Friday – August 10, 2018

Battle Harbour

Getting There – Trinity Pride

We woke to some rain but that didn’t dampen our desire to head back on the water to travel to the Battle Harbour National Historic Site.  We headed out in the rain on Trinity Pride which is a small vessel that provides the 75 minute journey to the island.  Battle Harbour is a small island that is close to being the eastern most point of continental North America although that honor really belongs to nearby Cape St. Charles.

We traveled through through the rain with several foot seas bouncing us around.  We passed islands and rocks dashed by the sea.  It was a bit wild and beautiful.  Debbie was happy to close her eyes and rest as we traveled the choppy waters and I tended to stand out in the back.

Friday on the Island

Before long we finally rounded the point and historic Battle Harbour came into view.  This would be our home of the next two nights and an opportunity to slow down and take a deep breath.  It is such a picturesque place with quaint old buildings on a rugged island on the edge of the Atlantic.  We were ready to unwind and relax here.

We headed to our room in the merchant building.  This is a replica of an original building where of the much of the business of Battle Harbour took place.  There is a comfortable feel to the rooms and we settled right in there.  We were in the Slade Room which is named after one of the original merchant families.

Next was lunch, and all meals are served at shared tables.  There is basically a chef’s selection of the day for each meal.  We enjoyed the meals and found them well prepared and very good.  The dinner and lunch included these really tasty rolls – more on them later.

After lunch we had a guided tour around the island from someone who lived there as a child during its last days as fishing center for Labrador.  From the 1700’s and later Battle Harbour was oriented around the salt cod fishing industry.  We saw many of the buildings used in that process.

Our tour lasted about 90 minutes and the weather steadily improved as it went onward.  Once it was over we were free until dinner.  This was a time to relax, unplug, and unwind.  You really need to unplug as there is a single WiFi location and the remote location means low speed and unstable connections.  That didn’t help in keeping up to date on this blog – especially photo uploads.  It was better not to even try.

We took the time to head a short distance to the south end of the island.  There is a bench overlooking the sea.  It is a beautiful spot overlooking ocean with the waves splashing over the rocks beneath us and several rocky islands in view.

Battle Harbour is a historic place but the magic of it is in it’s peaceful, beautiful, and rugged landscape.  It is easy to sit on one of the benches and watch the sea or to walk the paths surrounded by its beauty.  We settled on the bench for a while with some books in hand but the wind was too strong for reading.  We just sat and took it all in for a while.

There is a communal aspect to an overnight visit to Battle Harbour.  The meals are served at common tables with everyone eating at once.  There is a not a large group of guests so it is fairly intimate and easy to start talking to people.  There are some people who are local like the group of 3 sisters (of 14!) from nearby Charlottetown and the not quite as close Happy Valley-Goose Bay.  There were mostly Canadian and few Americans.  It was enjoyable talking to people at dinner and in the evening in “The Loft” which is basically a living room kind of place where there is a simple bar available.

Saturday – August 11, 2018

On the Edge of North America

We started Saturday with breakfast and then a lesson in bun making from the ladies in the kitchen.  Most meals have the been served with these simple and delicious rolls and now we learned how to make them.  We got the recipe and a Battle Harbour apron which we can wear when we try our hand at them at home.

A Walk Around the Island

There is a walking path around the island winding it’s way through the historic buildings and homes.  We had our lunch and headed out on the boardwalk sections continuing to the old cemetery.   It has graves dating back to the earliest days.

The trail continued up a steep slope with some more demanding switchbacks.  I continued up and Debbie headed back to the southern bench from Friday.  At the top of slope there was a beautiful view that overlooked the cemetery and toward Caribou Island.

The path continued to another bench that looked east toward the Atlantic.  I sat there for a while taking in the view and of course taking more pictures.  I continued to marvel at the scenery and enjoyed the feeling of the wind on my face.

I continued to walk and passed through the new cemetery and found both old and newer dates on the headstones.  The island also had a small plane crash in 1976 that killed three people.  There is a memorial and wreckage to be seen.

A final feature of this hike is the radio towers.  In the early days of radio this was a Marconi Station.  It served a relay station for messages coming down the coast.  It was an important part of communication in that early era.

Day is Done

The second day on the island drew to a close and after dinner we spent some time talking to fellow travelers in The Loft.

I went outside before bed and found a panorama of stars overhead with velvety dark skies.  The Milky Way was clearly visible and this was a great way to end the day.

Getting to Battle Harbour we drove almost nothing so that total is 2090 miles. We added another boat rides of 12 miles for a total of six trips. The water total is now at 412 miles and 20 hours.