Some Last Thoughts About Our Vacation in Newfoundland

Wednesday, July 31

While the scenery is spectacular, our enduring memories will be about the people. Our experiences tell us that Newfoundlanders, young and old alike, are friendly outgoing people. They always find time to talk to strangers. Their way of life seems slower than in many other parts of Canada. Driving through villages, we often saw people stopping to visit with neighbors along the road. Sadly, the conversations were often between young and middle-aged men between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm; obviously, they are unemployed and had unwelcome time on their hands. It was rare that we would meet people in villages and not be greeted with a friendly hello or good morning, even in the most casual circumstances. In St. John’s people on the street nod hello. Typical of the helpful people we encountered, an employee at the Sheraton Hotel gave us detailed explanations, plus personal reflections about visiting the Quidi Vidi Brewery, including coming outside the hotel to be sure we knew where the brown fence where we would make a right turn was located. 

Newfoundlanders are humorous people. Perhaps, because of the hard times they have faced, they have learned to use humor as a way of dealing with difficulties. They are especially irreverent about politicians; having been let down so often, they have a healthy skepticism about promises from their leaders. Poor Kathy Dunderdale is affectionately referred to as Kathy Dunderhead.

There is no doubt that Newfoundlanders have some unique expressions, unknown to other Canadians. Much scholarly work has been devoted to the so-called Newfie accent. It is more than an accent; it has its origins in the history of the people who settled the island: English, French, Portuguese, Irish and so on. Newfoundlanders claim to be able to spot where a person grew up by the way he or she talks, particularly by the expressions that are used.

Much of Newfoundlanders’ daily speech blissfully breaks rules of grammar and accepted English usage: verbs often do not agree with subjects (“I is goin’ to git dat right now.”), youse replaces you, dat for that, tree for three---the list is long. B’y (pronounced bye) is an all purpose word of acknowledgement without gender: “Well b’y, how is youse today?” “Love” and “darling” are often used indiscriminately: “Well, darling, what can I get youse to drink?” Although we never had it applied to us, ducky is often used as a term of endearment, even for total strangers: “Until then, my ducky.” The greeting, “Whaddya at?” translates as “How are you?” We heard an unusual usage at the hotel dining room just before we departed. The server, after we had eaten our meal, inquired, “How was the scallops after?” Where the “after” came from is a mystery. The language differences in the final analysis do not matter at all. Effective communication is always the goal--and there was never any difficulty communicating with the friendly people of Newfoundland!

There is much evidence throughout the province of the benefits from oil money. We met many people who have family members working “away,” especially at Fort McMurray. The money shows up in large, new houses—even in small fishing villages. Half-ton trucks are often parked in front of the new houses. Apparently, house prices in St. John’s have skyrocketed.

Everywhere, people are trying to cope with change. There are still major repercussions from the disastrous 1992 Cod Moratorium that put 30,000 people permanently out of work in one fell swoop and made the name of John Crosbie infamous. Unemployment is chronically high. The island’s population has only recently seen a modest increase after decades of slow decline. The increase is due to oil wealth, including the Hibernia off shore site and, of course, oil sands money. Also, former Premier Danny Williams instituted a $1,000 grant to parents for each child that is born in the province, jokingly called Danny Bucks.

The difficulty of dealing with change was forcefully brought home to us in Little Bay Islands as the people are dealing with an uncertain future. Almost certainly, the government offer of $250,000 per household will be accepted; and the villagers, including seniors who have never lived any other place in their lives, will move. Without ferry service, electricity, water and sewer, etc. life will be unsustainable.  The money does nothing to lessen the anxiety, however. Al Pittman, well respected in the province, has written poems and plays about the heartbreak of resettlement:

So the government paid us for movin’ away,


And leaving our birthplace for a better day’s pay;


They said that our poor lives would ne’er be the same,


Once we took part in the government game….

