(My trip to Labrador part 3)
Red Bay in Southern Labrador used to be a small, little known fishing hamlet until a Canadian scientist named Selma Barkham discovered during a trip in Europe what history this place can look back on: About four hundred years ago, Basque whalers come to Red Bay to hunt whales. They did it for about 80 years and produced whale oil for lamps in Europe and bones for the women’s corsets. Today, Red Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage Site .
Naturally, I find the story of Selma Barkham fascinating. She had five children but her husband died early and she had to raise them on her own. In order to be able to read court and church documents in Spain about Red Bay, she learned Spanish.
The killing of whales is not a pleasant topic, but these events are in the past and I have learned many interesting facts about existing whales that I hadn`t known, when I was in the Right Whale Exhibit Museum in Red Bay.
I visited Red Bay this summer because I am doing research for a travel guide that will be published by a German publisher. To get to Red Bay, I took the ferry in St. Barb on the island of Newfoundland and sailed to Blanc Sablon which is the ferry terminal for Southern Labrador. From there it takes one hour and a half to drive to Red Bay, a very scenic route..
Chris Bridle is a former local fisherman and a guide for Parks Canada in Red Bay, often in a Basque costume, unless it is pouring with rain. He took me to the Whale Bone Trail and showed me 400-year-old whale bones, mostly the skull and neck bones that were lying in the grass. I could still see the blow hole in the skull. Chris brought the past alive with his stories. For instance he told me how some Basque whalers fought at the courts for many years over a stolen whale, and only when the men were dead, their wives could end the legal battle. You can find this true fact in old Spanish documents.
Parks Canada in Red Bay: https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/lhn-nhs/nl/redbay
An unconventional accommodation at the Whaler`s Station in Red Bay. http://www.redbaywhalers.ca/home/
