Vikings

L’anse au Meadows is the only site in North America where Vikings have been confirmed. Over 1000 years ago, Leif Eriksson landed here, and they built three halls and a number of other structures. They estimate that the buildings were used on and off for about ten years, then they were torched.

The site is at the very northern end of Newfoundland. To me it looks very similar to the location of the first site in Iceland - a flat marshy area with a safe easily recognised harbour.

The halls are much bigger than I expected. Both of Eric the Red’s dwellings (in Iceland and Greenland) were less than half the size of the smallest hall, yet they would have been home to a similar number of people. And Leif’s Hall is really big! It even includes a sauna! And a boat shed.

They have created reproductions of the smallest Hall and its associated buildings.

I visited a reproduction of a Viking trading port where I was taken pretending to be the chieftain’s wife. The boathouse is also from there.

Later, I went to what might be the most northerly part of Newfoundland, a place called Cook’s landing, as Captain Cook charted the coast of Newfoundland in the 1760’s.

Lastly, I have included a photo of some vegetable gardens on the side of the road. Newfoundland roadsides are fair game - both vegetable gardens and enormous piles of firewood appear at random points along them - nowhere near a house. Everyone knows whose wood or cabbages are whose, and none are stolen.