Good Bye Newfoundland

October 11 2010


We leave St. Johns this morning headed for Port aux Basque and the ferry which will take us acoss to Sydney, Nova Scotia and the mainland. We have had a memorable visit to Newfoundland with its unusual ruggedness and awe inspiring beauty.





So many communities still have fishing as a prominent trade and their docks and coves harbour all from the small dingys to the large fishing ships with their fishing gear jutting form their decks.
There are also some who dare to farm in this rugged rocky place with sometimes only a scattering of soil.


Brave souls all of them, proud of their island and rightly so with its spectacular rugged scenery that is so rich in history. The shores of this island have seen Vikings, Portugees, Spaniards, English, French and who knows how many more nationalities landed in some point in history. Some settling and some just taking advantage of the rich fishing grounds but all of them leaving their mark in shaping what is Newfoundland today.



We have tried to see as much as possible but have left some stones unturned for our next visit. The leaves are starting to turn their autumn colours and it is time for us to move on.
We will board this fine ship the Leif Erickson and say good bye to Newfoundland. Hope to see you again someday.

Baccalieu Trail Newfoundland

Our adventure today was to tour the Baccalieu trail. The name Baccalieu is derived from the Spanish and Portugese name meaning codfish. As early as 500 years ago fishermen from Portugal, Spain and the Banques crossed the ocean to fish in the rich grounds off this peninsula.

Our first stop on our trip around the Baccalieu Trail was the picturesque village of Cupids. Settled in the 1600`s it is the oldest official British Colony in Canada. In 1612 Nicholas Guire`s wife gave birth to the first recorded birth of an English child on what is now Canadian soil.

At Bay Roberts we saw this whale bone arch marking someone's driveway and although I thought it was pretty unique we saw several more before the day was over.

This is an odd thing to take a picture of but notice the intriguing name.

In Bay Roberts we saw a farmers out selling their produce by the roadside so we stopped and bought the fixins for a Jigg's Dinner. It consisted of cabbage, carrots, turnips and potatoes all in the same bag. This is how it turned out .....m-m-m....Thanksgiving Dinner.G">

At Spaniard's Bay we saw this beautiful and huge Anclican church. I was surprised at how many Anclican churches we saw in Newfoundland.

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V>Although it was threatining to rain Molly and I got to have a little run on the beach at Harbour Grace. It amazes me how the houses are perched pratically on the edge of the cliffs. No foundations needed when you build your house on solid rock!

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We stopped at Bay de Verde which is located almost at the top of the peninsula. The name is Portugese meaning Green Bay. Bay de Verde was initally popular to the French, English, Spanish and Portugese for it's abundant supplies of fish. Caribou was also plentiful in the area and the visiting fishermen hunted them as well. The community is still popular for its fish but is seeing increasing amounts of tourists as well.

At Red Head Cove we found it hard to find a place to perch long enough to take a picture but the view was spectacular. Even on a calm day, which it was, the sea was displaying her power and sheer force.

On to Grates Cove, home of the Grates Cove Rock Walls Historic Site where hundreds of rock walls, formerly used for walling in vegetable gardens and protect them from the grazing sheep, are scattered here and there. It amazes me that people would even attempt farming with so little soil available and the constant battle with rocks and harsh weather is a constant. These are truly hardy souls.

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At Heart's Content (yes it is really called that) we again saw the big fishing boats. It was a nice quiet little comunity.

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At Whiteway we saw the famous landmark called Shag Rock. It has also been called " the shipwrecker" and it is pretty easy to see why!

Bell Island

This is the ferry we crossed on and the island in the background is Bell Island.

Today we visited the small but beautiful Bell Island. It is located just a short 20 minute ferry ride from Portugal Cove across Conception Bay. It measures 9.5 kms long and 3 kms wide with most of its population perched atop its massive cliffs. We had a great day exploring and although we didn't have a map it turns out we didn't need one.

Our first stop was the lighthouse which no big surprise was located on Lighthouse Road. It was built in 1939 and is perched atop a cliff 50 meters above the sea.

From 1894 to 1966 Bell Island was home to an iron ore mene which started out as a surface mine then an underground mine to the shoreline and eventually to submarine mining. When the mine closed in 1966 the men were working more than 4.8 kms under the floor of Conception Bay.

Lance Cove claims the distinction of being the only community to take a direct hit from the enemy during WWII. A torpedo was said to have slammed into the shore shaking the residents in more ways than one. This is also the area where in the fall of 1940 four ships loaded with iron ore were sunk by torpedoes from German submarines. A total of 69 lives were lost. The rusty skeletons of the sunken ships can still be seen off shore.

We saw the Sacred Heart Grotto which was built with items from the now demolished Sacred Heart church and although vandalized in 2008 was completely restored.

While we were in Lance Cove on Bell Island, Newfoundland we also got to dip our tires into the Atlantic Ocean completing the ritual we began in Tofino, BC in April , 2010.

C2C.

The Irish Loop

This morning Molly and I took our bottle of Pacific Ocean water + sand that we collected in Tofino, BC and poured it into the Atlantic Ocean in Tors Cove, Newfoundland. We also collected a bottle of Atlantic Ocean water + sand to take back, God willing, to the Pacific Ocean. The ocean is much rougher here on the Avalon Peninsula and it was hard to find a safe place to make the exchange.

David, Molly and I drove around the Irish Loop today ... sadly though about one third of our drive was in dense fog. It made me think of the Irish who settled this area and wonder what they must have thought when they saw this beautiful but rough land blanketed in fog. They must have suffered many hardships trying to carve a life for themselves and their families in this harsh new world.

In Ferryland we saw the Holy Trinity church, built in 1865 in the Gothic Revival style it is the last remaining of five stone churches built during this period. I tood a picture of the house that was right beside it and although I don't know the story on it I found it facinating.

Due to the fog we missed some of what I am sure was spectacular coastal views especially in Portugal Cove where many fossils have been discovered and where there is an ongoing attempt to preserve the area and the fossils. We also missed out on a trip to the Cape Race lighthouse . It was at this lighthouse that the Titantic's distress call was first heard and answered.

By the time we reached St. Mary's the fog had cleared and we were again able to see the beautiful scenery and a spectacular bridge.

After a quick stop for gas we are on our way again back to our eagle-nest perch in Tors Cove.