This was our final day trip on the island of Newfoundland. I had wanted to do this trip at the beginning of our travels here but we just did not get to doing it so we made sure we left enough time at the end of our trip here.
This was another very scenic route with the kind of landscape I have come to really like here in Newfoundland – ‘the rock gardens’. We visited several small villages along the way to Rose Blanche, our destination point and the end point of the southern highway leading east from Port Aux Basques. There are other communities along the south coast which one can visit by ferry which stops at several on its way east. But that trip will have to wait until we return to Newfoundland.
At Rose Blanche we visited a beautifully restored stone lighthouse, which is now the only remaining stone lighthouse in Atlantic Canada. The original lighthouse was made of rock cut from the shore stone around it. It functioned as a lighthouse from 1873 up to 1946 when the government installed an automated electric light and ceased to use this lighthouse. It deteriorated in the succeeding years as the surf spray from storms soaked the mortar with salt water, and the attached residential building largely crumbled to ruins leaving only the lighthouse tower standing. Then the local people in 1988 decided to push for its restoration to its original state. They completed the restoration in 1999. It now is a very important tourist attraction for the area. They also added various walking trails with interpretative signs along the way. It was all very nicely done and was a pleasant finish to the end of wonderful vacation on the island of Newfoundland.Pictures from today’s trip can be found here.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Day 50 & 51 – Bottlecove & Lark Harbour, Newfoundland
Day 50 (Snday August 17, 2008). Today we met up with a work colleague of Leo`s at her parents’ house in the town of Beachside. We got to see a true, Newfoundland Cape Cod house from the inside. It was a very nice home with a large kitchen with a beautiful and huge wood stove for heating, and cooking if needed.
We had a very nice and sociable chat with this family, exchanging information about where our trip had taken us and other spots we might consider in future. They were glad to hear our excitement about visiting their beautiful province. After our visit we had to move on again to our next campground to rest up for our trip the next day. Leo did not take any pictures this day as we had rain during most of it.
Day 51– Bottle Cove and Lark Harbour, Newfoundland.
Today we hoped to reach close to Port Aux Basques where we plan on staying a couple of nights before we sail back to the mainland. But first we took a side trip to the towns of Lark Harbour and Bottle Cove along the inlet from the sea known as Humber Arm.
Lark Harbour is ‘just’ west of Newfoundland`s second-biggest city, Corner Brook. At least that is what it seemed like as we had to follow a highway which seemed to weave through one long, continuous village with a new name for each new section. When this ended we began to see some separation in the villages. First we encountered the village of Frenchman’s Cove, where there were lots of dories on the beach all painted orange: a sight to see for sure. This is the first time we had seen this many dories in this colour and we of course we had to ask why. The answer was a very logical answer: so they can be seen on the water easily in case of emergency. On we drove then to Lark Harbour, the most beautiful spot in Newfoundland according to some local people here,
They sure did not lie about it being highly scenic, but I would not call it the most beautiful spot in Newfoundland. The town itself was a bit bland, but the mountainous scenery around the inlet was certainly impressive. Again we saw .orange dories here and there was also a three-masted hermaphroditic sailing ship moored here, with one mast square-rigged, and the others fore and aft rigged. She was called the ``Caledonia``. It was another feast for Leo to photograph.
We had coffee at a local teahouse, where one of the attractions was their deck on which one can sometimes view whales swimming in their inlet, and on which various bones of whales were to be viewed. Then we went on to our next stop: Bottle Cove. This village was only a few kilometres further up the road, where the road actually ended (we seem to take lots of roads in Newfoundland that come to a dead end).
After this little side trip we drove on to Codroy campground, our first campsite in Newfoundland and also our last one.Pictures of our day can be found here.
We had a very nice and sociable chat with this family, exchanging information about where our trip had taken us and other spots we might consider in future. They were glad to hear our excitement about visiting their beautiful province. After our visit we had to move on again to our next campground to rest up for our trip the next day. Leo did not take any pictures this day as we had rain during most of it.
Day 51– Bottle Cove and Lark Harbour, Newfoundland.
Today we hoped to reach close to Port Aux Basques where we plan on staying a couple of nights before we sail back to the mainland. But first we took a side trip to the towns of Lark Harbour and Bottle Cove along the inlet from the sea known as Humber Arm.
Lark Harbour is ‘just’ west of Newfoundland`s second-biggest city, Corner Brook. At least that is what it seemed like as we had to follow a highway which seemed to weave through one long, continuous village with a new name for each new section. When this ended we began to see some separation in the villages. First we encountered the village of Frenchman’s Cove, where there were lots of dories on the beach all painted orange: a sight to see for sure. This is the first time we had seen this many dories in this colour and we of course we had to ask why. The answer was a very logical answer: so they can be seen on the water easily in case of emergency. On we drove then to Lark Harbour, the most beautiful spot in Newfoundland according to some local people here,
They sure did not lie about it being highly scenic, but I would not call it the most beautiful spot in Newfoundland. The town itself was a bit bland, but the mountainous scenery around the inlet was certainly impressive. Again we saw .orange dories here and there was also a three-masted hermaphroditic sailing ship moored here, with one mast square-rigged, and the others fore and aft rigged. She was called the ``Caledonia``. It was another feast for Leo to photograph.
We had coffee at a local teahouse, where one of the attractions was their deck on which one can sometimes view whales swimming in their inlet, and on which various bones of whales were to be viewed. Then we went on to our next stop: Bottle Cove. This village was only a few kilometres further up the road, where the road actually ended (we seem to take lots of roads in Newfoundland that come to a dead end).
After this little side trip we drove on to Codroy campground, our first campsite in Newfoundland and also our last one.Pictures of our day can be found here.
Day 49 - (Saturday, August 16, 2008) – Salvage & Twillingate, Newfoundland
Our day started out with rain, again, as it had also rained heavily all night This was the first time we had to take the trailer down in heavy rain but after 7 weeks we are getting pretty fast in setting up and taking it down, so we did not get too wet. As the day went on the rain stopped, it started to clear up and we finally got some sunshine.
Our first stop was Salvage, a quaint little village, which when we first approached it seemed unremarkable to the point where we did not know why people had recommended visiting it, but as we got to the end of the village we understood why. We took a little hike up to a lookout platform and here we really got a nice view of the village, the rock outcrops on which it is built, and the surrounding area. With Leo’s pictures we hope to share the views of this village with you as well. Salvage is certainly worth another visit in the future but a longer one so we can walk the trails.
From here we went on to Twillingate. Twillingate is another small fishing village with lots of nice scenery by day and night. It is one of the most famous villages in Newfoundland. Here is where you might see lots of icebergs, but only earlier in the season than our visit, and also lots of whales. Well we were lucky enough to see our whales, this time it was a couple of humpbacks. They were swimming not far off shore beyond the lighthouse point, and a couple of whale-watching tour boats were slowly circling them to show the tourists on board at close quarters what magnificent creatures they are. Actually it may not have been luck at all that we saw them. For all we know they are frequently sighted in this location. We had a very nice stay in Twillingate and would have stayed longer but we were now limited in time as we had to catch a ferry off the island on Wednesday. You will recall that ferry bookings fill up a couple of days in advance, so if we had decided to stay one more day here then we likely could not have made it off the island for another 3 or 4 days. If the weather turned sour again we did not want to spend that much extra time here.
On this day we again passed through the town of Gambo, where there had been a major flood three weeks ago when we drove past on our way to St. John`s. There were more concerns about flooding today, given the heavy rains which fell last night. The town seemed safe this time, but water had accumulated on the uphill side of the TransCanada Highway, threatening to wash the road away because the culverts which normally allow water to pass below had been jammed shut by debris washed down by the deluge. Crews were busy pumping it out to the lower side of the hill where it could wash away harmlessly. Our car and every other vehicle had to pass over the hoses, which were only protected by 2x4 pieces of lumber on each side. Late that day we heard on the radio that the road had actually been closed because each vehicle which drove over the hoses closed them down for a bit of time, and this delayed the pumping. The highway actually subsequently stayed closed for almost a full day, and all traffic had to take a long detour using one of the scenic routes to the north. We were very glad on hearing that news that we had made it past this spot before the highway closure took effect.Enjoy the pictures from this day which can be found here.
Our first stop was Salvage, a quaint little village, which when we first approached it seemed unremarkable to the point where we did not know why people had recommended visiting it, but as we got to the end of the village we understood why. We took a little hike up to a lookout platform and here we really got a nice view of the village, the rock outcrops on which it is built, and the surrounding area. With Leo’s pictures we hope to share the views of this village with you as well. Salvage is certainly worth another visit in the future but a longer one so we can walk the trails.
From here we went on to Twillingate. Twillingate is another small fishing village with lots of nice scenery by day and night. It is one of the most famous villages in Newfoundland. Here is where you might see lots of icebergs, but only earlier in the season than our visit, and also lots of whales. Well we were lucky enough to see our whales, this time it was a couple of humpbacks. They were swimming not far off shore beyond the lighthouse point, and a couple of whale-watching tour boats were slowly circling them to show the tourists on board at close quarters what magnificent creatures they are. Actually it may not have been luck at all that we saw them. For all we know they are frequently sighted in this location. We had a very nice stay in Twillingate and would have stayed longer but we were now limited in time as we had to catch a ferry off the island on Wednesday. You will recall that ferry bookings fill up a couple of days in advance, so if we had decided to stay one more day here then we likely could not have made it off the island for another 3 or 4 days. If the weather turned sour again we did not want to spend that much extra time here.