(From “The Government Game” by Newfoundland poet Al Pittman)

We were glad that we planned almost three weeks to visit the province. Even then, we were not able to get to the southwest region around Corner Brook. Newfoundland is a large province in every sense of the word. There is much to see and experience. Learning about all the historical sites alone could easily take months. It’s a big place with a big heart.

Alas, Last Day In Newfoundland

Sunday, July 21

Much of our last full day in this wonderful province was spent walking in downtown St. John's. We woke up later this morning than on any other day and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast in the lounge. Happily, a very loud, ill-mannered child who had been present on other occasions was absent.

Our stroll began down at the waterfront below the Sheraton where there is a lovely tribute to and statue of Terry Fox who dipped his artificial leg into the Atlantic Ocean at this spot and set off on a history-making journey. 

We made our way down the waterfront to the War Memorial that occupies an open area between Duckworth and Water Streets. It has to be one of the most beautiful war memorials anywhere. The design is semi-circular. The five figures were designed by two English sculptors and were cast in bronze by E.J. Parlanti from England. These figures represent Newfoundland's involvement in World War I.

At the top of the central pedestal is a figure of a woman, symbolizing Newfoundland's willingness to serve in the war effort. She is holding a torch in her left hand. In her right hand, she holds a sword. From the sides of the central pedestal, two wings of granite protrude. On the west wing, representing the Newfoundlanders who joined the Newfoundland Royal Naval Reserve, is a sailor holding a spyglass. On the east wing, representing the men of The Royal Newfoundland Regiment, is a soldier in full battle gear, loading his rifle, and looking ahead.

Out in front, on the lower pedestal, are fishermen and a lumberjack, symbolizing the Newfoundlanders who served with the Merchant Marine and the Forestry Corps. Over their heads is a granite cross. Below, is a bronze plaque stating that the memorial was erected by "a grateful people to honour its war dead". Similar plaques were added on both sides of the pedestal to commemorate the Newfoundlanders who died in World War II, the Korean War, and the War in Afghanistan. We noticed that in the evening the flat area in front of the memorial is a favourite place for skate boarders to show off their prowess. No one seems to mind, and they are respectful not to leave litter.

There are some very colourful houses on Gower Street. You see them on several streets in the downtown area, but the greatest concentration is along this particular street. Unlike neighbourhoods in some over-regulated communities where all the houses must be the same boring colour and style, in St. John's anything goes! Green, blue, purple, red--all side by side--make for a lively street scene. Some of the houses have been renovated and look quite upscale--others not so much.


Because it was Sunday, the two largest churches in town were serving their parishioners; therefore, we did not have an opportunity to go inside and study them closely. The Anglican Cathedral of St. John the Baptist had its cornerstone installed in 1847 and is now a Heritage Site. It suffered damage in the catastrophic 1892 fire, which left  one-third of the citizens--10,000 people--homeless. Major reconstruction had to be done. It is described as one of the finest examples of ecclesiastical Gothic architecture in North America. Also busy, was the Basilica of St. John the Baptist, a Catholic church with two twin towers. A National Historic Site, this church was built between 1841 and 1855 in the Romanesque style. Both churches have spectacular stained glass windows.

Over the years, St. John's has been the victim of three great fires: two in 1817, and one in 1892. The latter fire started in a hay stable. At its height, the heat was so intense that it melted glass in windows throughout the city. 

