Ready About

 

We did it, all 10 provinces explored,we didn’t do every road but we think we did the majority. Newfoundland is a large province ,mainly uninhabitated, fantastic place for hiking and fishing,which we were not prepared to do, it even has a small island off the southern coast that is French, St. Pierre. We didn’t bring any euros with us and it would have been two days that we would have had to share with Newfoundland so we took a miss on going there.

Some interesting  facts about Newfoundland, it became our 10th province in 1949,did you know that? Also it officially changed its name in 2001 to Newfoundland and Labrador, here we live in this vast country and we didn’t know theses facts. Also when we have heard some traditional music, the words are very Gaelic and they used shillings and pence way back when.

Newfoundland is situated on the easternmost edge of North America,stretching out in the Atlantic and like the Atlantic it is rugged and wild,from meadows covered in wild flowers, to boulders thrown hap-hazardly by the glacier age, ponds everywhere ( that is what they call lakes), to rivers and rugged coastlines. The home to the not native Moose,  they were introduced in 1904,Caribou, Atlantic Salmon and Char, Cod, scallops, mussels, and snow crab.

So now as we start our journey home we will be exploring the Peninsulas’s of Newfoundland. The Avalon Peninsula has 4 arms, two we explored, beautiful small villages, everyone in the fishing  industry.The economy is not very good and we pass many  delapitated homes and business, not even boarded up ,they just walked away, some villages there is only a gas station,which also serves as a convenient store and liquor store. But non the less the scenery is spectacular and we enjoy roaming from one village to another, having a chuckle over their names, for example, Conception Bay, Heart’s Desire, Heart’s Delight , Heart’s Content and  of course where did we have to stay Dildo.Hotels are scarce in Newfoundland ,B&B’s are the way to go, and we have stayed at a few beautiful Heritage homes and also just a room in someone’s house, but a very good way to meet the locals and get some good points on what to see and do.

One such B&B  we stayed at was on the Bona Vista Penisula,a beautiful rocky area with whales in abundance and Puffins that come to nest.Spectacular to just sit and watch, old root cellars imbedded in small knolls  that are still  used through the winter months to store there root vegetables. Some of the villages are trying to restore old fishing plants for tours and each village has some small musuem or something to boast about as this area of Canada is very old and had a lot of explorers land On it. There are statues and plaques of John Cabot , John Cartier and also plaques to those lost in the wars and also lost to the seas.

We finally make it to the famous Gros Morne National park, and it is breathtaking , mountains,with some that are flat,and scared ,with one side treed and the other barren, to a stunning fiord The Western Brook Pond. Not sure what there definition of a pond is but it is a very cold ,very deep lake, with striking cliffs soaring up to 2250 feet in the air, waterfalls abundant. A must if you are on The Rock!!!

We finish our travels on the island, staying in L ‘Anse aux Meadows, this is situated on the most north easternly point of Newfoundland which has evidence that the first Europeans at this point where Norsemen, so we walked  on the grounds where Vikings once roamed 1000 years ago. Pretty cool to think about. They have designated this area as a UNESCO Heritage site and have a wonderful replica display of the settlement, and have a guided tour of the area.

So we say good bye to Newfoundland , her craggy wild shores, a home to wild flowers and many mysteries that are still not uncovered, with whales and puffins and ice bergs, yes we got to see ice bergs, the locals proud of where they live. Making  a living as best as they can on  this rugged province.