First on our agenda today was a boat trip to see whales and
icebergs. It was sunny and clear as we got on board and set off out of St
Anthony’s harbour toward the Atlantic Ocean. Once we were out of the shelter of
the harbour, we knew how smart we’d been to take a seasick pill. The boat
heaved up and down on great swells of frothy seas, but our stomachs were rock
solid!
It wasn’t long before we spotted the first billowy cloud of
a surfacing whale, and moments later, its humped back, followed by its magnificent
tail as the whale plunged underwater again. Steve, our guide, told us it was a
humpback about 40 feet long, feeding on small fish near the rocky shore.
Many more whale sightings kept us riveted to the water’s
surface. At one point there was a pair of whales within a couple hundred feet
of our boat which we followed for several minutes. It was an awesome sight!
The boat then turned toward an iceberg caught in a small
inlet. Steve said yesterday it had a tall spike, but this had dropped off and
was among the bergy bits bobbing near the shore. We approached the berg for a
closer look at its blue-green shadows just as the sun caught its upper portions
and made them sparkle.
Steve dipped a net into the water and scooped up a chunk of
iceberg for us to touch and taste. He chipped off bits of it to sample – so we
had a taste of 10,000-year-old water as it melted in our mouths!
On our return journey, we watched some gannets, with
six-foot wing spans, soaring above the waves and then dive-bombing the water
like Kamakasi pilots to catch fish. They pierced the water like spears with
their sharp beaks and their wings tucked tight against their bodies.
It was a terrific tour with lots of information about sea
life as well as local lore. One thing that amazed me was that in winter, polar
bears sometimes hitch a ride on an ice floe and end up in town. Last winter
there were about a dozen that did this, and then swam out to sea, sometimes
paddling for miles, working their way back to their polar homes over pack ice
and open water.
After a comforting lunch of seafood chowder and pan-fried
cod at the Lighthouse Café, we drove out to L’Anse aux Meadows, the UNESCO
heritage site of the Viking landing. We were surprised to learn that this was
discovered only 50-odd years ago by a pair of Norwegian researchers who were
looking for evidence of Vikings in the new world. Local residents always
thought the remains of sod houses had belonged to Indian bands, but the
discovery of a few small items – a pin for holding a cape, a spindle and an
ancient iron nail – confirmed the Norse presence 1000 years ago.
Reconstructed sod buildings, and costumed interpreters sitting
by crackling fires, brought the past alive for visitors. A reproduction of a
second Norse settlement that we visited outside the historic site included an
enormous wooden boat, the Snorri, that actually sailed from Greenland to
Newfoundland a couple of years back to commemorate the anniversary of the
landing.
In keeping with the Viking theme, we headed back into St
Anthony for a Viking feast in a sod building, complete with helmeted warriors
and wenches who served the tables. The entertainment included a mock Viking
court, with us as councillors who voted on punishments by pounding on the
tables with our fists. We left with full stomachs and certificates stating we
were now honorary Vikings! Fun!
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