Quidi Vidi is a former fishing village just outside St. John's. There is a lake which attracts walkers and joggers and can be circumnavigated in about one hour. The highlight was a visit to the Quidi Vidi Brewery. Cathy and John had the guide to themselves for the 1:00 pm tour. Chris is a personable young man, who sketched in the history of the village and told the story of the origin of the brewery. It seems two engineering students, Dave Rees and Dave Fong at MUN, were keen to save money so conspired with the janitor to brew beer in a storage closet in the dormitory. To no one's surprise, they were caught by the authorities and expelled from the dorm in their first semester. They graduated but always had a penchant for brewing beer. In 1996, they started a micro-brewery, the first in Newfoundland. The building was a former fish plant that closed after the fateful 1992 cod moratorium. Quidi Vidi Brewery has been a phenomenal success. They could sell more beer (after all, Newfoundlanders drink 10 million dozen bottles of beer a year! That seems a huge amount, but Chris assured us it is true.), but the building has no room to expand. The result is that their very good beer can only be purchased in Newfoundland. They produce seven types of beer--all good--including their trademark beer, Iceberg, which is sold in distinctive blue bottles. It is actually made from water harvested from icebergs near St. Anthony! Two of their beers have won international awards: a gold medal for British India Pale Ale, and a silver for Eric Cream Ale. Visitors on the tour can sample all seven brands--only an ounce or two of each!  It was really a delight to have the tour guide to ourselves. There are only 20 employees at the brewery, who become jack-of-all-trades. Chris conducts tours, works in accounts, delivers beer around the province, etc. One gets the impression that there is great employee loyalty at Quidi Vidi Brewery. 

A late lunch on Water Street at Nautical Nellies, then off to the airport hotel to relax before an early morning flight home to Saskatoon, via Toronto. 

Terry Fox Memorial

Entrance to Quidi Vidi Harbour

Colourful Houses on Gower Street

Quidi Vidi Harbour

Anglican Cathedral of St. John the Baptist

Seven types of beer made at Quidi Vidi Brewery

Newfoundland War Memorial

   

A Leisurely Day in St. John's

Saturday, July 20

What is billed as a complimentary continental breakfast in the hotel is anything but. There were scrambled eggs, cold cuts, cheeses, as well as an assortment of cereals, bagels and pastries. Plus, Starbucks coffee.

When we stopped by Heather and Jason's for coffee later this morning, Heather and Cathy went across the street to a farmers market where Cathy bought sea salt that is manufactured in NL. 

Heather and Jason are expecting their first child any day. We kidded them that they are holding off so they can have their first child the same day as Kate and William.

Most of our day was spent at The Rooms, a magnificent multi-purpose facility just above the downtown area. Part museum, part art gallery and part provincial archives, it is a brilliantly designed and laid out building. Its red roof makes it visible from many parts of the city. Its exterior pays homage to the early fishing industry--the "rooms" look like giant stages (the box-llke sheds where fishermen brought the cod to be cleaned, filleted, salted, washed and dried). The interior is sensational--soaring roof lines and huge open spaces with steel, marble and glass. It's ultra contemporary as contrasted to the historical-looking exterior. The place exudes confidence in Newfoundland's future. (It should: it will probably take decades to pay for the gigantic building where no expense was spared.) The displays in the museums are extraordinarily well done--they are attractive, user-friendly, informative and intelligently planned. The use of technology in the displays is effective but not intrusive. The exhibits encompass the history of the province: pre-dating the aboriginal peoples through the various tribes, the brief period of Norse exploration 1000 years ago, the beginnings of the fishing industry by itinerant fishers from Portugal, England and France, to outposts--in short the history of the island right up to the 1992 cod moratorium that put 30,000 people out of work and effectively ended the industry.

The highlight of The Rooms is a magnificent retrospective exhibition of the work of Newfoundland artist Mary Pratt. She is justly praised for her extraordinary talent of seeing meaning in everyday items (a bowl of fruit, a fire in a trash barrel, a turkey covered with aluminum, jars of homemade jam, a cod on a piece of saran wrap). She is brilliant in her use of point of view and light. Some paintings, such as a sliced pomegranate, are luminous with shades of red. She is the artistic equivalent of the American poet Emily Dickinson who could invest meaning in everyday items. Newfoundlanders have every right to be proud of her, even though she was born in New Brunswick. She is a wonderful artist.

The permanent collection at The Rooms art gallery has some excellent work by The Group of Seven, especially A Y Jackson. The poor old Mendel in Saskatoon looks pretty shabby in comparison.

