Visiting with Vikings
According to the Sagas of Icelanders, Leif Erikson discovered L'Anse aux Meadows when his ship was blown of course on his way to Greenland. It sees as though it would have been an amazing adventure for the year 1000 or 500 years before the Matthew sailed into Bonavista. Let us also share that it is still an amazing adventure 1000 years later!
This summer Jackie and I have been exploring Newfoundland, visiting some amazing places in this beautiful island. Please see previous posts as well as stay tuned for more about our adventures. In this post, we wanted to share our experiences from L'Anse aux Meadows as we feel this is one of the most amazing places in Newfoundland if not all of Canada (pictures below).
To get to L'Anse aux Meadows you have to take the Viking Trail at Deer Lake and travel to the very tip of the Northern Peninsula, about 435km journey. I know many skip over this road trip because of the distance but let me assure you, it's worth every single minute of your time.
Along the way you pass through majestic mountains, see fjords just off the highway and then pass through the most beautiful quaint communities until you reach the barren land scape of L'Anse aux Meadows. Every moment is breathtaking.
When you arrive in L'Anse aux Meadows, many head directly to the Parks Canada site, as we did and we visited the Viking ruins as well as the the restored village. We opted to take the guided tour and our guide was knowledgeable and funny. He shared history of the Vikings as well as local culture and how they may have related. He also shared that there was evening story telling, Sagas and Shadows that was worth the return later that evening. He also shared a few places close by to eat as well as what we should check out the Norstead Viking Village and the Snorri.
Parks Canada
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Norstead Viking Village
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