Thursday
My goal for today was to take it easy for the first time in twos and take an easy drive down the coast to the end of the road in a little fishing village in Quebec called Vieux Fort, where I would camp for the night on the beach overlooking the Strait of Belle Isle. I was hesitant to stay in the last park in Labrador, Pinware Provincial Park, a wonderful seaside park amidst a thick boreal forest not far from the border with Quebec, because of my bad memories from 2002 of the multitudinous black flies in 2002 and terrible restroom facilities, and so I drove right on by the park when I passed it on the road. But 35 miles down the road, just before entering Quebec, I decided that this trip was about Labrador, and so I turned around and drove back to Pinware. To my delight, i discovered that they have since built a wonderful rest facility and there was a good wind and so I knew the black flies would not be a problem time with the wind, Deet, and my mosquito net. So I decided tom stay there for the Night and take a day trip to Vieux Fort tomorrow, before catching my shipmate 5:30. And it was a pleasant night, starting with the dogs' inevitable romp on the beach, including heading right for the water and sitting down in it for reasons I will never understand, and ending with my ritual gaze at the stars.
Friday
Today I broke camp in sufficient time to make in to Vieux Fort, the end of the road, and then back in time to Blanc Sablon for my 5:30 ship. The ride down to Vieux Fort would rival easily any coastal highway without a doubt, in both Labrador and Quebec. The views were as spectacular as the hills were steep. Twelve and ten percent grades were the rule, not the exception. Unbelievable is the only word I can think of to describe the views. I got up the guts to drive down several side trails, and did not regret it or pay for it. And to think that i almost did not want initially to take that day trip. And camping on the beach there would have been disastrous as the winds the night before were strong.
When I got to the port, I was told that the ship was delayed and would not be leaving until Saturday, 2:00 pm, and was asked to be there by noon, so I left for Pinware again, where I spent the night.
Saturday
In camp, when it safe to do so, I let the dogs wander around on their own, but within view of me. Erde always seems tomtake advantage of a momentarily lapse on my part and escapes to parts unknown. I had to spend 10 minutes hunting her down this morning. Later when I checked out, I discovered that a mother bear and her two cubs were wandering the campsite that morning about the time of Erde's escape.
I spent some time talking with Les, the longtime superintendent of the park, and then set out for my noon render vous with The Nordik Express. Unfortunately, a strong headwind slowed me down in getting there. But it didn't matter. The ship had arrived early and had already left. They tried to notify me by calling my cell phone, but I had no service. Missing the once-a-week ship means missing a week, however you look at it. To go back by way of Newfoundland would take a week, or to reverse direction on the Labrador road would take a week. Fortunately, the port supervisor convinced the captain that they had to honor what they told me about it's departure, and the ship returned to port to pick me up. As I rolled down the steep hill to the dock, I rolled the vehicle right into a container, and grabbed whatever I could from the organized clutter in my Defender. Within 5 minutes, the Defender was lifted onto the ship and the dogs and I found safe harbor midship on the deck, where I had no idea what was waiting for us. The ship was underway immediately. Score one for the French for keeping their word, ornat French-speaking people.
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