There is a very good restaurant at The Rooms; it serves creative food such as grilled portobello mushroom sandwiches with other grilled veggies and a sun-dried tomato dressing. The smoked salmon sandwich was also terrific.

No visit to St. John's is complete without a visit to Signal Hill. It is located 600 feet above the city. The granite fortress with five foot walls was built in 1897 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of John Cabot's landing at St. John's. More interesting, however, is the knowledge that this is the site where Guglielmo Marconi received the first Trans-Atlantic wireless message in 1901. Unfortunately, the powers that be in Newfoundland at the time were a bit tardy in wooing Marconi and he ended up doing the bulk of his later work in Cape Breton where the mayor and all the VIPs welcomed him with open arms when he arrived by ship to scout out the place. Cathy noticed in today's newspaper that it is the anniversary of Marconi's death in 1935. That takes care of trivia for today.

The wind at the top of Signal Hill is unrelentingly fierce. We happened to be there when some men dressed in 17th century military costumes were firing a ceremonial cannon. It took three attempts--the wind kept blowing out the lighting device which was made to look like a replica of the original. Perched on top of a platform, the men had to physically brace themselves against the wind.  Frommers' Guidebook says that the winds are often so strong that visitors are not allowed on the roof of the Tower: "The winds here can get very high and could literally pull a small child out of your arms." 

Back at the hotel we made a dinner reservation at Get Stuffed, a rather vulgar-sounding name for a highly regarded restaurant--and then availed ourselves of the hospitality room for club members: complimentary snacks like shrimp and tangy meatballs, plus an array of veggies, fruit, cheeses, crackers etc. It's all very decadent--but we know we'll be back to the real world soon enough so we're enjoying it while it lasts--or in the memorable words of a hockey player from Outlook who is playing in the pro leagues in Norway, "We're going to ride this bull til it bucks us off."

Dinner at Get Stuffed was excellent: steamed mussels, pan fried cod with scrunchions (tiny pieces of pork fat that are deep fried. They sounds vomitous but are quite tasty. They are traditionally served with cod.), and salmon with a fruit salsa. The place is called Get Stuffed because, as well as regular-sized portions, they also serve portions that are 50% larger! Regular portions are generous. Get stuffed portions must qualify for gluttony.

Entrance of The Rooms

Foyer of The Rooms

Signal Hill ceremonial cannon 

Signal Hill from below

Cathy checking out Marconi's handiwork

Cape Spear seen from Signal Hill

St. John's

Friday, July 19

Daily, it becomes increasingly apparent that time is passing rapidly; we are running out of time on our Newfoundland vacation so must plan to make the most of our remaining days in St. John's.

Witless Bay where we stayed in our last B&B (and where we had a wonderful breakfast this morning) is about 30 minutes from the Capital. We knew that we would have lots of time to go on the 9:30 am Ecotour whale and bird watching excursion before we set off for St. John's. Overall, the whale watching was great. A zodiac is a much better boat to see whales from than the larger boat with a second level perched on top such as we had at St. Anthony. Because it is so open and low in the water, all passengers must wear survival suits (bulky coverall-like garments in a lurid shade of orange--presumably making you easier to spot if you fall overboard).  The zodiac is faster and nimbler, especially when it is necessary to follow a parallel course to the whales or to anticipate a spot to head them off. Our captain was superb--he never seemed to alarm the humpback whales and he was good anticipating where they would surface. To begin, we spotted a single humpback which wasn't very cooperative in terms of allowing us to approach closely. We managed a few photos from a distance, then set out past the harbour opening to the ocean. It took only a few minutes before we saw the "blow" from a pair of humpback whales. The captain recognized them from previous days and drew close to allow passengers to take some close up pictures. We were close enough to see their eyes and the barnacles on the tails. In fact, one of them passed under the zodiac. Submerged 10 or 15 feet, humpbacks present a greenish colour which makes it easy to follow them. As they surface, they blow water 15 to 20 feet into the air then gracefully breach--sometimes the head is visible; always the long back emerges in a graceful arch. If the whale is going to dive deep, it powers its nose deep into the water and the remainder of the body appears and disappears until the tail fins appear briefly--and the whale is gone for a few minutes until it repeats the entire process. Sometimes they will appear and disappear several times--before disappearing for ten or more minutes. Whether they are concerned by the presence of the zodiac, it is hard to say. They have to be aware of the boat since it is so close. 