On this day we again passed through the town of Gambo, where there had been a major flood three weeks ago when we drove past on our way to St. John`s. There were more concerns about flooding today, given the heavy rains which fell last night. The town seemed safe this time, but water had accumulated on the uphill side of the TransCanada Highway, threatening to wash the road away because the culverts which normally allow water to pass below had been jammed shut by debris washed down by the deluge. Crews were busy pumping it out to the lower side of the hill where it could wash away harmlessly. Our car and every other vehicle had to pass over the hoses, which were only protected by 2x4 pieces of lumber on each side. Late that day we heard on the radio that the road had actually been closed because each vehicle which drove over the hoses closed them down for a bit of time, and this delayed the pumping. The highway actually subsequently stayed closed for almost a full day, and all traffic had to take a long detour using one of the scenic routes to the north. We were very glad on hearing that news that we had made it past this spot before the highway closure took effect.Enjoy the pictures from this day which can be found here.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Day 48 – Bonavista Peninsula, Newfoundland
We decided to pack up our trailer in the rain (and raining it was), and move on to the next campground in the hope the weather would get better. We just parked our trailer at our new camp spot and decided to tour the Bonavista Peninsula in the hope that the weather would clear up. And yes the weather did clear up and we had a most wonderful time touring the peninsula. Leo was in his glory again as the sun came out and there was also quite a strong wind which gave a fantastic surf to photograph. He was like a child in a toy store so happy with the sunny late-afternoon light and wonderful surf created by these weather conditions.
Some of the results of his happiness can be found here.
Some of the results of his happiness can be found here.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Day 47 – Cape St. Mary’s, Newfoundland
After having a fairly restless night because the wind was blowing so hard we thought it was taking the top off our trailer, we woke up to sunshine at last. Because of the strong winds Leo decided that we would pack up and pull the trailer along while going on our next sight-seeing tour and find a camping spot at the end of our day trip.
We had decided earlier in the week to keep this day for our trip to Cape St. Mary’s because the weather forecast was to be somewhat sunny.
Cape St. Mary’s is a provincial Ecological Reserve where you can experience the whirling clamour of 70.000 seabirds every year. There are 7 species of birds nesting here and we got to see most of them. The most prominent bird was the Northern Gannet (Jan-van-Gent in Dutch). We could see literally thousands of birds just a stone throw away from us. It is totally amazing how these birds fly in and know where their young one is situated among the thousands of birds sitting on the large rock tower called a seamount. It really is like what you some times see in one of those National Geographic Society nature shows.
Some details from the handout we got telling us which birds we could see out there:
Northern Gannet (Jan-van-Gent) - 11,000 nesting pairs
Common Mure (Zeekoet) – 10,000 nesting pairs
Black Legged Kittiwake (Drieteenmeeuw) – 10,000 nesting pairs
Razorbill – 150+ nesting pairs
Black Guillemot (Zwarte Guillemot) – 60-plus nesting pairs
Cormorants (Geoorde Aalscholver) – common visitors/breeders
Thick-Billed Mure (Dikbekzeekoet) – 1,000 nesting pairs
And then if you are really lucky you could also see Humpback Whales but we were not that lucky this day.
After sitting on the rocks and watching the birds for a couple of hours we had to move on. When we got back to the visitor centre we had a most enjoyable chat with the park-ranger for the site about the birds but also about the village of Port Lance. He told us this place was the Beverly Hills of Newfoundland but we doubt this is really true as we have seen much nicer and bigger houses in other areas of Newfoundland.
On we went to find ourselves a camping spot in Argentia, but again the campground was located in such a way that with any kind of wind it would pick up our trailer and most likely dump us in the ocean. We finally ended up in a campground in Bellevue and not long after we went to bed the rain started, and it rained and rained.
Photos of our wonderful day at Cape St. Mary’s can be found here.
We had decided earlier in the week to keep this day for our trip to Cape St. Mary’s because the weather forecast was to be somewhat sunny.
Cape St. Mary’s is a provincial Ecological Reserve where you can experience the whirling clamour of 70.000 seabirds every year. There are 7 species of birds nesting here and we got to see most of them. The most prominent bird was the Northern Gannet (Jan-van-Gent in Dutch). We could see literally thousands of birds just a stone throw away from us. It is totally amazing how these birds fly in and know where their young one is situated among the thousands of birds sitting on the large rock tower called a seamount. It really is like what you some times see in one of those National Geographic Society nature shows.
Some details from the handout we got telling us which birds we could see out there:
Northern Gannet (Jan-van-Gent) - 11,000 nesting pairs
Common Mure (Zeekoet) – 10,000 nesting pairs
Black Legged Kittiwake (Drieteenmeeuw) – 10,000 nesting pairs
Razorbill – 150+ nesting pairs
Black Guillemot (Zwarte Guillemot) – 60-plus nesting pairs
Cormorants (Geoorde Aalscholver) – common visitors/breeders
Thick-Billed Mure (Dikbekzeekoet) – 1,000 nesting pairs
And then if you are really lucky you could also see Humpback Whales but we were not that lucky this day.
After sitting on the rocks and watching the birds for a couple of hours we had to move on. When we got back to the visitor centre we had a most enjoyable chat with the park-ranger for the site about the birds but also about the village of Port Lance. He told us this place was the Beverly Hills of Newfoundland but we doubt this is really true as we have seen much nicer and bigger houses in other areas of Newfoundland.
On we went to find ourselves a camping spot in Argentia, but again the campground was located in such a way that with any kind of wind it would pick up our trailer and most likely dump us in the ocean. We finally ended up in a campground in Bellevue and not long after we went to bed the rain started, and it rained and rained.
Photos of our wonderful day at Cape St. Mary’s can be found here.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Day 45 & 46 – Baccalieu Trail, Newfoundland
Day 45 - Every day we start of with the same weather pattern: foggy and drizzling in the morning, clearing up in late morning and by late afternoon misty again. Today there was more heavy rain as well.
But before we got hit by the rain we, again, had a beautiful trip along one of the shores of the Avalon Peninsula. This time we took a northern route. We only got 1/2 of the route done because Newfoundlanders like to talk (or is it that Leo likes to listen?) I have to repeat myself again as to how beautiful the scenery is here but then the pictures will also show you this as well.
When we got to the village of Port de Grave we met Matt Petten, a 74 year old ex-fisherman, who now occupies his time making fishing type artefacts and displaying them along the road on a piece of property he owns. At first we thought this was a display set up by the village but when we stopped to take a picture out came Matt to tell us all about his work. 3 hours later we moved on.
Matt was a lovely old gentleman who told us stories of times past, such as when he fell into the water of the very harbour before us and drowned when he was a 9 year old. He could not swim and came up for air a couple of times before he sank to the bottom. Some townspeople noticed him drowning and one took a grappling hook which he threw into the water to retrieve Matt’s body as he was lying too deep to reach. He pulled Matt to surface whose face by then was totally blue according to his mother. This man remembered that if a person has waterlogged lungs you need to empty them through his nose so quickly ran a tube down to Matt’s lungs and did what he could to remove the water there. Matt was unconscious for a full day afterwards but miraculously then slowly revived. He truly came within a fisherman’s whisker of dying on that day. Recent scientific research suggests that it likely was the very cold water which protected his brain while it was without oxygen for that long time.
Then Matt gave us a tour of his 65 foot, million dollar fishing boat. It was a very luxurious boat inside with all the conveniences of home, even a washer and dryer. Matt also explained to us how the fishing is done and partly processed on the boat. It sure was an educational experience for us. As we were talking I noticed an ‘iceberg’ floating by in the harbour, just in time for Leo to take a picture of it. It had been cast in by some fishermen, but even Matt thought it was funny to view it as an iceberg.
Afterwards I had a chance to talk to Matt’s son Neil. I came to the conclusion that fisherman are like our Alberta farmers. It is never right, it either rains too much or not enough and the government has too many rules. But I can tell you that some of these fishermen live in pretty nice big houses.
Because we spent so much time in Port de Grave talking to Matt, and the fog and rain started again, we cut our route short and headed back home to continue the next morning.
Day 46 – 2nd leg of the Baccalieu Trail
The rain had a mind of its own this time and decided to stay, but the forecast was for some sporadic sunshine. We just did not know where it would occur. We decided to go and finish our route anyway as every time we have gone on these excursions the sun had decided to shine on us for at least a part of the day. And so she did again this time: by the time we got to where we left off the previous day the weather started slowly to clear and soon out came the sun. Again we took in the scenery as Leo’s pictures will show. To finish this tour we decided to have supper at Dildo’s Dory Restaurant. (The town claims to be named after a Spanish town rather that what many people think!) We thoroughly enjoyed our meal there and recommend this restaurant for when you are in the neighbourhood. (Lance, this restaurant is located on main streets and there are many road signs leading you to it).
