We chose to stay at Pinware Provincial Park for a number of reasons, not least of which was proximity to the coastline and bays of Southern Labrador, as well as easy access to the easternmost point of the mainland of continental North America. It also is a breath-takingly beautiful park in its own right, with lovely campsites and the sounds of both the river and the surf, which ALMOST makes up for the blood-sucking parasitical marauders known as blackflies. But I digress. Pinware was also perfect for our purposes because it is located on a peninsula formed by the wide mouth of a river as it enters the Strait of Belle Isle, which means that there is a natural seawall between the protected river inland and the cove on the seaward side. This sort of geographical feature would have been noted by the Norse, who would always have been seeking safe anchorage, as well as sources of fresh water and timber. Any Dane might also note the similarity between the ever-shifting sand-spit at the moving boundary between sea and river and the similar feature at the very northernmost tip of Jutland. Known as “Grenen,” “the twig” or “the branch,” that weaving sand-spit demarks the border between the Baltic and North Seas. It was perhaps a memory of standing with one foot on either side of Grenen in 2009 which drew me out to the very point of Pinware one afternoon. This caused me to stand with my feet astride the very end of the long whip of sand as it was moved back and forth by the clashing forces of tide, current, and wind. At first I was facing out towards the strait, searching for Newfoundland through the mist. As I turned back to look at the beach and the river on either side, however, I was struck immediately by how isolated I felt, and how much the surroundings seemed like true wilderness, even though there were people and roads and fishing boats and even small towns just out of sight. I was a powerful feeling, though, and I was awestruck by the enormity of Labrador. The Norse must have been, as well, although they were also mistaken in the impression that they were anything like alone in this rugged and beautiful vastness. We’ll talk about some of the consequences of such misapprehensions at a later point. I leave you today with my impressions of the enormity of Labrador.
Follow along on our ongoing adventures in ten-minute intervals via this link:
In the Wake of the Vikings 