The tour ended with the boat slowly circling an island which is the summer nesting site for several species of birds--notably gannets, murres and puffins. The boat went close enough that we were able to see fuzzy gannet chicks perched precariously on narrow ledges. The puffins burrow into the grassy part at the top of the cliff. At Cape St. Mary's we saw birds from above; today we saw them from boat level. Both viewpoints had special appeal. 

We were very happy with the tour. St. Anthony's boat tour was okay--today's experience was marvellous.

We ate lunch at Petty Harbour. One of the signs that you are getting closer to St.John's is that the restaurants offer healthier food--e.g. salads, as opposed to everything deep fried. At St. Mary's, John had a seafood platter where every item on the plate was battered and deep fried: cod, shrimps, cod tongues, scallops and of course potatoes!

Cape Spear, a few km south of St.John's was our last stop of the day. Its claim to fame is two-fold: (1) it has the oldest existing lighthouse in North America--built in 1832, and (2) it is the eastern most point in North America. The lighthouse is almost identical to one in Bona Vista--except in Bona Vista you can climb the stairs to the top where the actual lights/reflectors are. As you stand at the tip of the boardwalk leading down from the lighthouse, you are closer to Greenland, Iceland, Ireland and Portugal than you would be at any other spot in the Americas. As you stand with your back to the east (Europe), you look westward, as countless immigrants have done, to a land full of promise. Cape Spear was heavily fortified in WW II to protect St. John's Harbour from Nazi ships and submarines. Two large cannons can still be seen in the concrete bunkers.

We plan to enjoy St. John's. We are staying at the Sheraton--the priciest joint in town. Normally, we would never stay here, but they had a deal: pay the regular rate the first night, then pay the amount of the year you were born on the next two nights--e.g. $85 if you were born in 1985. Needless to say, we are claiming John's year of birth for the discount. Then we got upgraded to the executive floor with complimentary hors d'oeuvres in the afternoon and complimentary breakfast in the morning! The huge window affords a view of St. John's Harbour. What a way to end vacation!

We had dinner at Bacalao, a place the markets itself as serving "Nouvelle Newfoundland Cuisine." It took 40 minutes to walk there, although the reservations lady said 20. Of course, it is uphill--what isn't in St. John's?--and we arrived exhausted and overheated. Had we known, we would have taken a cab. The food is imaginative. For example, we shared a Jigg's cabbage roll as a starter. It has all the ingredients of Jigg's dinner: potatoes, carrots, mashed dried peas, cabbage and salted beef. It was rolled in cabbage and served with mustard pickle. We had demi tasses of a lively gazpacho. For her main course, Cathy had seared halibut with green lentils in a saffron-vanilla sauce. It was very good. John's salt cod with thai sauce was not so good. There was almost no cod--the signature ingredient of the dish. It was sent back to the kitchen.

We walked down George Street on the way home to the hotel--the street where pubs are open until 3:00 am. It's a lively place. Duckworth Street and Water Street, the two main streets downtown, are a bit run down in places. There are a number of boarded up windows and doors. The nice touch is that they do not have large chain stores that sell shoes, clothing, food, etc down town. Small, privately owned businesses seem to constitute the main shops.

There is a chance it will rain tomorrow--if so, we have plan B ready to roll.
We'll visit two cathedrals and the art gallery at the Rooms. Cathy will shop.

In survival suits ready to spot whales.

Humpback whale breaching.

The "blow" is visible in the distance.

Nesting gannets.

