My nine-year-old son, Stephen, is taking a school course on the Vikings landing in Newfoundland, 1,000 years ago. He is very excited about this course and comes home every day with another new fact. I would really like to take him to Newfoundland this summer to support his enthusiasm for this part of Canada's history. Apparently L'Anse aux Meadows is great, but how do you get there?
-- Elizabeth Avery, Fergus, Ont.
The backstory
It must have been Helge Ingstad's eureka moment when fisherman George Decker showed him the faint, grassy mounds at L'Anse aux Meadows, at the tip of Newfoundland's Northern Peninsula.
Ingstad had been on a quest to find the "Vinland" of the Norse sagas. He had travelled thousands of kilometres looking for clues to verify whether or not Leif Ericson actually reached the New World from his settlement in Greenland. In 1960, when Ingstad arrived in L'Anse aux Meadows by boat, just three families lived there and it was not accessible by road. But that was all to change as the dig he started the following year almost immediately bore fruit. In the following years, a variety of Viking artifacts were uncovered, along with the foundations of eight sod houses that proved Norse settlers had been there roughly 1,000 years ago.
In 1978, it was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site and remains the earliest known settlement of Europeans in the Americas. Today, Parks Canada operates the site, which boasts an impressive visitor centre and includes three reconstructed sod huts of the type the Vikings built. The actors dressed in period costume are a highlight of a visit here. They will serve you samples of Viking food, show you how the Norse spun wool and tell you how they navigated.
How to do it
To get to L'Anse aux Meadows, you have a couple of options. By car, take the ferry from North Sydney, N.S., to Port aux Basques, then drive northeast along the entire west coast of Newfoundland, a trip of about 700 kilometres (the first part along the Trans-Canada Highway and the last leg along Highway 430 -- the Viking Trail).
Another popular option is to fly and drive: Fly into Deer Lake, Nfld., rent a car and then drive roughly 500 kilometres north along Highway 430. Since the distance is fairly long, many people allow several days to make the trip, stopping in Gros Morne National Park, Port aux Choix National Historic Site and other attractions along the way. There are numerous campgrounds, motels and B & Bs, as well as some classy inns.
If you would rather use a guide, check out Wildlands Tours (1-888-615-8279, http://www.wildlands.com), which offers a week-long tour along the Northern Peninsula (including L'Anse aux Meadows) starting and ending in Deer Lake. You could also book yourself on one of the increasingly popular cruise-ship itineraries that circumnavigate the Rock. They all include a trip to L'Anse aux Meadows. This fall, Adventure Canada (http://www.adventurecanada.com) will operate its "Round the Rock" cruise Sept. 21 to 30, starting and ending in St. John's.
When to go
Mid-June to mid-July can be good because you can also spot icebergs and whales, with tour boats operating out of nearby St. Anthony. It's even possible to sea kayak with icebergs in the morning and visit L'Anse aux Meadows in the afternoon. The downside is that the weather can often be more like winter than spring.
Mid-July to the end of August is the prime time for visiting and the weather is more reliable, but you need to book most accommodations well ahead of time. Early fall is another fine time because there are fewer people, but you're not likely to see icebergs or as many whales. Most tourism services wind up by early October.
Intelligence
To kickstart your trip, visit newfoundlandandlabradortourism.com and www.pc.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/nl/meadows/index_e.asp. While you're here also check out nearby Norstead (http://www.norstead.com), another recreated Viking settlement built to show what L'Anse aux Meadows might have become had the Vikings stayed.
You'll never forget
In the largest sod hut at L'Anse aux Meadows, light pours through openings in the roof, which also served as chimneys. It isn't hard to imagine what life might have been like here a millennium ago. Despite the dirt floors and wooden platforms for sleeping and sitting, the building is surprisingly snug.
Keith and Heather Nicol have visited L'Anse aux Meadows by cruise ship, car and even sea kayak.
