I first heard about Dr. Instad's excavations of a possible Norse site in the New World in "newsreels" (remember those!)in 1960 when I was 14. I knew at that moment that I HAD to make a pilgrimage there one day - and so I did so in 2007 to celebrate my 60th birthday. It was fascinating to walk through the ruins and look out on the Bay and see what the Norse saw 1000 years ago, and to realize that Lief Ericson had been here. The Visitor Center was excellent, as was the hospitality of the local people we met. I only wish the Museum/Visitor Center had small replicas of the sculpture commemorating the contact between the Norse and Native Americans-representing the final leg of the circumnavigation of the globe that had taken place starting with Homo sapiens' African Diaspora ~60,000 years ago.

On the way back to the U.S. Gros Morne national park was a geological wonderland.

I'm definitely going back - this time with bicycle, kayak and camping gear on my Element.

--Glenn Chinery, GChinery@aol.com