Cape Spear Lighthouse

Cape Spear, the closest point in North America to Europe

Cape Spear

The Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spear

Touring Excavation Site at Avalon Colony in the Rain

Thursday, July 18

The Claddagh Inn B&B serves a very nice breakfast--although we had to be finished by 9:00 to beat a planned power outage. It seems a transformer on a pole had to be replaced. Everyone was notified--making it the big news story of the week in St. Mary's. Homemade granola with yogurt and cranberries preceded delicious berry filled crepes.

Patrick our host suggested that we might see whales outside the causeway at St. Vincent's which is about 15 minutes from St. Mary's. Having been disappointed before, we were a bit dubious--and it turns out we were right. There wasn't a whale in sight. Instead, we witnessed a fascinating feeding frenzy of gannets along the shoreline. Their numbers were far short of the thousands we had seen the previous day at Cape St. Mary's, but we were able to stand in the fierce wind on the shore and watch them decimate the capelin stocks. Constantly in motion, these elegant birds swoop with the wind and seem to poise motionless against the wind. When they spot a capelin, there is a brief second of awkwardness as they tip their wings and dive like fighter jets into the water. Completely submerged for a few seconds, they bob to the surface, flex their wings and make a graceful and effortless rise off the water. Had it not been for a very strong wind, we could have spent an hour or more watching the spectacle.  

The landscape on the southern part of the Avalon Peninsula is markedly different from other parts of the island we have visited. There are few trees, so the rolling hills look barren and a little desolate. One could imagine fields of wheat or hay blowing in the breeze--except the land is mainly bog where little grows except moss and other plants that don't mind the acidic soil. 

Trepassey was a little disappointing. It is spread along both sides of a narrow bay, but there is not much of interest. We had hoped to see the Amelia Earhart     exhibit or at least some evidence that she begun her flight across the Atlantic Ocean here on May 20, 1932--becoming the first woman pilot to cross the Atlantic Ocean solo. She predicted that she would complete the journey in 15 hours and she did. In keeping with the fine old Newfoundland tradition of deigning to use signs, we looked carefully for any indication about Earhart--but saw nothing. There might well be a sign, but we never saw it, in spite of looking closely. Once again, par for the course.



Just as the road through Portugal Cove turns north there is an interesting Interpretive Centre. It features video and displays about the oldest and most spectacular assemblage of fossils—the Mistaken Point assemblage (575 to 560 million years old)— preserved in the Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve. The Reserve is the only place in the world where you can view a 565-million-year-old sea floor that accurately preserves the ecology of these ancient deep sea communities. The area is awaiting confirmation as a UNESCO World Heritage property.

The creatures whose fossils now form the Mistaken Point assemblage lived on the bottom of a deep ocean, considerably below the depths that waves or light could reach. 

In normal conditions, when marine organisms die, only bones, shells, and other hard parts are preserved as fossils. The soft-bodied creatures at Mistaken Point lived millions of years before animals developed skeletons, but the imprints of their soft tissues were preserved in place on the muddy sea floor when they were suddenly buried by repeated volcanic ash-falls. The volcanic ash layers contain zircon, which makes it possible for geologists to accurately date the different fossil layers. This unique find made it necessary for geologists to create a the name for new era, the Ediacara biota period. We did not have time to do the 4 hour tour to the actual site with a guide--the only way visitors are allowed close to the valuable find.

Mistaken Point takes its name from the fact that sailors, in the dark or thick fog, thought that it was Cape Race and under the false security of that belief sailed full speed ahead--right onto the rocks. The Centre has pictures and accounts of ships that wrecked at Mistaken Point, including a Norwegian ship the Kristianiafjord SS which ran aground and was wrecked off Mistaken Point, 7nm W. of Cape Race, Nova Scotia on the 15th July 1917. No lives were lost.

