New Found Land

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I am disappointed: I haven't seen a moose yet.

Even before I arrived in Newfoundland, I was warned to watch out for the moose. And since I arrived this afternoon I have been instructed by at least three people (and a very large yellow sign) to keep an eye out for the big, gangly beasts. Apparently, the province is rife with them. But, in my first day, they have stayed hidden from view. Maybe they are just shy.

But it's not the moose I came to see.

Those of you who have been reading my travelblog since its inception know that I began writing entries for my Viking Voyage, an epic journey from Denmark, through Norway, the Faroes Islands, and Iceland, ending in Greenland. I had hoped, when I started planning that trip, to continue on to Newfoundland, as it is the only place with a known Viking settlement site in North America (and which had been settled by the Norsemen of Greenland - their new found land). But, alas, there is no way to get between the two, despite how close they are (indeed, to get to Greenland, one has to fly from Iceland or Denmark - the one North American flight, via Baltimore, folded after a year). Now, a number of years later, and on the eve of a big move to Sudan, I am finally completing that journey.

Thus the end of my Viking Trail begins:

I flew up from DC this afternoon, transiting in Halifax (where I encountered perhaps the friendliest ticket agent ever - she managed to get me on a much earlier flight, so I would arrive in Deer Lake, Newfoundland by 4:30pm, rather than 9pm. AND she got me extra leg room!). From the airport, I drove a short distance into Gros Morne National Park, the grey sky gradually clearing to reveal spectacular table top mountains, deep pine forest, and sparkling fjord-like bays. But I saw no moose. In Rocky Harbour, an adorable fishing town within the park, I found my bed and breakfast (The Anchor Down) and then walked along the shore. The sea air felt so good - just like that which the Vikings breathed in a new found land.

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Comments

[anonymous]

Lovely! And I am jealous that you are in cooler climes.... :)