We followed the Viking Trail north to L'Anse aux Meadow the site of a Viking settlement. Eric the Red was banished from Norway for committing too many murders so he moved his family to Iceland and then to Greenland. His son Leif Erickson was following up a report of a land to the west and landed in Newfoundland. He established a base on the northern tip of the island. It was used as a stop over on the way south and west by the Vikings but they were prevented from settling there by the native people. The Vikings were looking for timber to build ships, as well as wood to heat, cook and power their forge. They lived in North America for a decade or more from around 1000AD.
And we still celebrate Columbus Day!
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| L'Anse aux Meadow |
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| Sod walls outside, wood inside |
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| The Vikings were at home |
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| Ms. Viking doing some beautiful needlework I love the storage bags tacked to the walls. |
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| Hiking around L'Anse aux Meadow |
L'Anse aux Meadow was not a year round settlement. They would stop after a long voyage, repair the boats, resupply with food and then move on.
The closest camping was St Anthony which is on Ice Berg Alley. Because of the irregular coastline ice bergs often get trapped in the small bays. We saw a few. It is late in the season and these may be the last of the year.
The Great Northern Peninsula is beautiful and empty with mostly small fishing ports. We did a hike up to an overlook.
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| St. Anthony Harbor |
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