September 6, 2025
Today was predominantly a travel day, flying from Toronto to Halifax, and then driving on to Sydney to meet the first of two ferries that would bring us to Labrador. The flight itself was relatively uneventful but for the strange appearance of a starling in the boards above my departure gate at Pearson. He stood, watching us curiously, perhaps wondering why we were waiting to fly when he could so simply just do so. He sang cheerfully for a bit before flying off down the corridor to some other gate.
When I arrived in Halifax, my dad met me with a rented VW SUV that we would be taking with us on the adventure. I wondered if the rental company had any idea what we were about to do to this car, but quickly dismissed the thought and we were on our way. Before you know it, lunch in Truro, a brief explore around Sydney Mines and dinner of fried pepperoni and maple curry chicken before boarding the overnight ferry to Port-Aux-Basques. So far, everything was going great.
September 7, 2025
After downing incredibly large breakfast subs in Port-Aux-Basques, we bee-lined for St. Barbe where we would be boarding our second ferry to mainland Labrador. Well, technically Quebec, but just barely. We got there in time to watch 'QAJAQ W' (pronounced kiak, apparently) pull up to the dock and before long, we were boarding.
I'm not sure as to the characteristics of this ferry, but it seemed that, despite the relative calmness of the water, we were rolling side to side like we were in a gale. I'd wager that those who take this crossing a lot would tell us this was nothing, because I'm sure it's MUCH worse in an actual gale.
When we arrived on the Quebec side, we drove immediately to our hotel, the Northern Light Inn. Despite a mix-up on our reservation, we got a room and settled in for a great night's sleep.
September 8, 2025
Realizing that there was some of the Quebec side that we had missed that might be interesting, we decided to stick around an extra day and explore that part before moving on. It was fascinating to me that there was a part of the province that was inaccessible without leaving the province.
It didn't take long for us to realize that there was something amazing about the geography and the scenery here. We explored back roads, climbed hills for high vantage points, and just soaked in our surroundings as they were like nothing we'd seen elsewhere in Canada.
Having spent the entire day lost in the beauty of this countryside, we progressed little toward our ultimate destination, and decided to spend the night at Forteau Bay Cottages. It was a very comfortable place to stay, suiting our needs perfectly before moving on.
