Six Star Magazine Six Star Magazine Spring/Summer 2019 | Page 23

Torngat
Mountains
Nain
Labrador
Labrador City
Goose Bay
Churchill
Falls
QC
Rigolet
Cartwright
Mealy
Mountains
Blanc Sablon
Port Hope Simpson
Battle Harbour
Red Bay
Deer Lake
St.Barbe
Nfld
Argentia
Baie Comeau
Port Aux Basques
Matane
NB
PEI
Québec City
Montreal
St. John’s
NS
North Sydney
Halifax
Stranded
in Rigolet
T R AV E L
S
ituated along the northern coastline of Labrador,
the Nunatsiavut region is home to five communities
linking Nain in the north to Rigolet in the south. The
region, which means “our beautiful land” in the Inttitut
language, is accessible only by ship or plane in the
summer, dog sled or snowmobile in the winter.
After spending the night in a comfy berth aboard
the Northern Ranger out of Happy Valley-Goose Bay,
I stepped ashore at Rigolet, the oldest Inuit community
in Labrador. Later on that morning, I dropped into the
community centre where a group of women showed me
how to make beaded jewellery and pleat moccasins. I was
hopeless at both tasks, but gained a deep appreciation
for the level of artistry involved.
After lunch, I met Martin Shiwak who offered to take
me scalloping. We motored for an hour in his small boat
then dropped a homemade metal rig that filled with
scallops after a short drag. Martin taught me how to sort
and shuck the catch, and we ate a few au naturel. I tasted
the sea, which was both heady and sensual.
Hiking along the 4.4-kilometre coastal boardwalk
that evening, I met some kayakers. They invited me to
join them for supper—freshly caught salmon and trout
cooked on top of hot flat rocks over a fire next to the
shore. As dusk fell and the fish sizzled, a full moon rose
over the horizon and a pod of minke whales surfaced in
the cove. I had to remind myself to breathe.
Before leaving the next morning, Cavel made a typical
Newfoundland breakfast: bacon, sausage, bologna, beans,
eggs, fruit and toutons. Toutons are made from fresh bread
dough that’s formed into patties, fried until golden brown
and served with molasses. No doubt my cholesterol count
shot over the moon, but I had seconds, as my husband,
Barrie, said, “Just to be polite.”
The next morning, news spread that the ship had
engine troubles and wouldn’t return for a couple of
days. I was stranded in Rigolet. The room I had rented
was booked for someone else who was arriving, but this
didn’t disturb the owner of the unit for even a moment.
“No problem,” she said, “you can have my son’s room
and he’ll go to a friend’s.”
This is how they do things in Labrador, a place where
being stranded is no hardship at all.
Next stop: Churchill Falls. Although this company
town would never win an award for its natural beauty or
design features, it does lay claim to a massive hydroelectric
generating station. The powerhouse is carved out of granite,
some 400 metres underground, and houses massive
penstocks and turbines. It resembles what I imagine a space
station would look like—only bigger.
We rushed through the town as we had a 281-kilometre
drive on to Happy Valley-Goose Bay and wanted to get there
before dark. Even though we knew that our destination was
the hub of Labrador, arriving there to see so many homes,
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