Prior to their exodus, the Greenlanders had not forgotten Vanaheim completely. There had always been the occasional fishing boat blown off course that ended up reaching the mainland, and it had become a tradition to, every once in a lifetime, sail the fleet south to gather lumber - trees being very rare in Greenland itself. The result was that the Greenlanders had already managed to establish reasonably good relations with the native Beothuk people of Vinland.