Six Star Magazine Six Star Magazine Spring/Summer 2019 | Page 25

T R AV E L
stores, churches and people was still startling—especially
after not seeing a single sign of life for hours.
We enjoyed spending time in North West River, a small
community close by. The original Hudson Bay Company
store, built in 1923, now houses the Labrador Heritage
Museum. A stone’s throw away is the Labrador Interpretation
Centre, with a lovely display of traditional crafts and a
fascinating exhibit entitled “The Past is Where We Come
From,” with several interactive stations where you can hear
stories presented in Inuktitut, Innu-aimun and English. I was
especially drawn to a display called the “shaking tent”— a
place where people met with spirit healers to receive advice.
Eventually, facing another arduous 367-kilometre drive to
Cartwright, we bid goodbye to North West River. And, yes,
we had a full tank of gas and extra food… just in case.
The jewel of Cartwright is the Wonderstrands, an
impressive 54-kilometre long beach that juts out from the
mainland. After donning floatation gear consisting of pants
and jackets provided by our guides Peyton and George
Barrett, we motored to the Wonderstrands in a skiff for a
hike. The Mealy Mountains provided the backdrop, while
the sounds of the ocean, the wind and the birds chimed in
with the soundtrack. It was all rather surrealistic.
Our next stop was Pigeon Cove, where we visited some
shanties, then perched on a big rock to enjoy Peyton’s moose
stew. “Have you ever had flummies?” she asked. Grinning, she
produced a container full of the baked goods, a cross between
flat white rolls and biscuits that are fried in margarine and
topped with brown sugar sauce. After a strong, black cup of
tea, Barrie and I waddled back to the boat, fearful that our
weight gain might affect its seaworthiness.
Our last planned stopover in Labrador was in Battle
Harbour, a small island off the coast. This is where the
Canadian Marconi Company set up the first wireless station
in Labrador, which explorer Robert Peary later used, in 1909,
to announce his breakthrough to the North Pole.
In 1977, the island was designated a National Historic
District by Parks Canada. In fact, it’s the only national
historic site in Canada where travellers can hunker down for
the night. There are no cars on the island and you can walk
its circumference in less than two hours.
We spent our time there studying the icebergs that floated
past and eating traditional Newfoundland dishes like fish
and brewis. At night, Barrie and I played a trivia game called
“Newfoundlandia.” (Sample question: If something is “scow-
ways,” is it high, low, damaged or slanted?)
Battle Harbour proved to be so enchanting, I made a
return trip—twice. On one of those trips, I got a lift in a skiff
across the tickle, a narrow body of water, to nearby Caribou
Island. The skipper dropped me off in Matthews Cove with
a walkie-talkie and said, “Call me when you get to the other
side and I’ll fetch you back!”
Caribou Island has footpaths that crisscross the island and
the place is loaded with peaks and valleys, replete with grasses,
flowers, mosses, soft crowberry and tuckamore, a short, dense
windblown bush. One place in particular, Trap Cove, caught
my breath. Remnants of homes and outbuildings tell tales of
lives lived here, and as I sat on the hillside taking it all in, I
swear I could hear voices on the wind.
PHOTOGRAPHY {this spread) Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism
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