Blast from the Past: Port aux Basque, Isle aux Morts, and the ferry ride back

Continuing our 2010 trip to the maritimes.  All photos will look much better if you click and enlarge them. 
June 28, 2010.  Driving towards Port aux Basque to catch the ferry to Nova Scotia. 6,000km.
Many rivers we’ve seen have the sames names as rivers that we are very familiar with in Ontario. Below is another Humber River.  It’s weird that the names of rivers are repeated as if there is a limited list of names to choose from.
Cape Ray Cove
We stopped at the local museum, but the sign said it was still closed for the season.  The door was open, so we peeked in.  There were  a few ladies in there cleaning up for the season’s opening the next day, but they were quite happy to let us walk around and take a look.  One of them showed us around and when I mentioned that I was an archaeologist, she ran to her car and brought a bin of artifacts from a site excavated nearby.  She took the artifacts out and then told us where to go so that we can look at where the excavation was.  They were so nice and very excited about us stopping by and looking at their museum.  By the end of our visit there were about 10 more people there.  I am not sure if they all came to clean, or the word got around that there were tourists in town.
Just kidding, I’m sure they get a lot of tourists!
We walked over to where the site was.  There were lots of artifacts still there.  As we mentioned before, there are a lot of archaeological sites along these coasts.
Such great views.

One of the last lighthouses that we’ll see in NL.  This is the site of the first  underwater telegraph cable in North America between Cape Ray, Newfoundland and Cape North, Nova Scotia in 1856.

More outhouses.  This time: ‘his and hers’.
Isle aux Morts

We had some time so we drove to Isle aux Morts, just southwest of Port aux Basques.  The small town is named after a nearby island and the name “Island of the Dead” is a reference to many shipwrecks that dot the area.  Two rare astrolabes were found in this area; one, a working Portuguese mariner’s astrolabe had the year “1628” stamped on it along with the name of a famous portuguese astrolabe maker, Jonas Dyas.  The second was a French mariner’s astrolabe stamped with the year “1617”.   The Mushrow Astrolabes were designated heritage treasures by the provincial government and housed in the Provincial Museum of Newfoundland and Labrador.

 

There are a few celebrations in Isle aux Morts, and some of them is in honour of these local heros are still celebrated here: George Harvey, his daughter Ann, along with his son and their Newfoundland dog, Hairyman, heroically rescued almost 200 sailors from two ships that sunk off shore in the early 1800s.
This is a retty cove!
Tony taking in the scenery.
Looks like someone dropped these houses there and then created the roads around them.
Port aux basque
Driving through Port aux Basque we came across this front yard.  The creator was sitting in a chair watching the birds.  I waited until we were around the corner, so he wouldn’t see me taking a picture.
At the back parking lot of the hotel, just under our window, there seems to be the town’s ATV training ground where everyone and their ATV gather at sunset.
This is the last Newfoundland sunset from our bedroom window.
The Caribou – we are ready to board.
Cruising along Port aux Basque – a picturesque town fading away.
The last lighthouse.
Getting smaller and smaller.
And there she was.  Gone.
So long, Newfoundland, we hope to be back.

34 thoughts on “Blast from the Past: Port aux Basque, Isle aux Morts, and the ferry ride back”

    • backroadsandotherstories says:
      Reply

      It’s probably a more elaborate display 12 years later, but I don’t know if I will remember where to go looking for it ????. One of the things that I noticed about this blog is the lack of clarity and detail; I wasn’t expecting readers, so it was between myself and my brain of the time. It was a great trip for sure!

  4. kagould17 says:
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    Nice to be in a place where small town friendiness opens closed doors for you. Looks like a good ending to a great trip. Thanks for sharing. Allan

  7. Ab says:
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    What a wonderful getaway that you enjoyed. The small houses are very charming as are those lighthouses and outhouses! I like that there are still parts of Canada where nature and a much simpler time can continue to exist outside all of this aggressive urban development. Definitely on my wishlist to visit one day! Such lovely scenery.

    • backroadsandotherstories says:
      Reply

      Yes, it feels like landing in a different country completely. A slower pace, kindness, community. I am sure that there are a lot of negatives, especially economy-wise, but still it’s a beautiful place to visit if you can.

  12. petespringerauthor says:
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    As you may know, Minnesota’s nickname is “The Land of 10,000 Lakes.” I remember we joked about the lack of creativity on the part of the names, but I suppose one runs out of ideas after a while. We stayed at Woman Lake, which was near Father Lake and Child Lake.

  14. WanderingCanadians says:
    Reply

    Sounds like you had an amazing time in Newfoundland. I love how hospitable the ladies at the local museum in Cape Ray Cove were and that they let you walk around and examine some artifacts even though the museum was still closed for the season. Newfies are the best.

  15. rkrontheroad says:
    Reply

    How nice that the museum staff let you in and directed you to a site where artifacts are found! Since the Newfoundlanders seem friendly, perhaps if you stopped to see the house with the bird display, he would have told you more about it… Strange about the river names. Perhaps they were named first, as they were the farthest east, and the others came later? ????

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