| Harrington Harbour is a place like no other. Connected onto an island of the same name, close to the littoral of Basse-Côte-Nord, 150 km from the end of the road, and 300 km east of Anticosti Island facing Newfoundland, this village of less than 300 residents stands proudly above the omnipresent ocean. Its painted wooden houses brim on a rocky horizon where meager vegetation of lichens and moss grow in harsh conditions, and small shrubs scatter in the powerful wind.
Instead of streets, wooden boardwalks connect all the houses and sheds, while a scattering of small bridges links the granite along the rocky terrain. On the quay, the Seafood Cooperative serves as both a lively meeting place, and a communication center, linking the harbour to the rest of the region. Passenger boats and supplies from northern coastal towns also dock here.
Across the village, several hundred meters from the ocean, small fishing homes and quays are dispersed amid the little islands. Whales, sea lions, and birds grace the natural setting as the icebergs glide gently to the rhythm of the current until the arrival of summer. On Schooner Island are the last remnants of a factory that once specialized in seal fat rendering, and abandoned in the early 1970s.
Although the early eighteenth century saw the successive exploitation of fish and sea lions in Gros-Mécatina and Petit-Mécatina, it was the Protestant Anglophone families of Newfoundland who founded Harrington Harbour around 1871. The village became the regional medical center, and was supported by its fishing industry, as is the case today. However, the fishing of depleted stocks (such as cod, turbot and halibut) has now been replaced by crab and scallop fishing.
Harrington Harbour is a little world unto itself, with a warm and gracious townspeople. Self-sufficient and detached from a fast-paced world, the village stands to offer you complete relaxation.
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