500 years ago Basque whalers set up whaling operations here in Labrador for 600 whalers on 15 ships per year for about 100 years. They rendered the blubber of right and bowhead whales into oil, barreled it and returned it to ports in what is now France and Spain. Be sure to take a small boat out to Saddle Island to see where the whalers worked. Over 100 Basque whalers are buried on the island, and several shipwrecks have revealed the sophisticated marine designs they employed. The visitor center has a chalupa, a small whaling boat they used.

After some grim weather in Newfoundland, the sun came out in Labrador. On a pretty day, this UNESCO world heritage site is a particularly beautiful spot with lingonberries or partridge berries growing on the rocky island. On a bad day, I imagine it is inhospitable, as the crew of the pictured 1965 wreck knew too well. While walking around, I spotted a minke whale feeding in the harbor, splashing and putting on a show. I’m glad whaling is almost entirely a thing of the past.