St. John's and area

Hi everyone

We've arrived in Holyrood just outside of St. John's almost a week ago and have explored it and the surrounding areas since then. First of all, should you ever be in or near St. John's you just have to see it! This is a must. On the day of our arrival we drove to the visitor centre which is conveniently located in the harbour area in downtown St. John's. Great, this is the part of the city we wanted to see anyways and while looking for a place to park, we got a little tour by car. We decided to come back in another day to explore it some more. Until then we went for a drive along the coast with all its little fishing villages and visited several historical sites. It would make for a very long blog if I was to write about everything we have seen and learned so let me simply give you the basics and the links to check them out:

Hawthorne Cottage is the house in which explorer Captain Robert Bartlett was born. He was one of the figures in Arctic exploration and the skipper who prepared the way for Commander Peary on his trip to the North Pole in 1909. Bartlett spent many summers in the Arctic and once became a hero when getting help for the crew of his ship which had become ice-locked and subsequently was crushed by the ice and sank. He and some of his men walked for weeks to get help while the rest of the crew were left behind in a camp. Some of them tragically had died by the time the rescue operation arrived.

Castle Hill National Historic Site. In order to protect their interests in fishing the French founded a colony in what today is Placentia in 1662. In times of war they used the fort as a base to attack English settlement. The most famous battle was a bloody invasion of the English shore in 1696. While the French launched a number of attacks over the next 70 years, the English were able to blockade the colony and in 1713 gain control of it.

Cape Spear is the easterly most point in Canada. Its lighthouse has guided the way for mariners entering St. John's harbour and played an important role in protecting the entrance to the harbour during times of war throughout its existence. Signal Hill has been used for signalling since 1704. These two sites communicated with one another at times of peace and war first by flag or canon blast and later on by other technologies as they became available to human kind. Signal Hill, which is located on the other side of the entrance to the harbour of St. John's, was the other fortified lookout for St. Johns' protection. The picture shows André at Cape Spear.

Needless to say that we, once again, learned a lot not only with regards to Canadian history and geography but also about the way people lived in the early days.

I mentioned at the beginning, that we went to the visitor centre upon arrival in St. John's. This has a reason: we find that going to the tourist information / visitor centre is the best way to get lots of information and literature for a specific area. The staff generally is very knowledgeable and helpful and will direct you to places of interest. If you have specific interest they will know of the places that will correspond with them and give you information and answer questions you might have. The same goes for the staff at the sites we have been visiting. They will usually give you an introduction and quiet often Parks Canada sites will also have short movies (6 to 20 minutes) about the site. In our experience it is well worth listening to the introductions and watching those movies. They will give you an overview of the respective place and help you to better understand its history and significance as well as what you're about to see. We found that we would have missed out on a lot of details and how things and events are connected had we not gotten those introductions. So if you are traveling or plan to do so our advice is to take advantage of the knowledge of staff, don't hesitate to ask questions and take the few minutes for the introductions. It will make your experience tremendously better.

Tomorrow we will hit the road again and start our way towards Port-aux-Basques from where we will catch the ferry to Nova Scotia.

André and Sue

Somewhere on the road in Canada

PS: Don't forget to read our other blogs (listed on the side) and to follow us on facebook and our Google Map. You can also check our web site for new pictures.

Newfoundland - you got to love it!

Hi everyone 

It's about time I write another blog and tell you a little of what we've been up to the last week. I really have to do some catching up.

After leaving Red Bay we got on the ferry and crossed over to The Rock - Newfoundland - where we drove up to the Northeast tip of the northern peninsula. Just outside St. Anthony we found a great campground and we spent a whole week there. The drive along the coast was breathtaking and I just fell in love with this province. Love at first sight you might say since we only just had arrived here.

During our week in St. Anthony we explored more great sights and also experiences. We found out that the local Royal Canadian Legion is holding a "traditional Newfoundland food and music" event every Wednesday and since we had arrived on Tuesday, we just had to go there. What a great evening we had. The food was very good, prepared by people like you and me and we had live entertainment. On top of that they did a screeching in for everybody from outside the province who wanted to become a honorary newfie. Of course we signed up and are now in the possession of our certificates attesting to our being accepted into the "Royal Order of Newfies". The process is simple: you have to speak like a newfie, to eat like a newfie and to drink like a newfie. Then you get to kiss the cod. Once you have done all this, a dance is in order and you are made one of their own. It's great fun. Now you might wonder about those things we had to do. The speaking like a newfie is the hardest part. They really have a language of their own and I for one didn't understand a word. All I could do, is to imitate not the words but the sound. Lots of laughter from everybody but mostly the locals who really enjoy the screeching in. Eating like a newfie means you get to eat salted, dried capeling (smelt like fish in one piece, head and tail included), newfie steak (bologna) and bread with molasses. Finally you get to drink screech which is a really good newfie rum. All this one does while wearing typical yellow fishing gear including the Southwestern. I have to admit that when I met some people on the whale-watching boat who were going to be screeches in the next day and asked, I only told them the very basics including that screech "is not straight up sea water" as they might have heard.Let them wonder a little what's coming their way :-)

As I mentioned, I also went on a whale-watching tour but other than 2 fin whales and some dolphins, we were out of luck. The very next day while visiting the lighthouse we both got to see the whales right from the shore. There were two pods further out which, based on their blowing, contained 4 res. 5 whales. One of them would show his tail every time he came up. And then all of a sudden there was a killer whale swimming along the shore only a few meters from the rocks! What an impressing view!

Just as impressing is the Parks Canada site showing where the vikings had landed on Newfoundland 1000 years ago. We visited the site of the archeological diggings as well as a replica of the village where locals dressed like vikings show how they lived. The blacksmith with the help of a visiting boy made a nail from scratch. This became the boy's pay after the blacksmith had told him about trading labour for goods and how this would also apply at home where making his bed or cleaning his room could be considered as paying for shelter and food provided by his parents.Great experience, story and lesson for life.

The history here is so rich it is hard to comprehend. And I am sure we have only seen and heard a part of it all. It was good to travel to Gros Morne National Park and "take a break"  from all the impressions. Gros Morne in itself is yet another fascinating place with a very interesting history. This history is more about geology and how the island of Newfoundland came to be. And of course it is as a protected area rich in wildlife. So did we see a moose cow with her calf only a few meters from us when returning to the car. The picture has been taken by our little camera - no telephoto lens.

André and Sue

Somewhere on the road in Canada

PS: Don't forget to read our other blogs (listed on the side) and to follow us on facebook and our Google Map. You can also check our web site for new pictures.