Point Amour Lighthouse

Tuesday, June 20, 2023

 Hi Blog!

Spring finally came to Labrador on the first day of summer. We woke to brilliant clear blue skies. But don't be fooled, it was still cold. Now that the weather has cleared, we planned to make our pilgrimage to the Point Amour Lighthouse. On the way, we stopped at an overlook near Forteau.

Since we crossed into Labrador last week, we've been running up and down the coast. We finally caught up with each other and had a chance to compare notes.

One of the items on our list of things to do was to hike part of the Labrador Pioneer Footpath. When Labrador was first settled, there were no roads. If you wanted to go to the next village, you either walked during the good weather or used your dog sled to travel during the snowy months.

After the Forteau overlook, we stopped at the Pioneer Footpath trailhead on English Point. We would have loved to hike the whole trail from English Point to the Point Amour Lighthouse, but it would have made for a long day of hiking and we had other adventures planned for later in the day. However, we did stop and made a short foray down to the beach. 

 

Every good hike begins with a selfie!

The first part of the trail went through a very dense spruce forest. These trails are still very much in use today. During the summer months, folks drive their ATVs. During the winter, it is their snowmobiles, or skidoos, as they call them up here.

After a short walk, we continued our drive around to L'Anse Amour. Just before town, we stopped at a pull-out marking an historic site. We learned that human settlement in this area of Labrador dates back at least 7,500 years, as evidenced by the burial mound of a Maritime Archaic boy here. The burial mound site was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1978.

The Maritime Archaic people are a North American cultural group who lived along the coast of Newfoundland, the Canadian Maritime and northern New England. The Maritime Archaic began in approximately 7,000 BC and lasted into the 18th century. The culture consisted of sea-mammal hunters in the subarctic who used wooden boats. Maritime Archaic sites have been found as far south as Maine and as far north as Labrador. Their settlements included longhouses and boat-topped temporary or seasonal houses. They engaged in long-distance trade, as shown by white chert from northern Labrador being found as far south as Maine. 

When the site was excavated, they found that the child was wrapped in a shroud of bark or hide and placed face down with his head pointed to the west. After cataloging their findings, everything was returned to its original position. The site had now been preserve forever.

Just beyond the historic site, is a parking and picnic area. We decided to walk the Pioneer Path around to the Point Amour Lighthouse. Dusty didn't mind that we went off on a hike without him. He got to spend the whole morning relaxing on the beach.

Whether by accident or design, this area became known as L'Anse Amour (Cove of Love) rather than the historic name given to this cove, "L'Anse aux Morts" (Cove of the Dead). It was most likely named Cove of the Dead from the numerous shipwrecks nearby. However, could you see a fisherman talking his wife into moving to the Cove of the Dead. He would have much better results with Cove of Love. Who could say no to love and a beautiful pink sandy beach?

Just down the beach, we caught back up with the Pioneer Footpath.

Unfortunately, this section of the trail follows along the road. After all, the purpose of this path was to connect village to village, so we walked through the tiny village of L'Anse Amour, population 8.

Once we left the road, we were back on the beach. We stopped to watch the water rush in around all these cool limestone fractures.

We came upon a shipwreck on the beach and learned that on August 8, 1922, the British Royal Navy Cruiser HMS Raleigh ran aground at Point Amour (trying to avoid an iceberg), claiming the lives of a dozen members of the crew. The ship was one of five Hawkins-class heavy cruisers built for the Royal Navy during WWI. The ship was salvaged over a four year period before the British Government deemed it an embarrassment and blew it up. Much of the ship is just underwater, but a good bit is still strewn around the beach.

We passed the time on our walk watching the playful antics of the eider ducks. We even saw a whale swim by. However, Mr. or Ms. whale would not surface again, so all you get are photos of ducks.

However, Mr. and Mrs. Groundhog were more than willing to pose for photos. At first, Mr. was on guard duty while Mrs. cleaned our the borrow. Eventually, the Mrs. turned around so we could get a flattering photo of her, as well.

As we hiked, we kept looking out in the water hoping to see another whale. Before long, we looked up and there was the lighthouse. It sneaked up on us!

The Point Amour Lighthouse stands tall amid limestone cliffs on the south coast of Labrador. Towering over 108 feet, it is the tallest lighthouse in Atlantic Canada and second highest in the country. If you want to get to the top, you have to climb 132 steps. "Is that all?" we told our guide. We've already done two coastal trails that climb over over 600 steps each. Bring it on!

The view from the light room was expansive. The hills in this part of Labrador were smoothed and rounded by the glaciers. At this height, we could see for miles. The second order Fresnel lens is both functional and beautiful. The artfully cut class magnifies the light. If anyone is looking for Christmas present ideas, a Fresnel lens would be awesome!

The residential part of the lighthouse, completed in 1857, has been renovated and now serves as a museum. We spent time in each room learning the history of the folks who manned the lighthouse. However, the modern coffee pot in the historic kitchen was a slight disconnect.

The Point Amour Lighthouse was part of a series of four lighthouses built in the 1850s to allow for safer passage for the increased steamship travel between Europe and the new world at that time. The cylindrical tower is built of limestone and is painted white with a black band. The limestone used for construction of the lighthouse was obtained from local quarries. Other materials such as timber and brick were not as accessible and were shipped from Quebec to L’Anse au Loup. From L’Anse au Loup they were brought to the site where the lighthouse was constructed, four miles away. It's design is called "Imperial Tower," which calls for a base that is wider than the top.  It has been designated a Provincial Historic Site. 

We really enjoyed our tour, but a bus tour was expected any moment. The folks running the site were great. We were sorry we could stay longer. One last photo op before we left:

We leave you with the pink sands of L'Anse Amour -- if you are superstitious -- otherwise, we leave you with L'Anse aux Morts, the blood-tinged beaches of the Cove of Death.

Tomorrow is our last full day in Labrador. Stay tuned for more fun filled adventure.