The highlight of the day was a visit to the Avalon Colony at Ferryland. There is a very good display set up in a large building. The first permanent settlement was established in 1621 by George Calvert, who later became Baron Baltimore. He must have done something here to earn brownie points from King Charles I, although he only stayed here one year. A Newfoundland winter and sickness among most of the settlers convinced Calvert to move to Baltimore, Maryland, although to a less luxurious house. Artifacts at Avalon reveal that the Calvert family had silk clothing, elegant dishes and cutlery, and lots of wine. A flourishing settlement sprang up, complete with a blacksmith shop, Governor Calvert's house, smaller family dwellings, a garden and a busy fishing port. Things went well until a large French fleet bombarded then attacked and destroyed the settlement in 1696. No one was killed, but the place was razed to the ground. The settlers were taken to Placentia where most of them chose to return to England. The remains eventually became overgrown with soil and sparse vegetation--so much so that no one even knew of its existence until archaeologists began excavating the site about twenty years ago and found, to their amazement, ten of thousands of artifacts which have been unearthed and catalogued. The painstaking excavation, which is ongoing, has revealed much about the inhabitants--their food, their clothing, their eating utensils, the tools of everyday life, etc. Archaeologists and historians have a treasure trove of information about the life of early settlers. The Avalon Colony is the oldest permanent European settlement in North America. The Norse settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows was, of course, older--but it was not a permanent settlement.

Our tour of the Avalon Colony site was led by a very knowledgeable man. Visitors are not allowed near the excavation site unless accompanied by an official guide. The reason is obvious: it's easy to imagine boorish tourists trampling all over the place, disturbing valuable work and helping themselves to souvenirs. The only downside to our experience was constant rain and a strong wind that whipped our umbrella inside out. The guide, wanting to give us our money's worth, insisted on stopping and giving a thorough explanation of all 20 parts of the dig.  Nonetheless, it was a thoroughly interesting experience. 

Supper at The Captain's Table a km up the road was a welcome relief. There were actually several items on the menu that were not deep fried!

We are desperately hoping for fine weather (at least no wind or rain) when we go whale and bird spotting tomorrow morning at 9:30. We cannot seriously complain about today's rain--it is the first unpleasant weather since our arrival. Even the fog at Western Brook Pond last week lifted by noon.

Diving gannets at St. Mary's Bay

Excavation at Avalon Colony, Ferryland

Northern Gannets by the Thousands

Wednesday, July 17

The breakfast component of the Rosedale B&B is served at Phil's Cafe, about a ten minute walk from the house down a road and across an ancient platform bridge. The bridge deck can be raised about 30 feet to allow boats to pass through the gap. From the rusty appearance of the structure, it seems unlikely that it has been used for that purpose for some time. Adjacent to the old structure a construction crew is putting in pilings for a new $50 million bridge, much to the annoyance of the locals who find the old bridge suits them just fine. It's yet another example--in a long list--of government folly in Newfoundland. Later, at Cape St. Mary's Ecological Bird Reserve we discovered that Tony, an experienced guide who led tourists on fascinating walks to the cliffs for eighteen years, was given the axe by the government to cut costs.

Back to breakfast: Phil the cook/baker does up a very good breakfast for guests of the Rosedale. Bread (three choices) is made daily. Cathy had oatmeal porridge with blueberries (with delicious molasses-raisin bread), while John had a full breakfast which included baked ham.

Cape St. Mary's Ecological Reserve is about an hour south of Placentia on a winding, not-very-good highway. It's a pretty drive for the passenger, but not the driver who had to navigate up and down steep hills and around hair-pin turns all the while dodging potholes. The 13 km drive off the highway to the Reserve is on an extremely narrow road. I have no idea how two RVs would meet on the road. We slowed almost to a stop to meet oncoming vehicles.

