L'Anse Aux Meadows

Day 22: 1.08.09I can’t believe it’s August already! Our year really is beginning to slip away from us. Today we visited L’Anse aux Meadows. L'Anse aux Meadows is a site on the northernmost tip of the island of Newfoundland, located in the Province of Newfoundland, where the remains of a Viking village were discovered in 1960 by the Norwegians Helge and Anne Ingstad. The only authenticated Viking settlement in North America outside Greenland, it was the site of an archaeological dig that found dwellings, tools and implements that verified its time frame. The settlement, dating more than five hundred years before Christopher Columbus, contains the earliest European structures in North America. Named a World Heritage site by UNESCO, it is thought by many to be the semi-legendary 'Vinland' settlement of explorer Leif Ericson around AD 1000. The settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows consisted of at least eight buildings, including a forge and smelter, and a lumber yard that supported a shipyard. The largest house measured 28.8 by 15.6 m and consisted of several rooms. Sewing and knitting tools found at the site indicate women were present at L'Anse aux Meadows. The tour of the area was made more interesting because of the tour guide, a local man who had actually assisted with the dig during the 1970’s. Local knowledge really does add another dimension to a tourist’s experiences.
The other thing that I found interesting was that we had come so far north. L’Anse aux Meadows, situated at 51.5degrees north is only 14 degrees south of the Arctic Circle. I can only imagine what winter is like in this region! To put things on perspective, Narooma is 36 degrees south and the climatic conditions and features of the landscape could not be more different.
After our visit to the Meadows, we set off back on the long road to Gros Morne. We did make a short detour to a place named Port au Choix to a National Historic Site. Here we learnt about the archaic Eskimos and other indigenous peoples who inhabited the area for 1000’s of years. Being late in the afternoon, we availed ourselves of lunch before heading back to our trusty van for the evening.