We then drove back to our campsite after another full day of sight-seeing in Newfoundland.
Pictures for the last 2 days can be found here.
But before we got hit by the rain we, again, had a beautiful trip along one of the shores of the Avalon Peninsula. This time we took a northern route. We only got 1/2 of the route done because Newfoundlanders like to talk (or is it that Leo likes to listen?) I have to repeat myself again as to how beautiful the scenery is here but then the pictures will also show you this as well.
When we got to the village of Port de Grave we met Matt Petten, a 74 year old ex-fisherman, who now occupies his time making fishing type artefacts and displaying them along the road on a piece of property he owns. At first we thought this was a display set up by the village but when we stopped to take a picture out came Matt to tell us all about his work. 3 hours later we moved on.
Matt was a lovely old gentleman who told us stories of times past, such as when he fell into the water of the very harbour before us and drowned when he was a 9 year old. He could not swim and came up for air a couple of times before he sank to the bottom. Some townspeople noticed him drowning and one took a grappling hook which he threw into the water to retrieve Matt’s body as he was lying too deep to reach. He pulled Matt to surface whose face by then was totally blue according to his mother. This man remembered that if a person has waterlogged lungs you need to empty them through his nose so quickly ran a tube down to Matt’s lungs and did what he could to remove the water there. Matt was unconscious for a full day afterwards but miraculously then slowly revived. He truly came within a fisherman’s whisker of dying on that day. Recent scientific research suggests that it likely was the very cold water which protected his brain while it was without oxygen for that long time.
Then Matt gave us a tour of his 65 foot, million dollar fishing boat. It was a very luxurious boat inside with all the conveniences of home, even a washer and dryer. Matt also explained to us how the fishing is done and partly processed on the boat. It sure was an educational experience for us. As we were talking I noticed an ‘iceberg’ floating by in the harbour, just in time for Leo to take a picture of it. It had been cast in by some fishermen, but even Matt thought it was funny to view it as an iceberg.
Afterwards I had a chance to talk to Matt’s son Neil. I came to the conclusion that fisherman are like our Alberta farmers. It is never right, it either rains too much or not enough and the government has too many rules. But I can tell you that some of these fishermen live in pretty nice big houses.
Because we spent so much time in Port de Grave talking to Matt, and the fog and rain started again, we cut our route short and headed back home to continue the next morning.
Day 46 – 2nd leg of the Baccalieu Trail
The rain had a mind of its own this time and decided to stay, but the forecast was for some sporadic sunshine. We just did not know where it would occur. We decided to go and finish our route anyway as every time we have gone on these excursions the sun had decided to shine on us for at least a part of the day. And so she did again this time: by the time we got to where we left off the previous day the weather started slowly to clear and soon out came the sun. Again we took in the scenery as Leo’s pictures will show. To finish this tour we decided to have supper at Dildo’s Dory Restaurant. (The town claims to be named after a Spanish town rather that what many people think!) We thoroughly enjoyed our meal there and recommend this restaurant for when you are in the neighbourhood. (Lance, this restaurant is located on main streets and there are many road signs leading you to it).
We then drove back to our campsite after another full day of sight-seeing in Newfoundland.
Pictures for the last 2 days can be found here.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Day 43 & 44 – St. John’s and Irish Loop road tour, Newfoundland
Day 43 – It is Sunday in St. John’s and it is another misty, drizzly day but we will make the best of it.
Leo went out to take pictures of downtown St. John’s even though light rain was falling. This was to be his last chance as we are determined to leave St. John’s and its poor Pippy Park campground tomorrow. In the evening we went to the Newfoundland & Labrador Folk Festival. The rain had stopped, so we hoped for a dry evening but did go prepared and took our raincoats along. That is something we have learned here: you never leave without your raincoat (or umbrella). That is, unless you are a Newfoundlander, many of whom walk around in the drizzle and rain as if the sun was shining.
We were able to put our chairs on a fairly good spot on the soaking wet grass with a full view of the stage. We got there just in time to see Sylvia Tyson, a band whose name escapes us, the famous Figgy Duff, and Shanneyganock. We thoroughly enjoyed the last two bands and even bought some of their cds. At the end all the volunteers working the festival were asked to get on stage to sing, together with the whole crowd, the ‘Ode to Newfoundland’. The rain did stay away for most of the evening. We only had a few minutes of light drizzle and that was it. By the time we got back to our trailer it was midnight so bedtime it was for us.
Day 44 – Irish Loop road tour.
This morning we packed up and left Pippy Park Campground (a campground I would not recommend to any one. This campground got a rating of 0 out of 10 by us). We only had to drive half an hour or so to get to our next campground just west of St. John’s and it is very new and nice.
After we had lunch we decided to take one of the road tours again, this time one of the ones on the Avalon Peninsula taking us to St. Shott, the southernmost point of the Peninsula. The weather was still foggy but dry and rather than staying ‘home’ we took a chance again and left.
Again we got lucky as the weather cleared up for us as we got closer to the coast and the sun decided to shine for Leo and his pictures. We finally met our first moose close up and luckily Leo got a picture or two before a very kind Newfoundlander stopped next to us to make sure we had no car problem and thereby chased away our moose. The animal seemed to know a car with Alberta license plates would cause him no harm, but when he saw one stop with Newfie plates, he decided to hightail it into the bush.
This very kind Newfoundlander and his wife did offer us to meet up with them in St. Vincent however to do some fishing for cod from shore. Once we got to St. Vincent and caught up with them they just gotten out their rod and low and behold about 10 minutes later he had a nice cod on the line. The wife of the fisherman offered us the fish for supper (we declined) so the fisherman started to ‘clean’ the fish for us. First he kind of cut off the head partly, and then he cut open its guts and took out its inners. The poor fish was still wiggling about while all this was happening, another reason I could not eat that fish!
We drove on and were treated to another kind of scenery here, tundra. We also got to see some caribou just grazing off the road a bit. Later in the afternoon the mist came up again and was thick enough to take the view away of the scenery around us.
We hope you will enjoy the pictures of St. John’s and the festival and those Leo took on day 44 of the Irish Loop road tour. The pictures can be found here.
Leo went out to take pictures of downtown St. John’s even though light rain was falling. This was to be his last chance as we are determined to leave St. John’s and its poor Pippy Park campground tomorrow. In the evening we went to the Newfoundland & Labrador Folk Festival. The rain had stopped, so we hoped for a dry evening but did go prepared and took our raincoats along. That is something we have learned here: you never leave without your raincoat (or umbrella). That is, unless you are a Newfoundlander, many of whom walk around in the drizzle and rain as if the sun was shining.
We were able to put our chairs on a fairly good spot on the soaking wet grass with a full view of the stage. We got there just in time to see Sylvia Tyson, a band whose name escapes us, the famous Figgy Duff, and Shanneyganock. We thoroughly enjoyed the last two bands and even bought some of their cds. At the end all the volunteers working the festival were asked to get on stage to sing, together with the whole crowd, the ‘Ode to Newfoundland’. The rain did stay away for most of the evening. We only had a few minutes of light drizzle and that was it. By the time we got back to our trailer it was midnight so bedtime it was for us.
Day 44 – Irish Loop road tour.
This morning we packed up and left Pippy Park Campground (a campground I would not recommend to any one. This campground got a rating of 0 out of 10 by us). We only had to drive half an hour or so to get to our next campground just west of St. John’s and it is very new and nice.
After we had lunch we decided to take one of the road tours again, this time one of the ones on the Avalon Peninsula taking us to St. Shott, the southernmost point of the Peninsula. The weather was still foggy but dry and rather than staying ‘home’ we took a chance again and left.
Again we got lucky as the weather cleared up for us as we got closer to the coast and the sun decided to shine for Leo and his pictures. We finally met our first moose close up and luckily Leo got a picture or two before a very kind Newfoundlander stopped next to us to make sure we had no car problem and thereby chased away our moose. The animal seemed to know a car with Alberta license plates would cause him no harm, but when he saw one stop with Newfie plates, he decided to hightail it into the bush.
This very kind Newfoundlander and his wife did offer us to meet up with them in St. Vincent however to do some fishing for cod from shore. Once we got to St. Vincent and caught up with them they just gotten out their rod and low and behold about 10 minutes later he had a nice cod on the line. The wife of the fisherman offered us the fish for supper (we declined) so the fisherman started to ‘clean’ the fish for us. First he kind of cut off the head partly, and then he cut open its guts and took out its inners. The poor fish was still wiggling about while all this was happening, another reason I could not eat that fish!
We drove on and were treated to another kind of scenery here, tundra. We also got to see some caribou just grazing off the road a bit. Later in the afternoon the mist came up again and was thick enough to take the view away of the scenery around us.
