June 16, 2014. Red Bay to L'anse-au-Clair, Labrador

We awoke to light to moderate rain, so we ate a leisurely breakfast (I had traditional salt-cod and got my salt allotment for the month, but it was tasty) and returned to the room waiting for the rain to abate or the 11 AM checkout time to arrive, whichever came first. Still raining, we checked out and returned to the Basque Museum for some fact-gathering in warm and dry conditions, then headed south.

We tried to hike and bird, but the rain and cold more-or-less kept us in the van. Our tour-book suggested that the L'Anse Amour Lighthouse, which has been in operation since 1857, was a good place on a wet day, and we now agree. On the shoreline, however, Liz noticed a rectangular grid in the stones. It turns out they are fossil organisms dating from the early Cambrian. They are archaeocyanthids, the earliest reef-building animals on earth. Even in the rain, they were worth the visit! L'Anse Amour also holds the oldest known burial mound in the North America, dating from about 7,500 years ago.

Cold and wet, we pulled into L'anse-au-Clair, a few kilometers shy of the ferry. While not fancy, this is the first "modern" hotel we've seen in Labrador.

Note: All distances, elevations, and other facts are approximate.
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