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Red Bay Travel Blogs

Background: A land of vast distances and rich natural resources, Canada became a self-governing dominion in 1867 while retaining ties to the British crown. Economically and technologically the nation has developed in parallel with the US, its neighbor to the south across an unfortified border. Canada's paramount political problem is meeting public demands for quality improvements in health care and education services after a decade of budget cuts. The issue of reconciling Quebec's francophone heritage with the majority anglophone Canadian population has moved to the back burner in recent years; support for separatism abated after the Quebec government's referendum on independence failed to pass in October of 1995.

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By AndyM3714
October 7th 2008

Basquing in Red Bay

North America » Canada » Newfoundland & Labrador » Red Bay

The men, dressed in woollen pants and goatskin jackets pulled on the oars as the two canvas sails billowed in the breeze. The traditional 8-meter long Basque whaleboat, a chalupa, and its now well-muscled occupants had just completed a 3,500 km journey from Quebec City to Red Bay on Labrador’s south coast. This was not a new scene for Red Bay, Basque whalers operated here in the sixteenth century, hunting whales for their highly valued oil. This reconstructed chalupa was based on a similar vessel excavated from the frigid waters of Red Bay. Excavations began in 1978 and took 6 [View Full Entry]

By norway995
July 6th 2008

Following the Viking Trail, Day 5

North America » Canada » Newfoundland & Labrador » Red Bay

Pinware River

June 26, 2008 Whaling in Red Bay - Hunting and Watching Our first stop as we explored southern Labrador was the Pinware River, an exception place for trout fishing, plus salmon is abundant here. We learned about whale hunting when we arrived at the village of Red Bay. Today it’s population is 211, but in the early 1500s, when Boston and New York were still wilderness, this part of the Labrador coast had a population of 1500. The lucrative whale hunting industry brought Basque fishermen here by the ship load. Their targets were the right whale and the bowhead whale [View Full Entry]

By Bothan Taistil
July 11th 2006

Black flies and Midgies!

North America » Canada » Newfoundland & Labrador » Red Bay

These little figures (Insuk?) were built by the Inuit People, they could tell direction but it also could serve to give other messages.

Today we drove every kilometer of paved road in Labrador, and still had lots of time to eat, sleep and sightsee. One very obvious annoyance are the biting black flies and “Midgies” (tiny flying insect that also like to bite), they are everywhere and just waiting for fresh meat. We have our bug shirts with face/neck screens, and long pants, so off we go to hike the Battery Trail. This trail is not used a lot and it was like bushwhacking, so we cut our hike short and stop at a museum, Labrador Straits Museum. It provided a glimpse of local [View Full Entry]

Saddle Island Trail at Red Bay, before the seagulls.

An old shipwreck, found in 1965 at Red Bay.

Travel Blog » North America » Canada » Newfoundland & Labrador » Red Bay