Monday – August 7, 2017
A thin light squeezed through the opening between the curtains so I suspected the sun wasn’t shining. It was a gray rainy morning. The ship had traveled all night long and anchored off the tiny town of Red Bay, Labrador. At 8:15 AM it was 59 degrees with eight knots of wind blowing. According to the captain’s log, we’ve traveled 1107 nautical miles so far.
This was a “tender” port, which means the ship drops anchor off shore and we have to ride in the ship’s tenders to get to land. These are actually the ship’s lifeboats which can hold up to 120 people (according to the sign) but as tenders they are “full” with about 50 passengers. They’re covered fiberglass boats with uncomfortable bench seats and life jackets suspended from the ceiling. I couldn’t imagine having to spend much time in one of these tenders for any length of time or in an emergency situation.
After the last tender port fiasco when we had to wait an hour and 40 minutes to get on a boat, we didn’t rush to get our shore tickets. We had a leisurely breakfast and then made our way to the gangway. This time there was little waiting and no crowds, so we surmised that people must have complained about the last time.
It was raining lightly as we boarded the tender for the ten minute ride to shore. From a distance Red Bay, Labrador looked very small and barren. There were no trees and all the houses were wooden clapboard structures – some painted in bright colors – randomly strewn along the rocky shore. I wondered how and why Holland America chose this location to stop. Red Bay is in a remote location, far from civilization. Many wild flowers were in bloom and despite the gray weather, it was a beautiful place.
Friendly local greeters stood in the rain smiling and welcoming us as we arrived at the dock. They passed out maps of Red Bay (really!) and an information brochure. I could see the entire town from where I stood. Red Bay has a population of 230 people and many townsfolk turned out to welcome us and serve as guides and interpreters in their three public buildings which serve as museums and a Visitor’s Orientation Center.
Red Bay is an ideal natural harbor because it’s sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by a large offshore rock called Saddle Island. According to legend, Viking explorers came ashore 1000 years ago and called the local sandy beach the “Wonderstrands.”
According to a brochure from the Canadian Parks Service, Red Bay is “World Renown” and is a UNESCO Heritage Site to pay tribute to whalers who came from the Basque region of Spain during the 16th century. The fishermen hunted for whales and processed whale oil on Saddle Island for the European market.
As we explored Red Bay, rain began to fall heavily. We walked up hill for a panoramic view of the town and to see the Basque “chalupa” which was used to hunt whales. The boat was well exhibited along with whale bones.
It was a wet walk back to the tender dock. The wind had picked up along with the rain and we stood in a building with a hundred other cruisers waiting for transportation back to the ship. The tenders were running late because the seas were getting rougher and they had to go slow. Our ride back to the Rotterdam was more like an amusement park ride in the choppy water. Between the rain and the leaky tender, we were soaked by the time we got back to our cabin.
Now I can say, I’ve been to beautiful Red Bay Labrador!
A hot shower, dry clothes, and a large cup of hot tea warmed me up for the rest of the afternoon. We’re enjoying this cruise company much more than the Princess Lines which had constant sales pitches everywhere: photographs, booze, art, clothes, jewelry, excursions, etc. The Rotterdam seems to be low key and relaxed.
We decided to go to the Dining Room for dinner and we shared a table with two couples; one from Ontario Canada and the other from Utah. They were about our age, and pleasant conversationalists, and politically liberal so we had an enjoyable evening. After dinner, Jeff and I went to the theater to see a comedy show by Mike Robinson. He was an excellent ventriloquist and quite funny.