It was a fog-bound morning with rain and then more rain when we arrived at Red Bay, Labrador.
However, the historical and archaeological evidence of whaling made this walk ‘across the end of the earth’ worthwhile!
Named Baie Rouge by the French in the 17th century, Red Bay is a natural harbour that was used by the Basques, possibly in the 1530s, as a whaling station.
A Basque galleon, discovered in the harbour, is thought to be the best preserved 16th century shipwreck in this region and associated research has found evidence of what could be the world’s first, large scale industrial whaling and production of whale oil. The problem with the evidence that we saw, was that we only saw a small boat that was used to catch the whales and then haul them to a mother vessel. However, in the Interpretation Centre, there was evidence to show that four of these whaling vessels have been found and have been reburied in the harbour.
During dinner we set sail for Corner Brook, Newfoundland.