Hi again, RANAD here with another Newfoundland update!
So after St. John’s we drove to Trinity. It’s a quaint little former fishing town on an inlet, with picturesque houses and a rocky shoreline; in a word, breathtaking. Even the three-story house we rented could have been in “House and Garden”. We rushed there from St. John’s in order to catch their “pageant,” an outdoor play that moves through the village, describing the history of Trinity. Some of the scenes were kinda hokey, but on the whole, it was very entertaining.
Later that evening, we went to “dinner time theatre”. First about the food: it was great if you like tasteless overcooked food, recycled mash potatoes, and edible petroleum product on your dessert. The show, on the other hand, was very entertaining, with great comedy acts, a magic show, and typical Newfie music; i.e. where the harmonies are gorgeous, the rhythms are cool, the fiddling totally rocks, and the lyrics tend to be only about adultery or drownings, and their love for Newfoundland.
The next day, we went on a stunning 5.3 km hike. It involved climbing up cliffs to look down over the shoreline where we saw puffins, picnicking on a hilltop, descending down into luscious bogs and back up again, and skipping stones along the glassy surface of Trinity Bay. The most physically demanding part of the hike was carrying our little 120-pound backpack named Aviva. Because Aviva had mono, after the first kilometer on flat ground, she was somewhat out of commission, so inclines were pretty much a no-go for her. So the guys, and even Diane on desperate occasions, took turns shlepping Aviva up the hills on our backs, managing to turn a 1 1/2 hour hike into a 4 hour one!
On our way across the province from east to west, we stopped in Gander to check out the Aviation Museum, touted as a “Find” in our guide books. You can hardly call this place a “museum” as it was more like walking through somebody’s attic, who’s really really really into planes. It was not well organized, but they did have some cool planes and cockpits to explore. We also learned that Banting - as in the dude who discovered insulin - died in a plane crash around here.
Next stop: Gros Morne Park, on the west coast of Newfoundland. The ads you see on TV do not exaggerate the majestic beauty of this place. We had less time here than we needed, but we managed to pack in a lot. The major highlight of our stay was an overnight sea kayaking trip with a guide. We had 3 kayaks and the most atypical Newfoundland weather imaginable: clear blue skies and 25 degrees. We paddled under towering rocky mountains, passed harbour seals within spitting distance, saw caribou grazing as well as tons of different birds, paddled along a mirror-like winding river, and then hiked the last part up to a waterfall. We filled our water bottles there and then paddled back to our campsite into the setting sun and wispy cotton candy clouds. And, were greeted by a welcoming committee of about 37,652 mosquitos.
Back at the campsite, we finally got to eat something, because we were absolutely FAMISHED at that point. Our uber rugged guide apparently doesn’t believe in eating or drinking, “I don’t really need to drink water.” We ploughed through 8 bottles of chili, all the dinner rolls, and basically ate everything else we’d brought other than the breakfast oatmeal.
Our guide was extremely knowledgeable; a walking, talking, paddling encyclopedia about nature. However, at one point he did turn to Aviva and say, “I really need to find a wife soon.........So what are your plans after you graduate?”
We paddled back the next morning and hung our clothing out to dry on our car and then headed to The Tablelands. This is a landscape where the earth’s crust got turned over, exposing the mantle. The mantle is rich in nickel, not allowing plant life to grow. The outcome: a Mars-like desert landscape that looks uncannily like Israel; a huge expanse of rusty yellow rocks and cliffs.
Let’s digress now to discuss some of Rob’s recent “toilet adventures.” While dining at a restaurant in Gros Morne, Rob went to use the WC. The toilet, sadly, got clogged, and one flush too many led to water over-flowing onto the bathroom floor. This wouldn’t have been quite so bad, except that the bathroom emptied out onto the proprietor’s laundry room, which had a full basket of clean white laundry siting on the floor. Rob did manage to save the laundry, but not his pride. Bathroom adventure number two, in L’Anse aux Meadows, even more embarrassing. From his bathroom stall, Rob misheard Aaron as saying that the public washroom they were in was empty, when in fact there was a 10 year-old boy there using the urinal. Thinking he was alone with Aaron, who had in fact just left the washroom, Rob started to sing animatedly to Aaron “Smoke on the Water” with a vocal guitar solo. Somewhere there’s a 10 year-old boy out there, who overheard some weird 40-something guy singing Smoke on the Water from a bathroom stall.
Back to the trip - After a gorgeous cruise in Western Brook Pond, a fresh water “fjord”, we headed up to L’Anse aux Meadows, the northern most point of Newfoundland. All along the highways of Newfoundland there is a serious road hazard. We Torontonians think we have it bad with the raccoons. Here, there are ongoing problems of moose unexpectedly crossing the highway and causing major accidents and even loss of life. Dusk and dawn are particularly dangerous, as they graze at these times and with the poor lighting, are very well camouflaged. We have seen 5 on the side of the highway so far.
L’Anse aux Meadows is the place where the Vikings landed about 1000 years ago. We met a bunch of really cool viking re-enactors who taught us a lot about who the first European settlers really were. One man explained to us the entire process of smelting bog iron ore into pure iron. All the folks working here are “experimental archaeologists” meaning they read about viking artifacts and then recreate them out of the same raw materials. For example, we met a guy who made a comb out of bone and horn. He also made a bowed harp; not something you can pick up at Long and McQuade. Aaron and Noah both played on some of the Norse instruments, impressing the crowd. We really enjoyed ourselves and learned a lot.
Now for our accommodations in l’Anse aux Meadows. When we arrived at the inn where we had rooms booked, there was a bit of commotion at the front desk. Apparently the manager had given away not only our rooms, but those of another group as well. There was only one room left for all 9 of us. When that other group put two and two together, they promptly dove into that room, slammed the door shut, and stated, “well we’re in it now!” and were never to be seen again. The manager suddenly sat down, put his face in his hands, and declared, “Why don’t you all just lay off! I need to relax,” and almost started crying. Knowing that there were no accommodations for miles around, we wondered where we roomless ones were to go. Eventually, a second man, whom we have affectionally called “the schleper guy,” materialized and suggested we sleep in the conference room; a large, dusty old space with a lumpy futon, book cases filled with university textbooks from the 80’s, an old TV, and a whole shwack of dilapidated armchairs strewn about. Shlepper guy shlepped mattresses and linens into our “conference” room. Later the manager told us we wouldn’t be charged for the room, but then proceeded to tell us this about 8 times, making us realize that he was a little bit senile - perhaps explaining why he had given our rooms away in the first place.
Today we drove all the way back down from l’Anse aux Meadows and are about to leave The Rock for Nova Scotia and PEI. More from us in a few days.....
Love,
RANAD
