Placentia

Twillingate was nice but it's time to move on. A friend from Deer Lodge Curling Club, Joan Sandell, moved back to Nfld a few years ago and the last time she was back in Winnipeg she said if you are ever in Nfld be sure and stop in. Well we did just that. Joan and Bill reside in Placentia, another picturesque Nfld setting. We showed up on Regatta weekend. This is a major summer event there, with 4 teams of six plus a coxain rowing per heat. They started in the morning and the finals wrapped up about 6pm. They are competing for the "triple crown" award, in which the winning team needs to win top honours in three communities. It is the oldest sporting event in Canada. It started out as a competition between the fisherman and the soldiers in 1816. We enjoyed some of the regatta festivities in town and had front deck seats for the finals as they rowed right past Joan & Bill's front yard. 

We also took in some sightseeing in the area with stops at Castle Hill and a seabird sanctuary. 

Castle Hill is an old fort in Placentiia which the French built in 1689. It wasn't a military stronghold per se but was a strategic site for the rich cod fishing grounds. Times were tough and the soldiers were so poorly paid they had to  fish and hunt to survive.  The fort and cod fishery was eventually ceded to the British as part of a peace treaty. 

From there we drove down to Cape St. Mary's Ecological Reserve. This is a sea bird breading ground for Gannets, Terns and others. Thousands of bird and fuzzy chicks lined the hill tops and cliff shelves. Quite a sight to see and smell !!

We returned to Joan and Bill's where we enjoyed their annual Regatta party Newfie Style with Newfie music and karaoke  carry on. A big thank-you to Joan and Bill for their hospitality. We probably would not have visited that area if not for them.

                  Joan and Bill

                     Ike and Tina

   

The Twillingate Adventure

We were not sure just how far we were going to drive, we just headed east. We travelled along through Grand Falls-Windsor and stopped  at a Visitors Center to help us find a B&B in the area. After speaking with the hostess, she called the Admiral's B&B and booked us in for the last available spot in Twillingate. Twilingate, with a population of 2500, is situated on two adjoining islands and turned out to be a very pretty place - no surprise there as the natural surroundings  of mountains & ocean are pretty awesome for us flat landers!  The day ended with dinner at a local seafood restaurant where we tried Iceberg beer. It's big claim to fame is that it is made with water from 12,000 yr old icebergs (that's about the most interesting thing we can say about it).We booked a spot on a whale watching tour for the next day.  The tour boasted of seeing icebergs also but unfortunately, that season had finished a few weeks earlier. 

In the morning, we were pleasantly surprised to see  many fin and minke whales and got a really nice tour of the islands and coastline while learning about the history and Newfie language from our guide Kim.

After a lunch of moose poutine called "moose mess", we hiked the lighthouse trail to the end of the North Arm for a spectacular view and and a sit to enjoy the sunshine which has been rare indeed!! One of the great things about travelling is the people you meet along the way. During our hike, we met a woman from Ireland who was hitch hiking about Nfld for a months holiday and tenting all the way. Now that's adventuresome!

Dinner theatre that evening was lots of laughs and we enjoyed the traditonal music and skits that the staff put on as entertainment.

Our stay in Twilingate was short and sweet but we managed to take in as much as we could. 

Western Brook Pond

Joann found an awesome tour package for us today. We drove around the inlet to the other side of the park. There we took a 45 minute self guided hike through  a "Tuckamore" forest along a board walk and across a large bog down to Western Brook Pond.  The pond is what is left after the last ice age receded and the land rose up. At one point in time it was a saltwater fjord reaching to the sea. Now it is an enclosed deep freshwater pond surrounded by steep rock cuts.  Once we  had hiked in, we took the boat tour  of this amazing "Unesco World Heritage" site and marvelled at the natural beauty of the mountains and waterfalls.  

On our return trip we stopped to see the remains of the 1919 wreck of the S.S. Ethie, just south of Cow Head. A pulley system was rigged between the ship and land and used to rescue all the people aboard. We were surprised by how much  of the wreck still remains after almost 100 years. 

We continued our travels with stops in the villages of Rocky Harbour and Norris Point. We met a sailor from Germany who had her 42ft boat tied up at the wharf in Norris Point. She left Greece in May of 2015. 

                Through the forest

              Across the bog

               Up the pond

     Ethie's winlass and some remaining deck boards.

Gros Morne

It's fun to be hiking mountains again. We made two treks today up very different terrains. The first left from a visitors center where we headed up and up through the stunted trees and then along board walks above boggy growths of ferns and mosses to the lookout point high above the ocean inlet below. 

The second hike ascended up along a  mountain brook across an array of boulders and ankle-breakers to the top of the "Tablelands". It is quite amazing how the miniature flora can be so small yet have so many small parts and petals. There was still snow on the dark side of this moon-like landscape.  How is that for  poetic BS?

Off to Gros Morne National Park

 Sunday morning and we had been warned the weekends were quiet in Port Aux Basques. It turns out that the local residents from the coastal towns head to their cottages in the interior lakes. Today is the day that Bob flies out and we pick up a rental car at Deer Lake and head up to Gros Morne.

To get there we took a cab 2 1/2 hours, it saved us a lot of fooling around at both ends and split 3 ways it's not bad if you say it fast. Public transportation is very limited in this part of the world! Once we got the car we visited some of the lake areas near Deer Lake. I must say the water is a lot warmer there than the ocean and the boats and seadoos are just like home. 

The mountains in the park climb up over 800 meter above sea level and sometimes the "Wreckhouse Winds" that rush down from them at hurricane speeds can overturn big trucks.

Woody Point in Gros Morne Nat'l Park will be our base for the next few days. 

Port Aux Basques

I

Our warm Newfie welcome came from a couple from Pictou who were already in port. The harbourmaster of Port aux Basques was missing in action and there is no marina. We pulled into a nice spot on the public wharf and made ourselves comfortable. 

The town has about 5000 residents and reminded us a lot of Flin Flon. We arranged for a tour of the town with the local cab company. The young driver gave us a wonderful informative narration as we saw the sites. The weather was overcast, rainy and foggy. 

We discovered that we were indeed on the public wharf - there was a steady stream of visitors to the dock all for a "chin wag" and to welcome us. 

The couple from Pictou, Bruce & Cheryl, became instant friends as often happens with fellow boaters. They regaled us with many tales of their maritime adventures while we introduced them to the dice game  "farkle".

The weather did not co-operate therefore we were harbour bound for 3 days but the time passed quickly. Finally today, on our last day, the sun has been shining. Bob went cod fishing with some local fishermen and they caught their limit in no time. Apparently,  no "cod kissing" occurred and Bob is a happy fisher!

A local offered Joann & I a ride about town and ended up driving us to the trailhead of an awesome hike through the coastal terrain. The wild flowers were abundant, the trees were short and stunted, and the  seaside vistas stunning. Once we were finished, another couple drove us back. Nfld hospitality!!!

Tomorrow, it is time for Bob to return to Wpg and Joann & I will continue our travels overland by car while Summer Wine II waits for us in Port aux Basques.

    Cod Brudet and Polenta by Chef Bob

      The provincial flower the Picture

         Thick Fog at end of the dock

              Cod fish catch of the day

         Sun shine on Bob's last day

         Bruce and Cheryl on You and Me

Can you see the ship in the background,

the size of a apartment block 100 meters away?  That's Newfoundland fog for you.....