RVing to Newfoundland Ep 5 - Exploring Labrador! Point Amour, Red Bay, Boondocking, Ferries & More!

This proper, English, refined, intellectual lady, jumping up and down, waving her arms, freaking out, like, it's just a rock. But the thing is, they're not rocks. On this episode, we board a ferry headed for Labrador, lighthouses, and Red Bay, where a fascinating new chapter of European and Canadian history was recently uncovered. We are Terry and Cindy O'Keefe. We've been camping together for more than 40 years, and we invite you to join us on a 14-episode adventure as we explore Newfoundland and Labrador. We departed Viking RV Park near L'Anse aux Meadows, in the fog of course, headed for the St. Barb Ferry Terminal. It wasn't long before the fog lifted and icebergs in the Strait of Belle Isle came into view. I can see three or four birds out there. Oh yeah, look at that one. That's a big iceberg. That is cool. And while we found plenty of icebergs on the drive, there was one thing that was harder to find. So just near the ferry docks, there is an Ultramar gas station, which turned out to be a good thing, because the two ESO stations that we stopped at, it is a Sunday morning, were both still closed. So glad we could top up here before we get on the ferry. The ferry service is operated by Labrador Marine, or LMI. We had made a reservation for the crossing, which meant arriving a minimum one hour before sailing. But we will mention that we met with many others traveling that day who did not have reservations, and they were taking their chances that there would be room. The price for our 44 foot rig and passengers was $67.75 each way. Are you ready for another boat ride? About an hour before sailing, staff arrived and began wrangling everyone into the proper lines. And right on time, the MV Kayak arrived and we began boarding. The ship is 321 feet long, carries 300 passengers and 120 vehicles. It was quite interesting to drive through the ship, watching another lane of traffic coming right up beside you at the same time. It's a one hour and 45 minute crossing to Blanc-sur-Blanc, and we headed out right on time. On board, the kayak has a small restaurant and plentiful seating. Midway through the crossing, icebergs came into view. Shortly after, the mainland filled the horizon and we prepared to disembark in Blanc-sur-Blanc. One quick note here, dogs are not allowed on deck and must remain in vehicles. Hello there. How was the crossing? Can you stay there? Good boy. So yes, this is the ferry to Labrador, but when you arrive in Blanc-sur-Blanc, you're actually not in Labrador. You're in Quebec. Welcome to the big land. But it's just a 4 kilometre drive to the Labrador border. It was 3pm by the time we got to Labrador and we were trying to get to the Pointe Amour lighthouse before it closed. It was a 32 kilometre drive and at one point, the very narrow, shoulderless road looks like it's sending you straight into the ocean. But just a few kilometres further, the imposing lighthouse climbed into view. At 109 feet, the Pointe Amour lighthouse is the tallest in Atlantic Canada and the second tallest in the country. Built in the 1850s, the lighthouse first illuminated in 1858 and still operates today. And the lighthouse keeper's residence has been turned into a museum where staff give guided tours. So shipwrecks were happening. So Upper Canada, Lower Canada, Ontario, Quebec, along with Britain got together and decided to build four light stations along this area into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. And they realized they had to build them very strong. So they're built like imperial towers from Europe. It's probably saved a lot of lives, but there are still shipwrecks even with these light stations. The museum highlights the difficult conditions and challenges light keepers and their families endured living in such a remote location, as well as the history of the light itself. Inside of here, the pedestal, we call it. In the early years, right up until 1919, there was a bowl. They burned seal oil, whale oil with seven concentric wicks. Then in 1919, came this one. This is called the Petroleum Vapor. In here, there's a clock mechanism with a spring. It's like a Coleman lantern, only we call it a joint Coleman lantern. So this one here was from 1919 to the early 60s. Then it came that they automated. So four light bulbs. The one that's lit is on for 16 seconds, will go off for four seconds. But that will automatically turn if it burns out or within the period of a year. I've seen them last a year. Then they will automatically turn to the next one to come into place. So the four light bulbs can last up to four years. Nobody has to touch it. So that's the light technologies over the years. Thank you. In addition to the museum, staff will lead visitors up the 132 steps to the top of the lighthouse. As you may recall, Terry broke his ankle not too long ago, so the stair climb was going to be up to me, even if I was a little trepidatious. As we go up on each landing, it starts to get a little bit smaller. And you'll notice the windows get smaller and smaller as it tapers to four feet at the top. So I have claustrophobia. This is too much. Give