We hope you will enjoy the pictures of St. John’s and the festival and those Leo took on day 44 of the Irish Loop road tour. The pictures can be found here.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Day 41 & 42 – St. John’s, Newfoundland
Day 41 - We woke up to sunshine this morning and started the last leg of our eastward trip to St. John’s. The roads were getting busier and the scenery changed from forest to the nice ‘rock garden’ look, and then back to forests again as we got closer to St. John’s. Not only did the scenery change when we got closer to St. John’s but so did the weather. It started to get cloudy again but showed no rain as yet. We had reserved a camp spot about a week ago but could only get a spot with a pull-through and full services as the rest of the campground was booked full. There is a major Newfoundland folk song festival on the go and that is likely the reason for the heavy demand. So here we are with our little pop-up trailer among all these huge motor homes and hard-top trailers.
We took advantage of the dry weather and spent the afternoon going up Signal Hill and then on to Cape Spear, the most easterly point of Canada, and thus of North America. We even got to enjoy some sunshine at Cape Spear so Leo took advantage of that and tried to capture the scenery which can be seen from there and from Signal Hill in St. John’s. We hope you will get some idea as to how beautifully St. John’s is located and how the ‘old’ town looks from these images.
Day 42 – Playing tourist in downtown St. John’s.
Unfortunately the weather did not improve: it actually got worse, and it even went from drizzle to full rain so we decided to go downtown to do some shopping and sightseeing. We also took a stroll up the famous George Street, which only has pubs on either side of the street for about 4 blocks of its length. There were just a few pubs opening up as it was too early in the day as yet. I don’t know if we will get back there of an evening later to take in the atmosphere and partake in a ‘pub crawl’.
Photos for day 41 can be found here. Sorry, but there are no pictures for day 42 as you likely already know what drizzle and rain look like.
We took advantage of the dry weather and spent the afternoon going up Signal Hill and then on to Cape Spear, the most easterly point of Canada, and thus of North America. We even got to enjoy some sunshine at Cape Spear so Leo took advantage of that and tried to capture the scenery which can be seen from there and from Signal Hill in St. John’s. We hope you will get some idea as to how beautifully St. John’s is located and how the ‘old’ town looks from these images.
Day 42 – Playing tourist in downtown St. John’s.
Unfortunately the weather did not improve: it actually got worse, and it even went from drizzle to full rain so we decided to go downtown to do some shopping and sightseeing. We also took a stroll up the famous George Street, which only has pubs on either side of the street for about 4 blocks of its length. There were just a few pubs opening up as it was too early in the day as yet. I don’t know if we will get back there of an evening later to take in the atmosphere and partake in a ‘pub crawl’.
Photos for day 41 can be found here. Sorry, but there are no pictures for day 42 as you likely already know what drizzle and rain look like.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Day 39 & 40 – Gander and the Road to the Shore, Newfoundland
Day 39 & 40 – Gander and the Road to the Shore, Newfoundland
Day 39 - We spent our first day in Gander doing the museum tour as the weather was not great for anything outside. We first went to the Airport as Leo wanted to see if the building was still standing at which he arrived 51 years ago as an immigrant child on a KLM flight from Amsterdam, via Shannon, Ireland before flying on to Montreal. Gander was the first place he set foot on the ground in Canada. And yes, that building was still there. It has had a domestic flight extension added to it, but the original is still used for international flights. A nice mural depicts the history of the Gander airport. Afterwards we visited the Gander Aviation museum, had some lunch, did our grocery shopping and went back to our trailer to sit in the rain with, unfortunately, no on-site internet to do our blog and emails.
Day 40 – We woke up to somewhat less cloudy skies and no rain so we decided to do the Road to the Shore route. This follows the coast through a number of villages to the north of Gander. Just like in the other Maritime provinces, scenic road routes are marked on the maps but also sport special sign along the roads for tourist to follow. As we were travelling the weather got better and the sun started to show her face for most of the day. The scenery was just fantastic. We drove through forests, marshes, and bogs to end up along the coast where everything is a natural rock garden, or should I say ‘boulder garden’. We spent most of our time in the village of Greenspond, just walking through the village and talking to the local people. The last house we visited was the “Button” house, located at the end of the village near the entrance to the harbour with the most beautiful view of waves crashing over rocks which you can imagine. This is one place we will have to go back to and visit again.
On we then went as we only had done 1/3 of the route and it was already 2 o’clock in the afternoon since our departure at 9 that morning. The total route is about 350 km so we had to cover a few more kilometers before we were home again. The rest of the trip went a bit quicker as all the other places could not compare to Greenspond so we did not have to take as many pictures. As well, the rain started to come down again later in the afternoon. We got home around 7:30 that evening, had our supper and did our planning for our next day’s trip, to the capital of Newfoundland, St. John’s.
We hope that the photos will give you an idea as to how different in nature Newfoundland is. It is a rugged, wild and uninhabited country in its centre, with picturesque villages, and beautiful ocean views along the coast. Pictures of the last two days can be found here.
Day 39 - We spent our first day in Gander doing the museum tour as the weather was not great for anything outside. We first went to the Airport as Leo wanted to see if the building was still standing at which he arrived 51 years ago as an immigrant child on a KLM flight from Amsterdam, via Shannon, Ireland before flying on to Montreal. Gander was the first place he set foot on the ground in Canada. And yes, that building was still there. It has had a domestic flight extension added to it, but the original is still used for international flights. A nice mural depicts the history of the Gander airport. Afterwards we visited the Gander Aviation museum, had some lunch, did our grocery shopping and went back to our trailer to sit in the rain with, unfortunately, no on-site internet to do our blog and emails.
Day 40 – We woke up to somewhat less cloudy skies and no rain so we decided to do the Road to the Shore route. This follows the coast through a number of villages to the north of Gander. Just like in the other Maritime provinces, scenic road routes are marked on the maps but also sport special sign along the roads for tourist to follow. As we were travelling the weather got better and the sun started to show her face for most of the day. The scenery was just fantastic. We drove through forests, marshes, and bogs to end up along the coast where everything is a natural rock garden, or should I say ‘boulder garden’. We spent most of our time in the village of Greenspond, just walking through the village and talking to the local people. The last house we visited was the “Button” house, located at the end of the village near the entrance to the harbour with the most beautiful view of waves crashing over rocks which you can imagine. This is one place we will have to go back to and visit again.
On we then went as we only had done 1/3 of the route and it was already 2 o’clock in the afternoon since our departure at 9 that morning. The total route is about 350 km so we had to cover a few more kilometers before we were home again. The rest of the trip went a bit quicker as all the other places could not compare to Greenspond so we did not have to take as many pictures. As well, the rain started to come down again later in the afternoon. We got home around 7:30 that evening, had our supper and did our planning for our next day’s trip, to the capital of Newfoundland, St. John’s.
We hope that the photos will give you an idea as to how different in nature Newfoundland is. It is a rugged, wild and uninhabited country in its centre, with picturesque villages, and beautiful ocean views along the coast. Pictures of the last two days can be found here.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Day 38 – Travel from Rocky Harbour to Gander, Newfoundland
Day 38 – Travel from Rocky Harbour to Gander, Newfoundland
Today we travelled 370km to our new destination of Gander. We plan on spending a few days here before we move on to our final destination of St. John’s which could be either Thursday or Friday.
We also passed the 10,000 km mark on our odometer today which would be the same as traveling from the Equator to the North Pole I am told, and then to know that we have not yet reached our final destination point or are on our way back!
After setting up our trailer I cooked dinner/supper so we could, if we wanted to, go to Gander and just look around town for a while. But as it is starting to rain again I think we will just stay at the trailer and do some stuff around here. But it’s better than a rock in a pot!
Unfortunately we have no Internet at our campsite but there is Internet access from the office so we can download our emails and upload our blog and pictures from time to time.
Today, Leo did not take any pictures but he did post some more pictures from the last few days. These pictures can be found here.
Today we travelled 370km to our new destination of Gander. We plan on spending a few days here before we move on to our final destination of St. John’s which could be either Thursday or Friday.
We also passed the 10,000 km mark on our odometer today which would be the same as traveling from the Equator to the North Pole I am told, and then to know that we have not yet reached our final destination point or are on our way back!
After setting up our trailer I cooked dinner/supper so we could, if we wanted to, go to Gander and just look around town for a while. But as it is starting to rain again I think we will just stay at the trailer and do some stuff around here. But it’s better than a rock in a pot!
Unfortunately we have no Internet at our campsite but there is Internet access from the office so we can download our emails and upload our blog and pictures from time to time.
Today, Leo did not take any pictures but he did post some more pictures from the last few days. These pictures can be found here.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Day 36 and 37 – Hiking and other activities at Gros Morne National Park, Newfoundland
Day 36 and 37 – Hiking and other activities at Gros Morne National Park, Newfoundland
Every day we check the weather forecast. We don’t know why as it never is correct here anyway, and we were supposed to have a sunny day so it was planned to be a hiking day.
First we took the Baker’s Brook Falls trail: a 10 km return hike again along bogs and forest. The view of the falls was certainly worth the hike. The pictures will give you a better view of it.
Then it was back to our car for some lunch, and as our parking lot was also the starting point of Berry Hill trail we did this as well. It is a short hike but very steep, with man-made steps near the top of it. Here we got a beautiful view of the area as can be seen in Leo’s pictures.
