  But we did come away with 3 nice looking fish that cooked up beautifully! 

 

We backtrack on the Viking Trail to get to our next campsite, Gros Morne RV Park, located in Rocky Harbor which is in the Gros Morne National Park.  What makes it spectacular is the landlocked fjords and scenic boat tours, of which we took one in Bonne Bay.  Saw some spectacular views of eagles! 

 

Eagle in flight

Eagle on cliff

Glacial uplift

We still have over a week of Newfoundland to see.  Like I mentioned before, it’s a great place to visit!  So let me end with another of their quotes, “It’s an awful nice day!”