Tens of thousands of birds are to be found nesting on the cliffs about one mile from the interpretation centre at Cape St. Mary's. Two unexpected sensory experiences happen as you get closer to the so-called Bird Rock: (1) the sound of thousands of bird actively going about their daily life is amplified and fills the amphitheatre-shaped curved bay, and (2) there is a distinctive, but not altogether unpleasant odour. Neither sensory experience should come as a surprise when one considers that there are literally thousands of birds entirely covering the dome-shaped Bird Rock and  nesting on the sheer cliffs on either side. The cliffs seem like a moving wall of white, even from a mile away. In the meantime, there are thousands of other birds which are airborne or looking for a landing spot on the over-crowded rocks. The birds seemed to have worked out an effective system to claim their ground space and negotiate the crowded sky. Air traffic controllers could take lessons from the birds which never seem to collide, although they fly at amazing speeds mere feet from each other. It is the most amazing place--there is constant movement and noise in every direction. Standing a couple of metres back from the lip of a 200 foot cliff is not for the faint of heart or those suffering from vertigo. 

The most prominent bird is the Northern Gannet. It has a long, pointed bill with a pale yellow head and neck. In flight they are characterized by black wing tips. Their wing spread is almost two metres. Chris, the pleasant and informative naturalist at the site, explained that gannets from here think nothing of flying as far as Greenland in search of food--capelin, herring and mackerel. They plunge from the sky at amazing speeds and sometimes from a height of 30 metres. The gannets have a hierarchy. The senior nesting birds (there are 5400 pairs) have priority on Bird Rock, while junior nesting pairs have to make do with the adjacent cliffs. Gannets arrive in March, breed and hatch their young. Both parents take care of the young--one is always on the nest while the other hunts for food which is regurgitated; the young plunge their heads into the long beaks of the parents to retrieve food. 

The other two species found in large numbers at Cape St.Mary's are murres and black-legged kittiwakes. The kittiwakes are white but with a shorter wingspan than the gannets. Murres, quite a bit smaller, have black heads and backs, with white breasts and bellies. They tend to sit on ledges and aren't as visible as the gannets. Other seabirds found here include cormorants and razorbills--although in the noise and confusion it was difficult for inexperienced birders such as us to identify them.  Chris, who seems almost to know the birds on a personal level, pointed out two murre chicks which were born a few days ago. 

The Ecological Reserve is an amazing place. It is easy to see that people who live close by could become avid bird watchers. For visitors, it is well worth the side trip on the narrow road. 

Tourism is a big industry in Newfoundland. Nonetheless, in some ways, the Islanders have a few obvious things that need improvement. Notably, there is a lack of adequate signs directing tourists to important sites. This afternoon, for example, on the way between Cape St. Mary's and St. Mary's (where our B&B is), we decided to stop at the Cataract Falls which is in a Provincial Park near Colinet. One would think that a provincial park would merit signs to assist tourists. The two cascading waterfalls are in a tall, narrow gorge. We spotted a sign, partially hidden behind trees that led us to a nondescript gravel road  with no indication if the falls were 100 metres away or 20 km! We finally stopped in a place where the road widened and parked the car. It turns out we were at the Falls--quite by accident--but there were no signs whatsoever to indicate that we had arrived. We have noticed elsewhere an absence of signs. In many cases, where they exist, signs are obscured by trees or bushes that have not been trimmed. 

We are staying at the Claddagh Inn, a new structure built on the site of the former St. Mary's Convent. It has five guest rooms and a small Irish pub which has an impressive selection of single malt scotch. Some of the wood in the pub, the floor for example, comes from the nunnery. Patrick and Carol, retired from the RCAF, bought the B&B in 2011 and have worked hard to make it a popular tourist destination. They also serve lunch and dinner (but not on Wednesday and Thursday evenings--which is too bad since we were looking forward to a good meal). TripAdvisor rates this B&B highly. For dinner, we are reluctantly going to the only other eating place in the area, a typical Newfoundland pub where virtually everything is deep friend and comes with chips. There is a pronounced tendency, except in very high end restaurants, for much of the food in Newfoundland to be deep fried. 

Fog lifting at Placentia Harbour

Bird Rock from a distance

Gannets on Bird Rock

Gannets in flight

Kittiwakes on ledges

Cataract Falls