After we were done our hikes we went to check out the distance I had walked along the highway but got side tracked at a very small fisherman’s village of Baker’s Brook. Here Leo chatted with a local fisherman, Ernest, and he told us a bit of what he and his wife do for living, off-shore fishing in just a small fishing boat. They are up in the dark at 3:00 in the morning each day, head out 10 miles from shore and fish for cod in the morning when the waves are less pronounced. They return with their catch by 9:00 a.m. His wife goes along and fishes with him each day. He suggested we come back the next morning when they returned from their fishing trip so we could meet her as well as she was in town at the moment.
Day 37 – Berry Brook Cove and Trout River
We got up a bit late but we were still ready to go at 9 to see Ernest and his wife Lynn coming back from their fishing trip. They then had to clean the fish and get it ready to take to the local fish plant where the fish are processed for market.
Once they were done cleaning the fish Ernest and Leo went to the fish plant and Lynn showed me around “the house”. She got some fish ready for their supper (10 o’clock in the morning!) and also some cod tongues, a delicacy here in Newfoundland. We cooked the fish and tongues, got some lettuce from the garden and then she went to set the table for 4! She never asked if we wanted to stay; it was just expected of us that we would stay and have ‘dinner’ with them. As the boys took way too long to come back (those men) and Lynn did not want to eat her fish cold we both started to eat. I really liked the cod tongues but Leo thought it was a bit fatty. In this way we were again received with the most famous hospitality of the Newfoundland people. We chatted a bit longer and then said our goodbyes to Ernest and Lynn after exchanging addresses and such.
Then it was back to our trailer to decide where our afternoon trip would take us. We chose to go to Woody Point and Trout River, which are villages on the other side of the Bonne Bay fjord from Rocky Harbour so it was again a bit of a drive, but a scenic one. The weather remained cloudy so it was not much of a day for hiking or biking. We checked out Trout River and on the way back the Discovery Centre at Woody Point. This is a very nice place to visit as well and to learn about the geology of the park as well as some of its history.
I am sure that with Leo’s pictures you will get a better idea of what we have experienced these last few days. The pictures for days 36 and 37 can be found here.
Every day we check the weather forecast. We don’t know why as it never is correct here anyway, and we were supposed to have a sunny day so it was planned to be a hiking day.
First we took the Baker’s Brook Falls trail: a 10 km return hike again along bogs and forest. The view of the falls was certainly worth the hike. The pictures will give you a better view of it.
Then it was back to our car for some lunch, and as our parking lot was also the starting point of Berry Hill trail we did this as well. It is a short hike but very steep, with man-made steps near the top of it. Here we got a beautiful view of the area as can be seen in Leo’s pictures.
After we were done our hikes we went to check out the distance I had walked along the highway but got side tracked at a very small fisherman’s village of Baker’s Brook. Here Leo chatted with a local fisherman, Ernest, and he told us a bit of what he and his wife do for living, off-shore fishing in just a small fishing boat. They are up in the dark at 3:00 in the morning each day, head out 10 miles from shore and fish for cod in the morning when the waves are less pronounced. They return with their catch by 9:00 a.m. His wife goes along and fishes with him each day. He suggested we come back the next morning when they returned from their fishing trip so we could meet her as well as she was in town at the moment.
Day 37 – Berry Brook Cove and Trout River
We got up a bit late but we were still ready to go at 9 to see Ernest and his wife Lynn coming back from their fishing trip. They then had to clean the fish and get it ready to take to the local fish plant where the fish are processed for market.
Once they were done cleaning the fish Ernest and Leo went to the fish plant and Lynn showed me around “the house”. She got some fish ready for their supper (10 o’clock in the morning!) and also some cod tongues, a delicacy here in Newfoundland. We cooked the fish and tongues, got some lettuce from the garden and then she went to set the table for 4! She never asked if we wanted to stay; it was just expected of us that we would stay and have ‘dinner’ with them. As the boys took way too long to come back (those men) and Lynn did not want to eat her fish cold we both started to eat. I really liked the cod tongues but Leo thought it was a bit fatty. In this way we were again received with the most famous hospitality of the Newfoundland people. We chatted a bit longer and then said our goodbyes to Ernest and Lynn after exchanging addresses and such.
Then it was back to our trailer to decide where our afternoon trip would take us. We chose to go to Woody Point and Trout River, which are villages on the other side of the Bonne Bay fjord from Rocky Harbour so it was again a bit of a drive, but a scenic one. The weather remained cloudy so it was not much of a day for hiking or biking. We checked out Trout River and on the way back the Discovery Centre at Woody Point. This is a very nice place to visit as well and to learn about the geology of the park as well as some of its history.
I am sure that with Leo’s pictures you will get a better idea of what we have experienced these last few days. The pictures for days 36 and 37 can be found here.
Day 34 & 35 – Driving from Codroy Valley to Gros Morne National Park and our visit to the park in Newfoundland
Day 34 & 35 – Driving from Codroy Valley to Gros Morne National Park and our visit to the park in Newfoundland
Day 34 was a travelling day from Codroy Valley to Rocky Harbour as the weather forecast for that area was sunshine for the next few days and the rest of Newfoundland predicted rain. Of course you can only trust the weatherman for 50% even here in Newfoundland. We did have reasonable weather for our drive but certainly not the sunshine forecasted, and the sun shone only a bit in our days here. They could sure use some more talented meteorologists here, Erik!
We started late and it was a long but nice drive to our destination point. The TransCanada Highway is a smooth paved highway: one of the best ones we have travelled so far. We went to gas up at a Canadian Tire gas station in Corner Brook but I think every one in Corner Brook was running out of gas as it was chaos at this station. One customer quipped that you would have thought the gas was free it was so busy, but we did get gas again to move on.
The campground in Rocky Harbour is really nice and clean but internet was not the best. Just as we got going it would shut down and as we are not at our trailer much during the day we did not get much done on our blog these last few days.
Day 35 – Our first full day here and we decided to walk the Coastal trail which consists of a 3 km hike with the coast on one side and a bog on the other side. Newfoundland has lots and lots of bogs. The path was so narrow and uneven that I decided not to walk back on the same path but just walk towards our campsite along the highway. Leo walked back and picked me up 6 km later. Later in the day we walked around a pond, Berry Head Pond, which was a nice walk as well and mostly boardwalk because of the boggy terrain. These walks would even be nicer in June or July when the flowers are in full bloom.
That is was about it for day 34 and 35, pictures of these days can be found here.
Day 34 was a travelling day from Codroy Valley to Rocky Harbour as the weather forecast for that area was sunshine for the next few days and the rest of Newfoundland predicted rain. Of course you can only trust the weatherman for 50% even here in Newfoundland. We did have reasonable weather for our drive but certainly not the sunshine forecasted, and the sun shone only a bit in our days here. They could sure use some more talented meteorologists here, Erik!
We started late and it was a long but nice drive to our destination point. The TransCanada Highway is a smooth paved highway: one of the best ones we have travelled so far. We went to gas up at a Canadian Tire gas station in Corner Brook but I think every one in Corner Brook was running out of gas as it was chaos at this station. One customer quipped that you would have thought the gas was free it was so busy, but we did get gas again to move on.
The campground in Rocky Harbour is really nice and clean but internet was not the best. Just as we got going it would shut down and as we are not at our trailer much during the day we did not get much done on our blog these last few days.
Day 35 – Our first full day here and we decided to walk the Coastal trail which consists of a 3 km hike with the coast on one side and a bog on the other side. Newfoundland has lots and lots of bogs. The path was so narrow and uneven that I decided not to walk back on the same path but just walk towards our campsite along the highway. Leo walked back and picked me up 6 km later. Later in the day we walked around a pond, Berry Head Pond, which was a nice walk as well and mostly boardwalk because of the boggy terrain. These walks would even be nicer in June or July when the flowers are in full bloom.
That is was about it for day 34 and 35, pictures of these days can be found here.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Day 32 and 33 – Ferry to Newfoundland – Codroy Valley, Newfoundland
Day 32 and 33 – Ferry to Newfoundland – Codroy Valley, Newfoundland.
Day 32, today we drove from Baddeck to North Sydney to catch the 4 p.m. ferry to Port Aux Basques in Newfoundland. We got to the ferry terminal about 2:30 after driving through a torrential rain which was so heavy that many cars had stopped because it was too difficult to see the road. We drove through it with our wipers on high but could only manage a speed of 30 km/hr without impairing our visibility of the road.
We did not have to wait long to board the ferry and the passage was very smooth and quiet. We even had some sunshine during our sailing, We were furthermore entertained by a few dolphins giving us a jumping show just beside the boat. Later during our passage the famous Newfoundland fog set in as we came closer to the island and the ferry commenced sounding its fog horn every minute or so to warn any boats which might be in our path.
We then arrived about 10 pm Newfoundland time and drove in the dark to our campground. We had a choice of about 10 sites so we picked the one in the middle because it was the one with a light close by so we could see what we were doing. It was a beautiful evening and the sky was one starry spectacle. Once we were set up I said to Leo I wanted to sit outside and just look at the stars for a while but as we looked up all the stars had disappeared so we went to bed instead.
