Newfoundland Aug 15 - 18

Aug 15 – drove around rest of the Burin Peninsula ending the circle at Marysville, where we had been on the previous Tuesday. I’m sad to be missing the Blues Festival this weekend, all the awesome music and good times with old friends! We headed north and made it as far as Clarenville, where we camped at Walmart with 14 others.

Aug 16 – we drove to Charleston and left the trailer at the campsite while we continued on up the Bonavista Peninsula. First stop was Trinity, it is the most picturesque Newfoundland village, there are few new buildings and all the old buildings are beautifully restored. I could have stayed there for the whole day. We went to Bonaventure but didn’t have for time to hike to Old Bonaventure, where to series Random Passage was filmed. I did pick some blueberries but we left because we had parked by a church and there was a wedding about to begin and they needed the parking space.

 Then we headed to Cape Bonavista, where John Cabot landed in 1497. There is a lighthouse as well and we saw puffins also, but no cannons. After that we went back to the town of Bonavista and toured the Ryan Premises (National Historic Site). It is a group of 5 original buildings with exhibits that tell the story of the fishing industry and way of life in this area for hundreds of years. We feel that we know enough about salting and drying cod fish that we could do it ourselves. Not that we are tempted to try that way of life! Bonavista has many other historic buildings and a replica of the Matthew, Cabot’s ship but we just ran out of time. That evening at the campground there was a campfire and live music, very amateur but very enjoyable.

Posing with our buddy John Cabot

Someone still dries cod but not the traditional way on round beach stones or platforms with spruce branches to lay the fish on

Aug 17 – we continued on our way along the west side of Bonavista Bay past Terra Nova Park and many the small towns. Some days I feel like Hank Snow – I’ve Been Everywhere’- Lethbridge, Bloomfield, Musgravetown, Port Blanford, Glovertown, Gambo, Hare Bay, Dover, Centreville, Lumsden, Musgrave Harbour, Carmanville, Clarke’s Head, Wing’s Point, Victoria, Dorman’s and Rodger’s Coves.

 We stopped to see the Dover Fault, apparently geologists have determined that one side of the narrow channel used to be attached to Europe. Several million years ago it broke off, floated here and became part of Newfoundland. We had hoped to stop at Lumsden, there is a beautiful beach there but the wind was blowing gale force and a sprinkle of rain so we carried on to Dildo Run Park campground.

Just an aside, I think every second house in Newfoundland has a ‘Nanny & Poppy’ sign, and they are all the same, maybe government issue!

 

Aug 18 – we headed towards Twillingate but at the tourist info they told us an ice berg had been spotted near Herring Neck. We climbed to a rustic (use at your own risk) lookout at Green Cove and saw four ice bergs and several bergy bits. We did continue on to Herring Neck and saw one berg up quite close. After that Twillingate and Long Point just couldn’t compare, but we did get some wine from the Auk Island Winery. And there were lots of blueberries to pick while Denis toured the museum.

Friendly? Giant on the Doorstep

Berg with 'bergy bit' trailing along