Labrador Disney Travel Agents Near Me

Overview

Introduction

"The Labrador" or "the Mainland" is far colder and more isolated than the island portion of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. John James Audubon called it "the most extensive and dreariest wilderness I have ever beheld," but some find this strange area enchanting.

We don't recommend Labrador for the casual tourist—getting there requires substantial effort, and the scenery is just as impressive on Newfoundland island. The southeast coast of Labrador is 335 mi/539 km northwest of St. John's.

If you do make the trip, you will see a thinly-settled coast, forbidding cliffs sheering straight down into the sea and just possibly an exceptional sight prevalent in parts of Labrador—polar bears. They live year-round in the northern parts of the region, though the subarctic area is seldom visited by tourists.

A much more accessible, and less dangerous, attraction is the Red Bay National Historic Site. It's located at the village of Red Bay on the Strait of Belle Isle, which separates Labrador and the island of Newfoundland. In 1565, the Spanish galleon San Juan sank off Saddle Island in Red Bay Harbour—the oldest known shipwreck north of the Caribbean. The ice-cold water has preserved this ship, and slowly, piece by piece, researchers and divers have been resurrecting this vessel.

Nearby, on Saddle Island, archaeologists have unearthed remnants of an entire whaling station that operated between 1550 and 1600. The Red Bay Visitor Centre exhibits the remains of the station and describes the work being carried on at the site by researchers from Memorial University. The site is Canada's earliest known industrial complex.

If you travel to Red Bay, you'll find few formal accommodations, but it's often possible to stay in the homes of villagers. This usually leads to a storytelling session around the kitchen table, which may prove to be the best part of your stay. This is the ideal spot to charter a tour boat and go whale-watching or bird-watching, or just to view icebergs. Most of Labrador's larger settlements are located inland and are either mining, hydroelectric or military centers.

Overview

Introduction

Newfoundland and Labrador may not be the edge of the world, but it sure seems like it: wind-whipped grass, murky fog, and rocky cliffs that plunge into the wild sea. It's a place where we walk a little slower than usual, making sure there's solid ground under each footstep.

Those who call Newfoundland and Labrador home, on the other hand, can take solid ground or leave it. Mostly they've left it—heading off into the void on fishing boats. As a result, a nautical spirit pervades almost everything in the province. Picturesque fishing villages huddle on remote shores, museums convey the province's long seafaring history, and steaming dishes of seafood are served with strong, dark rum known as "Newfoundland Screech." This is a place custom-made for those who love the water and the lore of the sea.

Newfoundland and Labrador can also be a study in contrasts: You can savor swanky cocktails a few steps away from where fish merchants plied their trade for centuries. In some "outports," innkeepers provide luxurious accommodations while staying true to the traditional allure of their environment.

Geography

The province comprises both an island (Newfoundland) and a portion of mainland Canada (Labrador). The island is often referred to as "the Rock" and Labrador as "the Mainland," "the Labrador" or "the big land." Labrador is massive—larger than the provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island combined—and very thinly populated.

St. John's, the provincial capital, is located on the large Avalon peninsula, which juts out of the southeast corner of Newfoundland.

History

The province's connection to boats was established long ago. The first recorded trans-Atlantic sailors in history—the Vikings—visited Newfoundland about a thousand years ago. They established a settlement (now called L'Anse aux Meadows) on the northwestern tip of the island. The Vikings didn't stay long, possibly because the Native Americans in the region didn't give them a warm welcome.

The Beothuk, Montagnais and Naskapi lived on the island of Newfoundland and in Labrador. They hunted sea animals in summer (including whales and seals) and moved inland to pursue caribou in winter. Wigwams made of birch bark and caribou skins were their homes, and birch-bark canoes, snowshoes and sleds were their means of travel.

Almost 500 years after the Vikings sailed away, John Cabot (born Giovanni Caboto in Genoa, Italy) arrived and claimed this part of the North Atlantic for England. It was his report of plentiful cod that beckoned the fishing nations of Europe—England, France, Portugal and Spain—across treacherous waters to the region. Also in the 1500s, whaling ships began to work the Strait of Belle Isle, between Newfoundland and Labrador.

In 1583, English delegate Sir Humphrey Gilbert declared Newfoundland to be England's first colony, even as fishing ships from all over Europe continued making their hauls. For the next 150 years, control of the territory was largely left to the "Fishing Admirals"—a title bestowed upon the first captains to set anchor in Newfoundland harbors at the beginning of each fishing season.

In the early 1700s, "outports"—tiny settlements that often could only be reached by boat—began springing up along the coastline. Inhabited largely by people of Irish and English descent, many of these tiny fishing villages still exist. Newfoundland and Labrador joined Canada as a province in 1949. The new government enticed (and in some cases, required) many residents of the outport communities to move inland, and they took their culture and distinct personalities with them.

Unfortunately, the fishing industry that once defined the province has fallen on hard times. The cod stocks of the Grand Banks have been decimated from years of exhaustive fishing. Forestry, manufacturing, mining, offshore oil drilling and generation of hydroelectric power are some of Newfoundland and Labrador's other businesses. With three oil fields in production offshore, Newfoundland and Labrador are also reaping the benefits of oil-related industries.

Snapshot

Newfoundland and Labrador's main attractions include history, fishing, the sea, lighthouses, seafood, coastal scenery, hunting, kayaking, whale-watching and bird-watching.

The province will appeal to those who like remote, less-visited destinations and those who are history or nature buffs. Newfoundland and Labrador will be less appealing to those who are uncomfortable in a cool-to-cold, damp climate or who desire lively, cosmopolitan surroundings.

Potpourri

A distress signal from the ship Titanic was received at Newfoundland's Cape Race wireless station on 14 April 1912, shortly before the ocean liner sank, about 500 mi/800 km south of Newfoundland.

The first European settlement in North America was founded in L'Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland; the 1,000-year-old Viking Settlement, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was discovered by Helge and Anne Stine Ingstad in the 1970s.

John Cabot first used the term "new found isle" in 1497.

Moose are not native to Newfoundland, but today there are more than 100,000 of them on the island.

Thousands of tourists go to the territory each year to see icebergs. Northeastern Newfoundland, particularly near Twillingate and along the Bonavista Peninsula, is one of the best places for a good vantage point during the spring, when bergs are calved.

The provincial flower is the pitcher plant, which survives the harsh climate by consuming insects that drown in pools of water trapped between its pitcher-shaped leaves. The provincial tree is the black spruce, and the official bird is the tiny puffin.

The beautiful Newfoundland dog and its cousin, the Labrador retriever, were born and bred in the province. These gentle, hardworking dogs are excellent swimmers because of their webbed feet.

The Beothuk of Newfoundland were the people first described by the British as "red Indians." It was customary for the Beothuk to cover their skin with red ocher.

With air virtually free of ragweed pollen, Newfoundland is a paradise for the allergy prone. There are no snakes or skunks, either.

Newfoundland and Labrador—long popular with seascape artists in summer—are said to be among the foggiest areas in the world, especially where warm currents from the south meet the frigid Labrador Current from the north.