L'Anse aux Meadows (56 degrees, some sunshine, windy)
About 30 minutes from our campground is a beautiful L'Anse
aux Meadows National Historic Site where the Vikings were known to have stopped
about 1000 years ago. We arrived just in time to go on a ranger led tour. Kim told us interesting stories about how this place was the first settlement of
the Vikings from Greenland and Iceland in North America. They arrived 500 years before Columbus and
set up sod covered huts which was probably a staging area for about
10 years for exploring the area. She showed us where the actual huts were
located which have now been returned to their original state after being
excavated. In another area several huts have been recreated to demonstrate
their way of life.
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| Visitor Center |
It was also very interesting to hear about how the site was
discovered in 1960 by Helge Stine and later excavated by his wife Anne and a
team of archeologists. Medieval Icelandic sagas had written about this
lost Viking settlement called Vinland but no one had been able to figure out
where it was located.
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| Kim, our interpretive guide standing where the original huts were located |
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| Recreated sod huts |
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| John the Viking! |
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| Sod bricks |
Afterwards we had a nice lunch and visited Norstead. It is a
recreated Viking port and there were interpreters in many of the buildings to
tell you more about the their way of life. A replica of the ship Leif Erickson sailed
on is there too. It was built in England and taken to Greenland. Twelve men set
sail in 1997 along the same route Leif and his crew had taken (1500 miles) to L'Anse Aux Meadows. It
took them 86 days and a documentary and book was written about their
expedition. Our guide told us one member said it was a trip of a lifetime but
he'd never do it again.
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| Statue of Leif Erickson |
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| Recreated Viking Ship |
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| Our interpretive guide - he was very funny and very knowledgeable |
In the evening we attended another Iceberg Festival Event in
Gunner's Cove at the Northern Delights Restaurant. Our dinner was great and
around 8pm there was loud knock at the door. In came three mummers dressed in
colorful clothing. This was a recreation of what happens all around
Newfoundland during the 12 days of Christmas. The mummers wear masks and
disguises and part of the fun is guessing who is behind the mask. Everyone knows everyone in these small
villages. They danced with some of the diners and there was a small band
playing traditional music. We heard more about the ugly stick and how
mummers used it to ward off mean dogs which protected the owner of the
house. It was also used to rap on the door and add accompaniment to the music
which was played.
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| Weaving was done by the women. They wove the sails used on the Viking ships |
We've seen some more icebergs in the coves as we explore the
small villages outside of St. Anthony. It's been a fun time. Stay tuned for
more. We are planning a nice hike tomorrow.
