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| Day 45 - St. Anthony, NL | ||
 Today was a bus-tour day. The driver impressed us all by backing down a curved driveway into our camping area as we anxiously waited for him at the bottom. |
 Our first stop was at L'Anse Aux Meadow National Historic Site of Canada. On a summer's day around the year 1000, a substantial Viking expedition from Greenland landed on the shores of what is now L'Anse Aux Meadow. |
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 Under the leadership of Leif Eriksson, the group of between 70-90 people established an encampment that served as a base for exploring south throughout the Gulf of St. Lawrence. |
 Reproduction of a small boat used to go ashore. It would normally be towed behind or set on board the larger ship. Over the next couple of decades, the Vikings would make a number of voyages to this region of the world they called Vinland, mainly in search of hardwood timber. |
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 These trips would result in the first contact between Europeans and North American Aboriginal Peoples. |
 This bronze sculpture is called "Meeting of Two Worlds". It is an interpretive artwork by Labrador artist Luben Boykov that captures the historical significance of L'Anse Aux Meadows. |
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 The mounds the interpreter is standing on, were the foundations of the buildings discovered in the 1960's and 70's when they were unearthed by archeologists. The interpreter lives in the adjoining town and played around these mounds as a child, so he had many interesting stories to tell about the area. He also participated in the restorations and reconstructions of the historical buildings. |
 L'Anse Aux Meadows was first brought to the attention of the world in 1960 by Dr. Helge Ingstad, an historian and explorer, and his wife Anne Stine Ingstad, an archaeologist, when they were led to these unusual grassy mounds. Twelve years of archeological research followed. The grassy mounds turned out to be the remnants of eight 11th-century Norse buildings. |
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 Some of the buildings were recreated in exacting detail for visitors to enjoy and learn more about the Norse way of life. |
 The buildings are constructed from peat bog blocks, wooden rafters and sod. They are currently being repaired so it gave us an opportunity to see how they were constructed. Of course the plastic netting and zip-ties are upgrades to the original construction. |
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 The inside of the roof is lined with small saplings with the bark removed. The sod was placed on the top of them to act as a roof covering. |
 There were a number of 'Vikings' inside the buildings to explain their way of life and to answer any questions. This 'Viking' is playing a musical instrument common to the Norse during the 11th century. |
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 Mike the Mighty tries on some Viking war garb. |
 This is what the large building will look like in another year or so after the grass starts to grow on the peat blocks. |
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 Just down the road from the historical site is a local attraction, Norstead. |
 Norstead was built as a replica of a Viking Village and Port of Trade. |
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 As we walked to the village, we passed gardens with vegetables planted and pigs in a sty. |
 This is one of the buildings constructed using the same techniques as the historical site. They look very authentic. |
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 This is an exact replica of a Norse Knarr that would have been used to explore the area in the 11th Century. When fully loaded the ship weighs 33 tons and is constructed of wooden pegs and handmade metal rivets. |
 Built in Maine and transported to Greenland, she was sailed here by a crew of 27 men, in the year 2000. They were celebrating the 1000 year anniversary of the Vikings landing in Newfoundland. |
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 Another reproduction of the landing craft. |
 Many of us tried our hand at ax tossing. Here Ed Casey gives it a try. |
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 Entering the main house. It had two smaller rooms on either end and a larger main room. |
 Carl and Tina Bender try out the king and queen's chairs. |
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 This lady was spinning wool on a very simple wooden spindle. |
 This lady was weaving a belt using 6 wooden squares with four pieces of yarn passing through each square. |
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 Our next stop was at the Dark Tickle store. The owners harvest six different wild berries and produce jams, syrups and spreads from their produce. |
 Part of the stop was a tour of the bog and country side behind their store to show us where, and how berries grow. |
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 Our last stop on the tour was at the Grenfell Interpretive Centre. |
 The Grenfell Historic Properties are dedicated to Dr. Wilfred Grenfell, who spent his life bringing medical care to the people of Labrador and northern Newfoundland. |
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 The Grenfell house is on a hill overlooking the hospital and the harbour. |
 The living room with the original furnishings. |
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 Our evening dinner was a surprise to most of us. It was The Leifsburdur Restaurant, Home of The Great Viking Feast and Dinner Theater. |
 Have You dined at a Viking restaurant before?! |
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 Prior to dinner, the 'Viking' announced there would be mock trials (I cannot remember the name he gave it) where we could accuse anyone of a mis-deed and we would all be the jury. |
 The dinner was buffet style and consisted of a Jigs Dinner, Moose Stew, Roast Beef along with Cod and Salmon. |
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 Dee Capozzi was the first to bring an accusation. |
 She accused 'Thumper Bob' of misuse of a golf club when testing tires each morning. He was found innocent and she was given two weeks of slavedom to Bob for a false accusation. |
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 Next was Mike Morrell who accused 'Deaf Ed' of waking the group of four men on the ferry at a very early hour. |
 'Deaf Ed' represented himself very well by playing the 'handicapped' card, but it did not work. Guilty as Charged! |
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 At dinner, we were only given spoons and a knife with which to eat. Pat Corley charged a number of people, who had been here before, of sneaking in forks and using them to eat their dinner. |
 Although Ernie tried to plead their case, they were Guilty as Charged! |
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Click here for a Google map of above pictures. |
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