Voyage to Vinland
Viking folklore passed down through the ages always claimed the first discovery of North America was not by Columbus. They say it came 500 years earlier.

The real hero was Norse explorer Lief Ericson who sailed his ship with a 30-man crew across the Atlantic's hostile waters into a sheltered bay on the Newfoundland coastline. The year was 1000 A.D. and the coastal area they found was one of lush meadows sheltered by forests. The newcomers were mesmerized and decided to stay here.

In this valley's oddly mild micro-climate, the streams teemed with salmon and the grass stayed green through the winter. Lumber was plentiful and one day a crewman found wild grapes growing. This prompted Ericson to name this untamed paradise "Vinland" or Land of Wine.

The next summer Ericson's ship returned on the 400- mile trip across open sea to Greenland. His ship was loaded with timber, a much-valued commodity in that tree-less isle.

Other Viking sailors grew envious and soon followed Ericson's route to Vinland. They even used his original camp as a base. But it wasn't until nine centuries later that two modern-day Norwegian explorers found real proof to back up the Viking mythology about Ericson.

At L'Anse Aux meadows, a local resident led Helge Ingstad and his wife, archaeologist Anne Stine Ingstad, to some overgrown bumps and ridges. They could have been the ruins of a building.

For the next eight years the Ingstads and other archaeologists excavated the site. They found not only the remains of 11th Century Norse buildings but hundreds of artefacts as well.

Proof positive that the Vikings were the first to discover this new continent. It was impressive enough to win L'Anse aux Meadows two accolades as a Canadian national historic park and later a UNESCO World Heritage site. Columbus still grabs the history book headlines but he came in a long way second in this race.