Red Bay, Labrador

EASTERN CANADA ROAD TRIP 2019

We drove north along the coast of Labrador to Red Bay, a National Historic Site and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was one of the most picturesque places we visited during our whole trip. The modern village is just like you would imagine - a mix of white and colorful houses, many with their own docks, nestled right up against the waters. We started the day at the museum, which chronicles the history of the area, which was a large whaling station in the mid 1500’s, drawing hundreds of Basque fishermen each season. There are many sunken ships and boats in the area, which have offered up a wealth of artifacts that tell the story of these times. In the basement is the best gift shop we encountered our entire trip - funny it was the furthest point north. We had seen knit sweaters and mittens at every roadside stop up Newfoundland’s coast, but this one really took the cake. Everything here was such high quality and handmade locally. I bought several pairs of mittens for Christmas presents.

We also took the 5 minute boat ride over to Saddle Island (Lyle included! I can’t say enough how great Canada is for dogs!). It’s a small island where you can see the clay tiles from the roof where the Basques rendered whale oil, making the vital supply that lit the oil lamps of Europe. The trail is lovely, giving you beautiful views of the bay and the town. The seagulls were roosting, perhaps? Hundreds of them filled the sky as we made our way around the island.

This was, as I mentioned before, our furthest point north on our trip, and this was also where we turned around and made our way back south for our return trip home. We ended up here on a lark, and I am so glad we changed our plans. This was a beautiful place to visit and this little village is one of the things I picture most often in my head when I think of our Canada journeys from 2019.