Newfoundland August 5 - 7

We are feeling right at home parked beside saskatoon bushes. We’ve filled our tummies and this morning I had yogurt, granola & berries for breakfast. I’m thinking I’ll make a saskatoon pie. The campground is part of Pitty Park, right in the middle of the city.

Day 4 – We went to Cape Spear, easternmost point of land in North America. There’s a lighthouse and the remnants of WWII fortifications. I bought small jars of bake apple, blueberry & partridgeberry jams, so we can sample them. We drove to Petty Harbour to try to buy some fish from the fisherman but they can’t sell direct to customers, they have to go through the fish co-op. We bought mussels & fish at Bidgoods, a grocery store that sells local fish. We walked around downtown and stopped for refreshment at Yellowbelly Brew Pub. We were thinking of going to the George Street Festival, Alan Doyle was performing that night, but we decided that since it didn’t start until 9 we probably would be ready to crash before the party really got going.

Cape Spear, most easterly point in North America

 

Never have too big a gun, I say

Day 5 - Went to Signal Hill but it was rainy and so foggy we couldn’t see anything so decided to drive up the coast. We saw Conception Bay South, Paradise, St. Phillip’s, Portugal Cove (the other Portugal Cove was the south one) Torbay, Pouch Cove and Bauline. We had fish & chips for lunch at Portugal Cove. Denis did say he wanted to explore every nook and cranny of Newfoundland so we’re giving it a good try.



This is a typical settlement, clinging to the rock.

 

Day 6 – The weather was a repeat of the previous day, we started out with a walking tour of some of the historic buildings in a light mist which progressed steadily until it was not very pleasant anymore. We visited the Terry Fox monument, the start of his trek. The damp and chilly we headed for the Newman Wine Vaults, it’s a stone building where for a hundred years they aged port.  The port was imported from Portugal and then shipped back across the Atlantic, now they just do tours and serve samples, a good way to warm up. We also visited the Commissariat’s house on the way to visit Quidi Vidi village. The village is a very quaint area of the city with you guessed it a brewery, famous for beer made with water from ice bergs. They didn’t have a restaurant and the preferred lunch spot was full, so we opted the the second choice, The Inn of Olde! I have never seen such a jumble of memorabilia, I’m sure they’ve been collecting since the sixties: hockey sticks, musical instruments, miner’s hat & shovels, tools and the proprietor fit right in. The chowder was good even if served in styrofoam, but I decided against the fish & brewis (which I thought was fish and brews).


Quaint Quidi Vidi Harbour

Starting point for Terry Fox Marathon of Hope