LABRADOR

Big but Rural

 

      The MS Apollo is a large ferry and at first we wondered why it was coming into the pier bow first. Suddenly the bow of the ship started to open and I remarked, “The whale is opening its mouth!” After the bus was parked in the ferry’s bowels, a crew member met us to escort us up the stairs to the lounge and then returned to escort those who were using the elevator. The crossing was smooth but it was so foggy and misty that you could hardly see the water from the top viewing lounge. The radar kept rotating and the fog horn blew regularly. There was no hope of seeing an iceberg and we just hoped we didn’t hit one! The crossing of the Strait of Belle Isle from Newfoundland to Labrador takes 90 minutes.

     Labrador is bounded on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south and west by Quebec Province, and is separated from Newfoundland by the Straits of Belle Isle. Labrador is larger but less populated than the better known island. It is remote and undeveloped except for small ports on the coast and a few towns inland.

     Wildlife abounds among the spectacular scenery where culture and heritage is unlike anywhere else in the world. Newfoundland is often referred to as The Rock. Much of the country is considered rural, but a modern vibrant society still retains its Old World charm with a story to be told or a song sung in every bay.

     Labrador is the home of the largest caribou herd in the world. Isolated from the rest of province, it has remained wild. However, Goose Bay has all the amenities of an urban area.

The soil is red and much more plentiful than in Newfoundland. The terrain is different and very green and lush. Larch trees are numerous and the area reminded me a lot of the Scottish highlands.

     Labrador is French meaning arms of gold. In 1520 Fernandez, a Portuguese traveler and landowner, spotted Labrador but did not land. Labrador’s population of 27,000 is spread out over its 300 square kilometers, so the whole area is very rural. Labrador is two and a half times bigger than Newfoundland. The people are proud and self reliant. Innu and Inuit peoples have lived in Labrador for thousands of years and their cultures are rooted in a deep spiritual relationship with the environment.

     Newfoundland became part of Canada in 1949 as its tenth province and the seventh largest. Less than one percent of the land is owned by the federal government. The province of Newfoundland is divided into four areas: the beautiful Northern Peninsula where Vikings landed ten centuries ago; the Central and Eastern Regions with their wilderness forests and seaside villages; and the Avalon Region featuring the historic capital of St. Johns.

     The island measures 325 miles north to south and 320 miles east to west and is about the size of Virginia. Mount Caubvick, at 5322 feet, is its highest peak. Newfoundland forms the northern extremity of the Appalachian geological province of North America. Glaciation has left its mark on the area with most hilltops having been scraped bare and many valleys and low-lying areas containing a thick mantle of rocky glacial deposits. The main rivers draining the island are the Exploits, Gander, and Humber. Thousands of lakes, ponds, and bogs are found throughout the province. Many long finger-like lakes have been formed in glacial valleys with the Grand, Red Indian, and Gander lakes being the largest. Newfoundland’s west coast is an endless fascinating natural wonder with cavernous fjords, dense forests, tufted heathlands, ancient mountains from Port aux Bosques in the south to L’Anse aux Meadows in the northern tip of Newfoundland’s Great Northern Peninsula.

     We often saw the Labrador flag flying. The blue, green, and white flag has a spruce twig in the left corner of the white strip representing the five regions and the top three needles represent three peoples, Inuit, Innu and the settlers.

    The people have a good sense of humor and don’t hesitate to poke fun at themselves. They even make s spruce beer, which I guess you either like or hate. The Trans-Labrador highway is only paved in three small spurts. Most of the highway is connected by either dirt road or ferry. We traveled the 55 mile-long section to Red Bay. Caribou are native to the area and 600,000 of them roam the province.

     The Labrador Coastal Drive showed us tundra plateaus, rugged coastal headlands, and valleys thick with fir and spruce forests. Small picturesque fishing villages with populations up to 600 dotted the landscape. The fog lifted and suddenly someone yelled, “ICEBERG!” And sure enough in the distance we could see a big iceberg floating. Actually the icebergs were early that year and most of them had already passed.

      Newfoundland and Labrador form one of Canada’s four Atlantic Provinces. A particular combination of geographical, economic and historical forces has shaped its society. The isolated location, marine environment, work patterns and social relationships developed in a fishing economy and the British and Irish roots of the majority of its people.

     English is the first language of 98 percent of the population. Less than one percent speak French as the first language. There are 4700 Native Americans living in the area.

     The Hudson Bay Company set up an outpost in 1752. Moravian Missionaries arrived in the 1770s establishing the first missions in Northern Labrador. They provided religious, educational and social services to the Inuit peoples. They also traded with them and provided a link with the outside world. In the 1760s England sent a governor to Labrador who soon requested naval help and received 5000 men.