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Newfoundland – Day 4: L’anse aux Meadows 

Newfoundland - Gros Morne Day 4 map

September 29, 2019: 4.2km walked/hiked

Today’s edition is not as full since most of the day was spent in the car in pouring rain.

I got up a bit earlier than G, so I did a quick beach hunt until he was ready for breakfast. This motel is older, but clean and breakfast (eggs any way you like, bacon, fries, and homemade bread) was included!

We did a quick drive towards the lighthouse in Port au Choix to check for caribou. I saw tracks on the beach and others said they saw them nearby earlier. No luck, but we’re going to check it out tomorrow again.

We drove the approximately three hours up to L’anse aux Meadows, rain the whole way and so many potholes! The water also doesn’t drain off the road very well so it makes it tricky to drive on.

The Discovery Centre was neat, there was a 15 minute movie about the history and the area, and then a walking tour. It had paused raining for about half an hour but started again right as the walking tour started. We ended up bailing on the walking tour. It was interesting, but we were just getting drenched, and we weren’t wanting to have another soaker. We checked out the smaller huts and found three characters/actors in the main “house”. A married couple and blacksmith. They were funny and talked about life in the camp. They also made this delicious pan fried flat bread over the fire. It was fried in a LOT of butter. Butter is used in quantities about 3-4x what we’re used to lol. ALL toast at any meal is dripping, fully saturated in butter. G is running out of lactaid lol. They put partridge berry jam on it, and it was great! I could have eaten ten of them haha. It was fun to learn about it all and warm up by the fires. They showed the main bedroom reserved for the highest ranking crew member, then the kitchen and other sleeping area, then the back room was set up for the women’s workroom for weaving and fabric making.

Three hour drive back, more rain. We stopped in Dark Tickle for a bite. I got ham and cheese (buttered on both sides and panini pressed), G got ham, rhubarb and pickle (it sounded so interesting he couldn’t resist). Also buttered on both sides and panini pressed. We also got molasses crowberry buns. They’re like giant dense gingerbread cookies with something like blueberries in it. Very good. The owner was really nice and we learned about the polar bears in the area!

The motel had a live band tonight in the bar which was great!

Tomorrow we’re back to Rocky Harbour to keep exploring the park!

nl gros morne port au choix beach combing | kbarlowdesign.com blog
Beach combing in Port au Choix
nl gros morne port au choix beach combing seeing caribou tracks | kbarlowdesign.com blog
Beach combing in Port au Choix – caribou tracks!
nl gros morne port au choix beach combing | kbarlowdesign.com blog
Beach combing in Port au Choix – the rocks at low tide are so interesting across the whole western coast of NL
nl gros morne port au choix beach combing | kbarlowdesign.com blog
Beach combing in Port au Choix – I love how vibrant some of the debris pops off the grey beach stones
nl gros morne port au choix beach combing | kbarlowdesign.com blog
Beach combing in Port au Choix – this little piece of rope was so colourful against the grey surrounding it
nl gros morne l'anse aux meadows | kbarlowdesign.com blog
L’Anse aux Meadows – the old site of one of the viking huts
nl gros morne l'anse aux meadows | kbarlowdesign.com blog
L’Anse aux Meadows – the view from the main hut, cozy inside by the fire, out of the rain
nl gros morne l'anse aux meadows | kbarlowdesign.com blog
L’Anse aux Meadows – the main hut had a “women’s workroom” with different fibres, and this loom to show how things were made
nl gros morne l'anse aux meadows | kbarlowdesign.com blog
L’Anse aux Meadows – the full set up of the loom
nl gros morne l'anse aux meadows | kbarlowdesign.com blog
L’Anse aux Meadows – one of the “crew” making fried pan bread, they were such a laugh, it was really neat to learn about everything through the characters
nl gros morne l'anse aux meadows | kbarlowdesign.com blog
L’Anse aux Meadows – the peat walls – some 6 feet thick to insulate!
nl gros morne l'anse aux meadows | kbarlowdesign.com blog
L’Anse aux Meadows – blacksmith’s hut
nl gros morne l'anse aux meadows | kbarlowdesign.com blog
L’Anse aux Meadows – a smaller hut from the outside
nl gros morne l'anse aux meadows | kbarlowdesign.com blog
L’Anse aux Meadows – the view of where the first vikings would have arrived
nl gros morne port au choix live band | kbarlowdesign.com blog
Back in Port au Choix – a live band played at the bar in the evening. It was fantastic, they were incredibly talented. The bar was full and everyone danced!