Red Bay

9/13/2025

We headed north along the coast to the village of Red Bay, which used to be the end of the paved coastal highway, until the gravel section north through the wilderness to Goose Bay was finally paved less than a decade ago.
Red Bay was an Arctic maritime base for Basque whalers in the 16th century. It is a Unesco World heritage site because of it's significant underwater archeological site, which includes the most comprehensive, and best preserved, earliest known remains of a pre-industrial whaling station.
We stopped at the Visitor Center to take in the view....

Because of the sheltered harbour, it was used as a mooring station for naval vessels during WWII. The kids wanted to learn more,

but it was late in the day and the Visitor Center was already closed.

Dorothy

9/13/2025 11:16:51 am

I love the "almost sunset" feel of the photos.

I like seeing the little houses on the rise in the distance. I always wonder who lives in such semi-faraway places. I am sure that it is just a few minutes to town but the setting evokes isolation and peace and comfort.

Martha

9/13/2025 11:45:42 am

It was very late in the evening, which makes for really great lighting.

That is the entire town. There's a handful of small towns and fishing villlages like that sprinkled along the Labrador coast along the 100 kms of the coastal drive. Most have a small convenience store and a place to get gas. There's no big stores, like we are used to. One of the towns has a small hospital, and another has a small car dealership. There's no fast food restaurants. One town has a small hotel where one can order a take-out pizza. It's a very isolated life, but the people are used to it. And the scenery is spectacular.

Donna

9/15/2025 07:23:53 am

Such a beautiful setting! It is like a fairy tale world, serene and lovely.
I love how nicely the RRFF kids fit into your photos. You make them seem like real children.

Besides the spectacular scenery, there is another fascinating bit of history in your post. 15th century Basque whalers having a station there long before the pilgrims landed in Plymouth!

Thank you for "taking us along" on your travels!

Martha

9/15/2025 11:41:36 am

Labrador has such different Arctic-like scenery, which is why we like to go there whenever we make the trip to Newfoundland.

Yes, the Ruby Red kids do work very well in photos. I was basically posing them like I've photographed my Iple children there on previous trips.

European arrival in North America pre-dates even Columbus and the Basque whalers. Vikings had a settlement in what is now northern Newfoundland, way back in the 11th century. But more about that at some later time.

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Red Bay

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