Labrador, Part 1t o t h e E N D o f t h e W O R L D a n d B A C K A G A I N
Labrador, Part 1 |
In Lewisporte, Newfoundland, we and our
trusty Jeep boarded the MV Sir Robert Bond for the
37-hour trip to Goose Bay, Labrador. Not much to see,
other than occasional glimpses of coast and a few small
icebergs, and this lovely sunset
over the Atlantic, but a long voyage with little to
do but eat, drink, and read proved to be the perfect
tonic after many days of driving and hiking.
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The next morning we docked at Cartwright, on Labrador's brooding Atlantic coast. Like many northern towns Cartwright looks awfully poor and unkempt, but it's a fascinating glimpse of life at the edge of nowhere, and if you take this trip I highly recommend going ashore here (the Bond stops here only on alternate trips, so check the schedule). Be sure to use bug repellent - the critters start swarming as soon as the boat pulls in, and I got a nasty bite. Once a trading post for the Hudson's Bay Company (the old store is boarded up now, replaced by a modern market apparently specializing in mac and cheese), the town remains a supply center for the coastal communities. The cemetery offers quiet testimony to the difficult lives of the settlers. | ||||
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Happy Valley-Goose Bay, established as an air base during World War I and home to around 8,000 people, is all American-style suburban sprawl and cheap commercial strips. The weather reminded Chris of Christmas, but it was hardly a festive spot. We got the oil changed and stopped in some stores, including a wonderful native craft gallery and a sporting goods store that fancies itself a museum, featuring displays of stuffed Labrador wildlife and military memorabilia. | ||||
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Newfoundland,
Canada and Labrador flags fly over Sunday Hill in
Northwest River, where you can catch a beautiful view of central Labrador. The
30,000 citizens of Labrador are a proudly independent
lot, and although their land has no separate political
status within the province of Newfoundland and Labrador,
they have created their own flag. Newfoundland has been
part of Canada for only 50 years, and many in the
province still regret voting (by a narrow margin) for
confederation. Despite Labrador's strong economic and
traditional ties to the far more populous island part of
the province, it is a distinctly different place, and a
small independence movement has developed.
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We spent two nights at Blake's Bed & Breakfast in
Northwest River, a pleasant town about 25 miles outside
of Goose Bay (it's as far east as you can drive in North
America without taking a ferry). The town hosted its
annual beach festival, billed
as "The Largest Outdoor Music Festival in
Labrador," while we were there. There was plenty of
music, but the real reason
for the festival seemed to be to party on the beach.
Tourists, military personnel from the Goose Bay base,
"settlers" (non-Aboriginal natives, known as
"livyers" in Newfoundland), Innu (an Indian
people related to the Cree and Mohawk) from the
neighboring reservation in Sheshatshit, and Métis (an aboriginal
people of mixed European and Inuit or Indian descent) mingled on the
beach until the wee hours of the chilly night.
Unfortunately, many of the Innu, who were pushed off
their ancestral hunting grounds into dispiriting
government-built coastal settlements within the last few
decades, spent much of their time in the depressing beer
garden.
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Back: Newfoundland, Part 2: Gros Morne
Next:
Labrador, Part2: Trans Labrador Highway
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