Aug 10 (day 2)
Nain is the northern most community on the Labrador coast and the official trip rendezvous location. It’s a 90 minute direct flight from Goose Bay to Nain. The trend of smaller planes and more expensive flight legs continues. The twin otter is full, some music festival in town. Departure is late after some shuffling of packs, suitcases, duct taped cardboard boxes, soft sided instruments. Sitting directly behind the pilots, there is not much legroom but I don’t much care, my attention focused on the land below. Trees become thinner, scouring effects of glaciation evident with disappearance of forest cover. Icebergs grounded in deep Voisey’s Bay.
Nain appears below. What a pretty port location! High hills surround its backside to the northwest and south. To the east, a barrier of islands dampens sea swell. The airport runway is sandwiched in between land and sea, my heart skips when we bounce hard, once. It’s the usual northern town with gravel streets, frame houses with multi coloured siding, a rag tag collection of boats, skidoos, ATV’s in front yards, kids on bikes. Very few private vehicles as there are no roads except for the 5 km of gravel in town. We check into Atsanik Lodge - I’m surprised at how modern it is – just like a regular Days Inn.
After a quick soup and sandwich, we head out to look around town. Kids are swimming at the town dock – although the air temperature is 30C the sea is still cold, perhaps 4C, swimming is limited to a cannonball on top of your friend, shrieking with laughter, climbing out and doing it again. I smile, thinking how much fun and refreshing it would be to do the same! After a quick inspection of the scallop plant, the boats tethered in the harbour, we return to the hotel for dinner. No word on time of tomorrow’s departure. One AM, its still hot, the TV flickers with the sound off, I listen to the quiet rustling of night moves trickling in through my open window…