me a hand. I want to have a bath, just in case. Do you want to go first or do you want to be at the end? Just in case, yeah. I'm going to make it very slowly. Are you okay? I'm good. I'm just doing a quick picture for my husband. I'm on my way. So this is the lens that is 166 years old as well. Put here in 1858. Still in really good condition. The light bulb now is lit for 16 seconds. Goes down to four seconds, which is the signal for our light station. So that light, on a good clear night, because of the lens, will illuminate or be seen for 23 kilometers. Oh my God. It's a lonely swan. This is amazing. Very beautiful. All right, I made it. I made it and it's absolutely gorgeous. Oh, I wish you could have done it. It was amazing. Was it amazing? Yeah. Oh, I wish I could have too. Thank you. Visiting Pointe Amour was unique and educational and beautiful. Boondocking here for the night was fabulous. The next morning found blue sky and sun peeking through, while a Canadian Coast Guard cutter slipped in and out of the fog that still lingered over the ocean. We've only been in Labrador less than 24 hours since we arrived on the ferry. But one of the things we noticed is the terrain here. It really reminds us of the tundra up in the Yukon and Alaska. Very few trees, low scrub, and a lot of lichen and grass. And very spongy to walk on. It's kind of cool. You ready? We gotta go. We're off to Red Bay. Come on. Good boy. We got on the road before the lighthouse opened that morning so as not to be in the way of new visitors. Driving 52 kilometers up the Trans-Labrador Highway towards the Red Bay National Historic Site. It's well marked, at least, that it's bumpy. Looks like it's a long way down. Oh, that's pretty. The story of Red Bay is fascinating. For hundreds of years, it was simply a quiet Labrador fishing village. But in 1977, Selma Barkham, a Canadian historian and geographer, made a fascinating discovery. Saddle Island, in Red Bay's harbor, was the epicenter of Basque whaling in the New World during the 16th century. Isn't that a pretty town? Yes, it's charming. Red Bay went from obscurity to being a Canadian and UNESCO World Heritage Site. In the interpretive center is a great museum of artifacts that were discovered during the archaeological excavations of Saddle Island. These demonstrate that for nearly 70 years, from the mid to late 1500s, thousands of whalers from the Basque region of Spain and France hunted right and bowhead whales here, harvesting baleen, but most importantly, whale oil. This was sent back to Europe to feed their lambs and literally keep the lights on. 15 to 30 galleons visited Red Bay each year. The whaling crews, then sailing out in smaller boats known as chalupas, harpooned the whales and brought them back to the base on Saddle Island to be flensed and rendered into oil. Each galleon harvested 15 to 30 whales annually, taking 800 to 1,000 barrels of oil back to Europe per trip. Okay Ranger, let's go. And if you'd like to get a little closer to the action, Parks Canada operates a boat service that takes visitors to Saddle Island. This is a beautiful spot. It is quite lovely. We were fortunate to be joined by a really excellent Parks Canada guide for our visit. So you can see from the photograph, this is after they removed the soil. This is what it looked like when they took the layer of soil off. And now today the soil has grown back, but you can clearly see these indentations and some of the stone that made the masonry for that fire pit. On Saddle Island, researchers found the remains of rendering ovens, cooperages, a wharf, living quarters, and a cemetery with the bodies of 140 Basque whalers. Look right here by the number 12. You could almost make out a square in the ground. The archaeologists call it their mystery building. It had benches all the way around. What was it used for? The theory is it was used as a chapel and a morgue because it's so close to where the graves are. So it may possibly have been used to prepare the dead for burial. And the archaeological research didn't just take place on land. So where we see the blue lines here, this is where the underwater team found massive quantities of whale bones. So it's an indication where the Basque were flensing their whales. So to flense means to cut the blubber off. So they would cut these huge strips of blubber away from the whale, and then they would chop it up into smaller pieces and start melting it down so that they have the processed whale oil. You're going to notice some white flotation. We've got one over there, just in front of that wharf with the Labrador flag. We've got one just in front of the building that I was talking to you about. And we've got two right here. They mark shipwrecks. So there's a galleon under those two. And the San Juan, the one that was fully excavated, lies between these two markers. The wreck of the San Juan, incredibly well preserved by cold water, was fully excavated, mapped, measured, and then returned to its resting place, where it is today covered by a gigantic tarp and tires to protect it from any icebergs that drift into the bay. Interestingly, in Spain right now, an exact replica of the San Juan is being built using all the