Day 33 – We took a tour around the south-west coast of the island and got to experience the kind of Newfoundland we had heard about. The small colourful houses sat amongst the shore rocks, there were no trees worth mentioning and yet the hills have lots of trees. Yes the countryside is like the foothills of Alberta. It is very picturesque and lush with winding roads to take you to the small villages. We initially spent some time at Codroy harbour, talked to the locals and so far had no problems understanding their language. We then decided to go back to Port Aux Basques and take some pictures of the ferry but first we stopped at a local sandy beach and ate our lunch. I got to do some wading in the water and to feed the gulls.
Leo took his pictures of the ferry terminal and the ferryboat by daylight and we went on into Port Aux Basques town to do some sightseeing there. What a nice little town it is. To us it is prototypical Newfoundland housing just built wherever there was land to do so. As we were watching a few men bring in their catch of cod (5 are now allowed per person, and there were 3 men) we got invited to come along and receive of their fish. We watched them clean and fillet the cod and we were giving some fillets for our supper today. This was our first encounter with the friendliness of the local people which we had been told by so many to expect there. Believe it or not but I cooked the fish for supper and it was a most delicious meal with no fish smell at all in the trailer.
This time however we were a bit more challenged by the Newfoundland “dialect”. We were asked where we were from. We answered that question and then said we had just landed on Newfoundland yesterday. One of the men then asked Else “Yous goin’ all through ‘er?” This totally made no sense to Else, but Leo jumped to her aid and suggested she answer “Yes we are going all the way to St. John’s”. It was one small step in his rehabilitation out of the doghouse. There are still many steps to go!
Leo tried to capture our two days with his pictures so enjoy looking at them by clicking here. The dolphin picture does not show much as they only surface to breath for what seems like a fraction of a second.
Day 32, today we drove from Baddeck to North Sydney to catch the 4 p.m. ferry to Port Aux Basques in Newfoundland. We got to the ferry terminal about 2:30 after driving through a torrential rain which was so heavy that many cars had stopped because it was too difficult to see the road. We drove through it with our wipers on high but could only manage a speed of 30 km/hr without impairing our visibility of the road.
We did not have to wait long to board the ferry and the passage was very smooth and quiet. We even had some sunshine during our sailing, We were furthermore entertained by a few dolphins giving us a jumping show just beside the boat. Later during our passage the famous Newfoundland fog set in as we came closer to the island and the ferry commenced sounding its fog horn every minute or so to warn any boats which might be in our path.
We then arrived about 10 pm Newfoundland time and drove in the dark to our campground. We had a choice of about 10 sites so we picked the one in the middle because it was the one with a light close by so we could see what we were doing. It was a beautiful evening and the sky was one starry spectacle. Once we were set up I said to Leo I wanted to sit outside and just look at the stars for a while but as we looked up all the stars had disappeared so we went to bed instead.
Day 33 – We took a tour around the south-west coast of the island and got to experience the kind of Newfoundland we had heard about. The small colourful houses sat amongst the shore rocks, there were no trees worth mentioning and yet the hills have lots of trees. Yes the countryside is like the foothills of Alberta. It is very picturesque and lush with winding roads to take you to the small villages. We initially spent some time at Codroy harbour, talked to the locals and so far had no problems understanding their language. We then decided to go back to Port Aux Basques and take some pictures of the ferry but first we stopped at a local sandy beach and ate our lunch. I got to do some wading in the water and to feed the gulls.
Leo took his pictures of the ferry terminal and the ferryboat by daylight and we went on into Port Aux Basques town to do some sightseeing there. What a nice little town it is. To us it is prototypical Newfoundland housing just built wherever there was land to do so. As we were watching a few men bring in their catch of cod (5 are now allowed per person, and there were 3 men) we got invited to come along and receive of their fish. We watched them clean and fillet the cod and we were giving some fillets for our supper today. This was our first encounter with the friendliness of the local people which we had been told by so many to expect there. Believe it or not but I cooked the fish for supper and it was a most delicious meal with no fish smell at all in the trailer.
This time however we were a bit more challenged by the Newfoundland “dialect”. We were asked where we were from. We answered that question and then said we had just landed on Newfoundland yesterday. One of the men then asked Else “Yous goin’ all through ‘er?” This totally made no sense to Else, but Leo jumped to her aid and suggested she answer “Yes we are going all the way to St. John’s”. It was one small step in his rehabilitation out of the doghouse. There are still many steps to go!
Leo tried to capture our two days with his pictures so enjoy looking at them by clicking here. The dolphin picture does not show much as they only surface to breath for what seems like a fraction of a second.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Day 28, 29, 30 & 31 - Louisbourg and Baddeck, NS
We are falling behind in our blog, but then we did not do anything too exciting or different during the remaining days of our stay in Louisbourg. Basically it was more of the same. Saturday, day 28, we both went to the Fortress and in the evening we took in the evening performance of the battle of Louisbourg in de natural fog and the artificial fog created by the smoke of the muskets. There was also a firework display but this also went up into the fog.
On Sunday, day 29, Leo went back to the fortress for more pictures and I stayed around the campsite and entertained myself by watching the children perform a Karaoke.
In the evening there was to be a boat parade in the town harbour and fireworks again. Well they sure know how to do a parade here. 1 ‘lighted’ fishing boat went by and a few other boats but nothing was organized. It was like the boat parade we used to have at Sylvan Lake. And the fireworks! Well after waiting for an hour or so we finally heard that they were cancelled. Again this was not a very well organized event by Parks Canada just like the first parade.
Monday, day 30, we packed up to move on again. We stopped at the trailer repair place to have our trailer wheels greased and the oil changed in the car. After that we drove to Baddeck, NS. It just started to rain here so we waited with setting up our trailer and Leo worked on his pictures to be posted. The rain let up a bit just enough for us to set up the trailer and have some supper.
Today, day 31, we visited Baddeck village and went to the Graham Bell museum. We learned a few more things about Mr. Bell, like that he was married to a deaf woman and lived here in Baddeck.
Tomorrow we will be taking the ferry to Newfoundland, leaving at 4 pm in the afternoon arriving about 10:00 that evening. This is the earliest ferry we could book, as all the other days were booked already. We have our campsite booked so we will have no problems finding a spot that night or have to sleep in the van. So far we have not had the use the bed in the van yet.
We also did some planning for our trip on Newfoundland and noticed that there are not a lot of campsites available and also that not all of them will have Internet. You may not find us online as often as we have been because of this. We did this planning in a day room at the campsite where we had to sit to get internet access. We spoke in Dutch all the time to each other, and one of the owners was present and able to listen in to our discussion. We talked of wanting to visit one specific place in Newfoundland which had a funny name and the campground owner would have only understood one word in English of our discussion. That word was `Dildo`. No wonder he looked at us strangely when we walked out!
Pictures of the last few days can be found here.
On Sunday, day 29, Leo went back to the fortress for more pictures and I stayed around the campsite and entertained myself by watching the children perform a Karaoke.
In the evening there was to be a boat parade in the town harbour and fireworks again. Well they sure know how to do a parade here. 1 ‘lighted’ fishing boat went by and a few other boats but nothing was organized. It was like the boat parade we used to have at Sylvan Lake. And the fireworks! Well after waiting for an hour or so we finally heard that they were cancelled. Again this was not a very well organized event by Parks Canada just like the first parade.
Monday, day 30, we packed up to move on again. We stopped at the trailer repair place to have our trailer wheels greased and the oil changed in the car. After that we drove to Baddeck, NS. It just started to rain here so we waited with setting up our trailer and Leo worked on his pictures to be posted. The rain let up a bit just enough for us to set up the trailer and have some supper.
Today, day 31, we visited Baddeck village and went to the Graham Bell museum. We learned a few more things about Mr. Bell, like that he was married to a deaf woman and lived here in Baddeck.
Tomorrow we will be taking the ferry to Newfoundland, leaving at 4 pm in the afternoon arriving about 10:00 that evening. This is the earliest ferry we could book, as all the other days were booked already. We have our campsite booked so we will have no problems finding a spot that night or have to sleep in the van. So far we have not had the use the bed in the van yet.
We also did some planning for our trip on Newfoundland and noticed that there are not a lot of campsites available and also that not all of them will have Internet. You may not find us online as often as we have been because of this. We did this planning in a day room at the campsite where we had to sit to get internet access. We spoke in Dutch all the time to each other, and one of the owners was present and able to listen in to our discussion. We talked of wanting to visit one specific place in Newfoundland which had a funny name and the campground owner would have only understood one word in English of our discussion. That word was `Dildo`. No wonder he looked at us strangely when we walked out!
Pictures of the last few days can be found here.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Day 27 - Louisbourg
Day 27 – Louisbourg
Today I rode my bike to the fortress and around town while Leo spend another day at the Fortress to take some more pictures.
