The Wandering Scot

An occasional travel journal.

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I’m in Newfoundland, Canada, out at the L’Anse aux Meadows archaeological site.  This is the only confirmed Viking site in North America.  Since I’ve recently followed the Vikings from Norway to Iceland to Greenland, I found the pull of Vinland just too strong to resist!

Parks Canada vigorously assures visitors that Leif Erikson himself landed here. Which is probably true, but Leif or no Leif, there was definitely a Viking outpost here, with archaeologists finding various bits and pieces from Greenland and Iceland, and the remains of Norse-era iron smelting.  They also found butternuts, which aren’t native to Newfoundland and were probably found on voyages further South.

There are only outlines of the buildings remaining, but it was still fun to see. There’s a good visitor center and also a full-scale reconstruction of the main buildings, with various in-character Viking guides. Naturally I tried out some traditional axe throwing. 🙂

Nearby, there is a fine statue of Leif Erikson (See! See! He was really here!) which is an exact twin of the one I saw in Greenland, near Eric’s farm. That one faced Vinland. This one faces back towards Greenland.


I’m now in South Greenland, visiting Norse Ruins. I made it out to Eric the Red’s Farm!

For me, part of the allure of the Greenland Norse Ruins is the idea of the “lost colony”.  Eric the Red arrived in 985 and the Norse prospered in Greenland for four centuries, establishing over 200 hundred farms, 7 churches, even a tiny cathedral. Then decline set in and contact slowly faded out. When Denmark tried to re-establish contact in the 1700s, they found only abandoned ruins. What happened? Where did they go? There are plenty of theories, but no-one really knows.

Today I was at the village of Qassiarsuk visiting Eric the Red’s farm of Brattahlíð. It’s a nice piece of green farmland, probably the best in all Greenland. This is where Leif Erikson grew up and there is now an idealized statue of Leif on a hill, staring South-West towards Vinland. The farm site has scattered ruins from the 10th c and also the foundations of a later Norse church.

A discreet distance away is the site of the first tiny church in Greenland, Thjodhild’s church, which (according to the Sagas) Eric very reluctantly allowed his wife Thjodhild to build, on the condition that he didn’t have to see the stoopid thing from his farm, gods damnit!

Earlier this week I took a boat out to the Hvalsey Church. This is from around 1300 and is by far the best preserved Norse ruin in Greenland. It’s small, but strongly built. I was the only visitor.  I also made a visit to the scattered ruins of the little 12 c. Garðar Cathedral, at Igaliku. Yes, there was an actual Catholic Bishopric here in Norse times!


Hvalsey Church

Garðar Cathedral

Footnote: Some historians argue that Eric’s farm might have been at a slightly different location further down Eric’s Fjord.  Naturally the citizens of Qassiarsuk indignantly reject this ridiculous idea.  After all, they have an actual statue of Leif Erikson!  Fortunately for them, the scholarly consensus, supported by recent archaeological work, still strongly favors Qassiarsuk.

Greenland: The Ice Cap

I successfully made it up on to the Greenland Ice Cap on Sunday, near Kangerlussuaq.  This was the Point 660 Tour with Albatros Arctic Circle.

It was only the edge, but it was still great fun to visit the real Greenland Ice Cap!    The surface stays jaggy and uneven for about 60 kms and then transitions to pure smooth white.  Too far for me to walk during my short tour.  🙂

I also took a tourist flight over the edge of the Ice Cap with AirZafari.  I was in the copilot seat and was carefully reminded to “not nudge the controls”.

Suriname: Frogs & Toads


Dyeing Poison Dart Frog (Dendrobates tinctorius)

I survived my expedition into the Surinamese Rain Forest, at the Kabalebo Nature Resort.

The best wildlife was definitely the frogs and toads.  I saw several species of tiny poisonous frogs.  How poisonous? “Why, the very touch is death, sir!”  Well maybe not quite.  My guide was willing to handle some of them, although he did wash his hands carefully afterwards, and I had one sitting on my hand for a bit.


Hoogmoed Harlequin Toad (Atelopus hoogmoedi)

Three-Striped Poison Frog (Ameerega trivittata)

I didn’t see very many larger animals.  I did see some combative otters, a blurry glimpse of something my guide assured me was a Capyabara, and glimpses of a Very Giant Anaconda resting in undergrowth on the river bank.  The Very Giant Anaconda was very thick and my guide reckoned it was upwards of 5 meters long and should not be messed with.

Guyana: Kaieteur falls

I’m in Georgetown, Guyana.  I took a Cessna tour out to Kaieteur Falls yesterday.  The falls have a spectacular 226 meters (741 ft) straight drop, with high flow.  We’re heading into the dry season, so the falls are currently at about 40% flow, but they are still seriously impressive.  I also had a short nature walk in the Cloud Forest as part of the tour, which was fun.

The shot above is from the Cessna.  The ground shot (to the right) would be better if I had gone closer to the edge, but the rocks were slippery and I was timid!

I had originally planned to be in Dominica this week, but the Dominica daily Covid-19 numbers were spiking high, while the Guyana numbers were relatively low, so I made a last minute change.

Trinidad: Hanuman Temple

Trinidad is notably multicultural, with a mix of Carib, African, European and Indian influences.   There are  a number of Hindu temples, of which the most striking is the Hanuman Temple, in Carapichaima, about 14 miles SE of Port of Spain.

The temple boasts an imposing 85 foot tall statue of Lord Hanuman.  It is well-executed and extremely striking!  I made a small offering and asked for the god’s guidance and blessings.