data collected in Red Bay, and it's hoped it will sail to Labrador in 2026. Basque thought it was an excellent lookout. And just here on top of this hill, they had a little hut where you would have a guy stationed, and his job would be to watch for weather, watch for enemy ships, but mostly watch for whales. Selma Barkham had spent seven years conducting research in Spain trying to determine the location of the Basque whaling base in Labrador, and our guide, born and raised in Red Bay, shared with us her own incredible first-hand story of that discovery 47 years ago. You'll see four or five of these squarish, rust-colored rocks. Here locally, the kids in the community, we've always referred to them as magic rocks. You can go down, you can pick up one of those, and you'd be able to write with it, like a crayon. On any of the bigger rocks. And if you get into a skipping competition, you're going to throw it and try to get it to skip across the water, hands down, that rock is going to win over any other rock. So way back in 1977, Selma Barkham came to Red Bay, and the first few days she was here, she had been reading these documents for years, years and years. And so she had a description, a written description, and she wanted to see if this harbor matched up to the written description. So she's walking around, and of course, kids in a community like this, we all followed her. And when we came to the beaches, we showed her our magic rocks, because what else were you going to do, right? And this lady, this proper, English, refined, intellectual lady, jumping up and down, waving her arms, freaking out, like, it's just a rock. But the thing is, they're not rocks. They're terracotta roofing tile. That was the very evidence she needed. The starting point to say, yes, the Basques were here, this is the harbor I've been looking for for the past 20 years. Oh, gosh. Or, I don't know, 20 years, but a long time. The immense importance of Red Bay had been lost to history for over 400 years. Parks Canada is doing an amazing job at preserving this site. And our guide told us that they hope the future is going to include having staff there in period costumes to interact with visitors and help bring that Basque whaling era to life. And just one other important note we wanted to include. The Burnway was a coal carrier. The iron shipwreck that you've seen in some of the video has nothing to do with the Basque history. It's the wreck of a small coal ship that broke her moorings and was driven ashore during a storm in 1966. When we were down at the Interpretive Centre, we popped next door for a quick fish and ships lunch. And then we headed partway back to Blanc-sur-Blanc to Pinweir River Provincial Park. I guess so. The small campground has 22 sites, all dry, but seven of them are directly on the ocean. Hi, Ranger. Good boy. There he goes. Are you chasing waves? At the Atlantic Ocean. Oh, okay. Ranger, how's that feel? It's cold, I bet. Here we go, the Atlantic people. We both see the same thing in the fire. Sounds like we're crazy. Is there anyone else you'd rather have been on this trip with than me or Ranger? No. We've got six and a half weeks that we've planned to be in Newfoundland. And we only planned two of those days to be in Labrador. So it's the night of the second day in Labrador. What do you think? Oh, I could have easily spent more time here. It's absolutely beautiful. It is. It's rugged. It's remote. The people are amazing. I wish we'd booked more than two days here. So it is 0500. And what's the O stand for? Well, to quote Robin Williams, Oh my God, it's early. But we have a very early ferry we have to catch and we have to be there early or we lose our reservation. So we're getting on the road and it is a very damp, cool morning here in Labrador. We're on our way back to Newfoundland. Good morning, sunshine. Bright and early. Having fun driving in the fog? Every time we come down near the water like this, the fog lifts up when we're up in the mountains. Yeah, it's a little dicey, I must admit. The visibility is pretty terrible. We did want to mention one thing about the Labrador ferry and we touched on this in episode two, but it bears repeating. The ferry terminal in Blanc-sur-Blanc is not in Labrador. It's just across the border in Quebec. And Quebec is in a different time zone than Newfoundland and Labrador. But the ferry itself operates on Newfoundland time. So if you're boondocking around Blanc-sur-Blanc the night before your ferry, keep in mind, your phone or vehicle clock could switch to Quebec time, which is one and a half hours behind Newfoundland. You don't want to miss the boat. Just a final thought. We know not every Newfoundland visitor is going to have the time or perhaps the inclination to make the trip across the Straits of Belle Isle to Labrador, but we were genuinely glad we did. And in the two days that we were there, we learned so much. And we're really looking forward to returning one day. If you found this information useful, please hit those like and subscribe buttons to help continue to grow our channel. And join us in episode six when we visit the aptly named Little Harbour and one of Newfoundland's most popular towns, Twillingate.