In the evening we both went to the PARADE, and a parade it was. I had heard earlier in the day that the “old fortress” people would come down main street from the left and the “new Louisbourg” people would come from the right and then merge as one for the opening ceremonies at the waterfront site. We were located at where they were to merge. Well first of all there was a heavy fog and it took quite some time before we heard and saw “the parade”. We figured they got lost in the fog, they should have taken their Tom Tom with them. We finally saw a military truck, pulling a canon, emerge from the right with about 10 English military personnel and all the spectators from that part of the parade route. We could drums and bagpipes coming from somewhere but no parade. It took a minute or two before we finally saw the parade come out of the fog walking towards us. After some confusion the ‘parade’ was to move on to the waterfront site as well for a 5-salvo salute to start the celebrations. After this the parade was over and everyone dispersed. The evening entertainment was 4 modern folk singers from Cape Breton, we stayed for the first song but left during the second one as sound was turned up to high to enjoy. Back to our trailer, which was only half a block away from the entertainment stage so we got to hear it all at a most enjoyable sound level.
Leo did his best again to show you the activities at the Fortress for this day. Prominent was a re-enactment of tactical moves made by the French and English forces during the siege, as the former would try to leave the fortress to eliminate one of the latter’s artillery batteries which were pounding the fortifications. More than 1000 amateur “re-enactors” have come to Louisbourg to participate in these re-enactments from all over Canada and the Unites States. These people are history junkies who often make their own uniforms, and buy original weaponry from the era to allow them to go from one such event to another throughout North America. As indicated, the day was generally foggy, but the fog miraculously retreated out to sea for a couple of hours to allow the battle to take place in wonderful sunshine, which was a great blessing to all the photographers present. Leo’s photos for the day are to be found here.
Today I rode my bike to the fortress and around town while Leo spend another day at the Fortress to take some more pictures.
In the evening we both went to the PARADE, and a parade it was. I had heard earlier in the day that the “old fortress” people would come down main street from the left and the “new Louisbourg” people would come from the right and then merge as one for the opening ceremonies at the waterfront site. We were located at where they were to merge. Well first of all there was a heavy fog and it took quite some time before we heard and saw “the parade”. We figured they got lost in the fog, they should have taken their Tom Tom with them. We finally saw a military truck, pulling a canon, emerge from the right with about 10 English military personnel and all the spectators from that part of the parade route. We could drums and bagpipes coming from somewhere but no parade. It took a minute or two before we finally saw the parade come out of the fog walking towards us. After some confusion the ‘parade’ was to move on to the waterfront site as well for a 5-salvo salute to start the celebrations. After this the parade was over and everyone dispersed. The evening entertainment was 4 modern folk singers from Cape Breton, we stayed for the first song but left during the second one as sound was turned up to high to enjoy. Back to our trailer, which was only half a block away from the entertainment stage so we got to hear it all at a most enjoyable sound level.
Leo did his best again to show you the activities at the Fortress for this day. Prominent was a re-enactment of tactical moves made by the French and English forces during the siege, as the former would try to leave the fortress to eliminate one of the latter’s artillery batteries which were pounding the fortifications. More than 1000 amateur “re-enactors” have come to Louisbourg to participate in these re-enactments from all over Canada and the Unites States. These people are history junkies who often make their own uniforms, and buy original weaponry from the era to allow them to go from one such event to another throughout North America. As indicated, the day was generally foggy, but the fog miraculously retreated out to sea for a couple of hours to allow the battle to take place in wonderful sunshine, which was a great blessing to all the photographers present. Leo’s photos for the day are to be found here.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Day 26 - Louisbourg
Day 26 – Louisbourg
Today Leo went to check out the Fortress of Louisbourg for picture taking positions during the festivities happening this weekend.
I stayed behind and went for a walk up to the lighthouse which is across the harbour from the fortress. This was a 4 km walk each way but worth every drop of sweat. Finally I got to see and hear the REAL Atlantic Ocean. I wanted to stay all day and just sit there and listen to the sounds, like the rocks being pulled back by the waves, the waves breaking against the rocks, and just the water moving up and down. The tide was coming in and hitting the rocks and splashing up against them. At times I was there all by myself. But I had to go back as no one knew where I had gone. Leo knew I was going for a walk and so did Jeanne but not where. I will have to go back, by car, and just spend the whole day watching the ocean and I think Leo will want to go there as well to take pictures. We may end up staying here longer after all.
Leo went to the Fortress today for the first time. He was tremendously impressed with both the French accomplishment in building this to begin with during the 17th century, and also with the people who reconstructed a good segment of it from scratch during the late 1950s. He was most unimpressed by the English who totally obliterated this marvelous place a few years after the second seige. There is a tremendous amount to be seen here, and the quality of the reconstruction is outstanding. It truly does provide a very credible glimpse into life at the fortress just prior to the second siege of it in 1758, the 250th anniversary of which is being celebrated this weekend. Unfortunately, Leo lost track of time and was home much later than his wife was expecting, as a result of which he is decidedly in the doghouse at the moment. Only time will tell whether he will be able to work his way out of it before the vacation ends.
Some of the pictures on which he lost track of time can be seen here.
Today Leo went to check out the Fortress of Louisbourg for picture taking positions during the festivities happening this weekend.
I stayed behind and went for a walk up to the lighthouse which is across the harbour from the fortress. This was a 4 km walk each way but worth every drop of sweat. Finally I got to see and hear the REAL Atlantic Ocean. I wanted to stay all day and just sit there and listen to the sounds, like the rocks being pulled back by the waves, the waves breaking against the rocks, and just the water moving up and down. The tide was coming in and hitting the rocks and splashing up against them. At times I was there all by myself. But I had to go back as no one knew where I had gone. Leo knew I was going for a walk and so did Jeanne but not where. I will have to go back, by car, and just spend the whole day watching the ocean and I think Leo will want to go there as well to take pictures. We may end up staying here longer after all.
Leo went to the Fortress today for the first time. He was tremendously impressed with both the French accomplishment in building this to begin with during the 17th century, and also with the people who reconstructed a good segment of it from scratch during the late 1950s. He was most unimpressed by the English who totally obliterated this marvelous place a few years after the second seige. There is a tremendous amount to be seen here, and the quality of the reconstruction is outstanding. It truly does provide a very credible glimpse into life at the fortress just prior to the second siege of it in 1758, the 250th anniversary of which is being celebrated this weekend. Unfortunately, Leo lost track of time and was home much later than his wife was expecting, as a result of which he is decidedly in the doghouse at the moment. Only time will tell whether he will be able to work his way out of it before the vacation ends.
Some of the pictures on which he lost track of time can be seen here.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Day 25 - Travel from Maitland to Louisbourg, Nova Scotia
Day 25 - Travel from Maitland to Louisbourg, Nova Scotia
Again we got up to a cloudy sky and a very light drizzle. I said goodbye to the family of cats (without taking one along unfortunately) and on we went to our next stop.
We had an appointment with a RV refrigeration shop to have our fridge checked out as it was not working and we were doing the icebox-ice routine. This is fine for a couple of days but not for the rest of our trip. Because we wanted to be there early in the day we took the major highways 104 and 105 to get more quickly to Sydney where this repair shop was located. The owner was very nice and had a look at our unit right away and concluded it was not our cooling system (luckily as this is very expensive to fix). After he checked the unit, adjusting some wires and cleaning the propane line we were done. He charged us $50 for an hour of labour for the work done and told us to come back if we encountered more problems. Quite the good Nova Scotia service! And so far so good with the repair
On we went to Louisbourg and there we had some ‘issues’ with our camp spot. We had made reservations about a month ago and had asked for electricity and water. Well the electricity was there but the water we had to fill with a ‘pot or something’ from a tap in between two buildings and thereby top up our trailer tank rather than having an actual water connection. Also we were allocated a spot beside another tent trailer and no way was there enough room for our trailer to be folded out, let alone to get it in the spot allocated. But all ended up well as the lady in the office had misunderstood how to allocate ‘these tent-trailer’ spots. After this was sorted out and we hummed and hawed about it all we decided to set up and stay as no spots are to be had in Louisbourg right now because of the 250th anniversary of the siege of the fortress taking place this year (The Encampment Celebration).
We did a quick tour of town as we needed some groceries now that we had a ‘real’ fridge again.
After supper we did some trip planning, reading and off to bed to get some well deserved rest as we will have a full day again tomorrow. Leo took off to try some pictures of the fishing boats at dusk and wound up B.S.ing with a crew of very friendly crab fishermen getting ready to run out to set their crab traps. His father would have been proud to hear him talk it up with these guys.
He did get some pictures and these can be seen here.
Again we got up to a cloudy sky and a very light drizzle. I said goodbye to the family of cats (without taking one along unfortunately) and on we went to our next stop.
We had an appointment with a RV refrigeration shop to have our fridge checked out as it was not working and we were doing the icebox-ice routine. This is fine for a couple of days but not for the rest of our trip. Because we wanted to be there early in the day we took the major highways 104 and 105 to get more quickly to Sydney where this repair shop was located. The owner was very nice and had a look at our unit right away and concluded it was not our cooling system (luckily as this is very expensive to fix). After he checked the unit, adjusting some wires and cleaning the propane line we were done. He charged us $50 for an hour of labour for the work done and told us to come back if we encountered more problems. Quite the good Nova Scotia service! And so far so good with the repair
On we went to Louisbourg and there we had some ‘issues’ with our camp spot. We had made reservations about a month ago and had asked for electricity and water. Well the electricity was there but the water we had to fill with a ‘pot or something’ from a tap in between two buildings and thereby top up our trailer tank rather than having an actual water connection. Also we were allocated a spot beside another tent trailer and no way was there enough room for our trailer to be folded out, let alone to get it in the spot allocated. But all ended up well as the lady in the office had misunderstood how to allocate ‘these tent-trailer’ spots. After this was sorted out and we hummed and hawed about it all we decided to set up and stay as no spots are to be had in Louisbourg right now because of the 250th anniversary of the siege of the fortress taking place this year (The Encampment Celebration).
We did a quick tour of town as we needed some groceries now that we had a ‘real’ fridge again.
After supper we did some trip planning, reading and off to bed to get some well deserved rest as we will have a full day again tomorrow. Leo took off to try some pictures of the fishing boats at dusk and wound up B.S.ing with a crew of very friendly crab fishermen getting ready to run out to set their crab traps. His father would have been proud to hear him talk it up with these guys.
He did get some pictures and these can be seen here.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Day 24 - Sightseeing around Maitland, Nova Scotia
Day 24 – Sightseeing around Maitland, Nova Scotia
We woke up to a cloudy sky with very light drizzle coming down. As we made plans for our day it stopped raining and we decided to take it a bit easy today and not do too much.
First we went to the local store for some groceries and like many stores they had a gift store but also a Christmas store. We took our time looking around and Leo also took some pictures of the store.
After we went to see Burncoat Head, another park and … lighthouse. We watched a video about the Bay of Fundy ,which gave us more ideas about things we wanted to see and do. After this we went down to the beach and explored it for a while.
Then it was on our next stop, the Fundy tidal bore (wave), which we unfortunately were about half an hour late to see it happen due to conflicting information we received about its timing. We will have to come back here in September to try and catch it then. By the sounds of it it is something you have to see.
The rain had stopped in the meantime so we walked around the town of Maitland for a while to take in the historical houses which are still standing here, many of which are being restored.
This is about what we did today other than feed and play with the local cat, which has 4 cute little, kittens hidden underneath a shed. They are very friendly, however, and will come out to be petted. We will have to work hard tomorrow to resist the urge to take one along, as was done by another camper a day or so ago.
Although the weather was not the greatest Leo did take some pictures, which can be viewed here.
We woke up to a cloudy sky with very light drizzle coming down. As we made plans for our day it stopped raining and we decided to take it a bit easy today and not do too much.
First we went to the local store for some groceries and like many stores they had a gift store but also a Christmas store. We took our time looking around and Leo also took some pictures of the store.
After we went to see Burncoat Head, another park and … lighthouse. We watched a video about the Bay of Fundy ,which gave us more ideas about things we wanted to see and do. After this we went down to the beach and explored it for a while.
Then it was on our next stop, the Fundy tidal bore (wave), which we unfortunately were about half an hour late to see it happen due to conflicting information we received about its timing. We will have to come back here in September to try and catch it then. By the sounds of it it is something you have to see.
The rain had stopped in the meantime so we walked around the town of Maitland for a while to take in the historical houses which are still standing here, many of which are being restored.
This is about what we did today other than feed and play with the local cat, which has 4 cute little, kittens hidden underneath a shed. They are very friendly, however, and will come out to be petted. We will have to work hard tomorrow to resist the urge to take one along, as was done by another camper a day or so ago.
Although the weather was not the greatest Leo did take some pictures, which can be viewed here.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Day 22 & 23 - PEI and travel from PEI to Nova Scotia
Day 22 - The second leg of the East Coastal Tour
Today we finished the rest of the sightseeing tour of the eastern part of PEI. The weather was great with lots of sunshine again. We left at 10 in the morning and did not get back to our trailer until after 8 in the evening.
Lots to see of course with small village harbours, churches and even a heron asking to be photographed in the evening light.
We viewed some lighthouses again, stopped at some harbours to take pictures and for the rest we drove and looked around the country site. Some times a turn off was missed and as the roads are not the widest here we got to see some parts 3 times. In total we drove about 325 km in the 10 hours.
It certainly is a most enjoyable province to visit.
Day 23 – Traveling day from PEI to Maitland, Nova Scotia.
Today it rained all day but we still took a bit of a scenic route along the coast of PEI. Else was so enthralled with the color of the P.E.I. dirt that she wanted to take some home to try her own hand at dyeing fabric with it. As it did rain all day, Leo had to show his spousal devotion by going out in that rain and filling a plastic bag with the stuff. But we have it! And we will cart it along for another 9 weeks throughout the Atlantic provinces before we get it home! This is necessitated by the fact that we will not be returning to PEI on our way back from Newfoundland.
Then it was off again over the Confederation Bridge to Nova Scotia for our next destination of Maitland, Nova Scotia. This bridge cost more than a billion dollars to build and is a toll bridge. But interestingly enough if you go over it to Prince Edward Island, there is no cost. But if you try to get off the island over it you do have to pay. The cost was $41.50 for our car and another $6.50 for the single axle of our tent trailer.
Maitland is a little place located at the mouth of the Bay of Fundy and is also a historic place for its buildings and such. Unless it rains tomorrow we will be doing some exploring here as well and hoping to take in the tidal bore later in the afternoon.
Here a link where you can find some more information on Maitland and its attractions.
www.maitlandns.com/atttractionsandaccommodations.html
Sorry, there are no pictures for Day 23, but the pictures for Day 22 can be found here.
Today we finished the rest of the sightseeing tour of the eastern part of PEI. The weather was great with lots of sunshine again. We left at 10 in the morning and did not get back to our trailer until after 8 in the evening.
Lots to see of course with small village harbours, churches and even a heron asking to be photographed in the evening light.
We viewed some lighthouses again, stopped at some harbours to take pictures and for the rest we drove and looked around the country site. Some times a turn off was missed and as the roads are not the widest here we got to see some parts 3 times. In total we drove about 325 km in the 10 hours.
It certainly is a most enjoyable province to visit.
Day 23 – Traveling day from PEI to Maitland, Nova Scotia.
Today it rained all day but we still took a bit of a scenic route along the coast of PEI. Else was so enthralled with the color of the P.E.I. dirt that she wanted to take some home to try her own hand at dyeing fabric with it. As it did rain all day, Leo had to show his spousal devotion by going out in that rain and filling a plastic bag with the stuff. But we have it! And we will cart it along for another 9 weeks throughout the Atlantic provinces before we get it home! This is necessitated by the fact that we will not be returning to PEI on our way back from Newfoundland.
Then it was off again over the Confederation Bridge to Nova Scotia for our next destination of Maitland, Nova Scotia. This bridge cost more than a billion dollars to build and is a toll bridge. But interestingly enough if you go over it to Prince Edward Island, there is no cost. But if you try to get off the island over it you do have to pay. The cost was $41.50 for our car and another $6.50 for the single axle of our tent trailer.
Maitland is a little place located at the mouth of the Bay of Fundy and is also a historic place for its buildings and such. Unless it rains tomorrow we will be doing some exploring here as well and hoping to take in the tidal bore later in the afternoon.
Here a link where you can find some more information on Maitland and its attractions.
www.maitlandns.com/atttractionsandaccommodations.html
Sorry, there are no pictures for Day 23, but the pictures for Day 22 can be found here.
Day 21 - First leg of the east coast tour of PEI
Day 20 – East coast tour of the island.
After a night of rain we decided to take it slow this morning and update our blog.
Around 1 pm the weather still could not decided what to do so we took a chance and started the first half of our sightseeing tour of the eastern part of the island.
Our first stop was at the old town of Orwell Corner. This is a Provincial Historic park with old buildings in a country like setting, similar to Heritage Park only these buildings in this small village were not restored just preserved. They kept a lovely garden around the general store and had a rope making demonstration in the barn. I found some cats and lovely little kitten I could pet so I had my cat fix for a while again.
It started to rain at this time but we decided to go on and make the best of it. As the day went on the weather started to get better and by late afternoon the sun started to come out again. This, of course, gave beautiful late afternoon light for photos so it was stop, take a picture, and drive on again.
We got back to our trailer around 9 pm, had a bite to eat and then Leo tried to download his pictures. But he had some problems so we went to bed instead to get a well deserved sleep. The difficulties with the pictures were solved next morning and you will find the results for day 21 here.
After a night of rain we decided to take it slow this morning and update our blog.
Around 1 pm the weather still could not decided what to do so we took a chance and started the first half of our sightseeing tour of the eastern part of the island.
Our first stop was at the old town of Orwell Corner. This is a Provincial Historic park with old buildings in a country like setting, similar to Heritage Park only these buildings in this small village were not restored just preserved. They kept a lovely garden around the general store and had a rope making demonstration in the barn. I found some cats and lovely little kitten I could pet so I had my cat fix for a while again.
It started to rain at this time but we decided to go on and make the best of it. As the day went on the weather started to get better and by late afternoon the sun started to come out again. This, of course, gave beautiful late afternoon light for photos so it was stop, take a picture, and drive on again.
We got back to our trailer around 9 pm, had a bite to eat and then Leo tried to download his pictures. But he had some problems so we went to bed instead to get a well deserved sleep. The difficulties with the pictures were solved next morning and you will find the results for day 21 here.
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