John and Cathy in Newfoundland 2013: Kittiwake Coast Trail to Twillingate

July 9

We had a great time at breakfast this morning visiting and comparing notes with three other traveling couples--one from Cold Lake, Alberta, another from near Virden, Manitoba and the third from Toronto (although they were originally from Manitoba). It's always interesting hearing about others' perceptions of places we've already visited, and to get their suggestions about what to see in places we are going to. We were having so much fun visiting that we had to discipline ourselves to finish breakfast and be on our way.

Ruth and Wayne, our Prints of Whales hosts served up a terrific breakfast. They also give guests a small framed print of a whale. He is a retired teacher and she is a retired nurse. He spent his entire career in Middle Cove and after retirement taught three years at Nain, the northernmost point in Labrador accessible by road. By the end of his career he was dealing with the absurdity of amalgamation. He said that the provincial government just passed legislation to put the schools for the entire province under one school board. Administrators, on the odd occasion when they do come out of their offices, will spend most of their earning hours in a car traveling across the province.

One of the women at breakfast is a good friend of a woman from Outlook--talk about the small world syndrome. She was in the bridal party at her wedding, and one of the men had golfed in Outlook.

In order to get onto the Kittiwake Trail (the scenic route) we sped along the TransCanada for about half an hour. The secondary highways in Newfoundland are okay--a bit like Saskatchewan. It seems that instead of repairing potholes they spend all their money on signs warning of Bumps Ahead. We have only seen one road crew since we left St. John's and they were repairing a stretch of about 100 metres.

A minor stop occurred at Gambo, the birthplace of Newfoundland's only Father of Confederation, Joey Smallwood, who led his countrymen kicking and screaming into becoming part of Canada. There is a museum with a bust of Joey, as well as a mock up of an office where a not-very-realistic dummy depicts Smallwood at a bookshelf. Always for the underdog, he was apparently inexhaustible in his quest to improve the lives of the outpost people. Not having a lot of time, we opted not to go into the main museum where, no doubt, videos of his speeches awaited us.

The major stop along the way was at Newtown, a pretty village that has created an impressive representation of life under the Barbour family, wealthy merchants who more or less ran the town. Two Barbour mansions, quite nicely restored, are open to the public. Guides dressed in period costumes conduct tours. There is also a typical fisherman's stage with flakes. The stages were sheds where fishing gear was stored and where individual fisherman brought their catch to be gutted and filleted, and where the salting and drying occurred. It was very labour-intensive work, and everyone in the family participated. There is also a replica of the Methodist School with a young woman taking on the role of the teacher. One of the items on the curriculum for Newtown children was their history, especially the heroic story of Captain John Barbour who, returning from a voyage to St. John's, unwisely set out on stormy seas. A series of misfortunes, including massive ice buildup on the sails and mast, as well as a broken rudder, resulted in the ship Neptune II being blown wildly off course and drifting in the Atlantic for 48 days. Incredibly, it found land in Tobermory, Scotland. Outfitted with an engine (to replace sails), the ship eventually made it home to Newtown. The story has taken on legendary proportions and is celebrated in song and story. There is also a new building at the site which shows the history of seal hunting, a change from most museums which are all about cod fishing. There is good information on the 1914 seal hunting disaster. Here is a summary from Newfoundland archives: "On 31 March 1914 the sealing vessel SS Southern Cross and its crew of 173 failed to arrive in St. John’s from the Gulf of St. Lawrence as scheduled. Two days later, an already anxious public learned that sealers with the SS Newfoundland had spent 53 hours stranded on the North Atlantic ice floes in blizzard conditions. With a combined death count of 251, the double tragedy caused widespread mourning and ultimately changed attitudes and legislation surrounding the Newfoundland and Labrador sealing industry. The government and public began to hold ship owners and captains more accountable for their crewmembers’ safety, and society began to examine its own responsibility toward the sealers." This is just one of many maritime disasters that affected the desperately poor fishermen on Newfoundland. It's no wonder they are such a tough and resilient people.

We arrived in Twillingate around 3:30 and easily found the Rum Runners B&B. While on the road, we received a call from Heiko, the owner, wondering why we were not there last night and wondering if we would be at the B&B tonight. It seems Heiko may have been waylaying the rum and taking a noggin or two without the runners noticing. As protection against such mix-ups, we had kept the email confirming our reservation for tonight. When we arrived, he wondered where the other couple was. It appears that he is eccentrically forgetful. One wonders how he makes any money. His wife had to go outside and change the NO VACANCY to VACANCY sign. We get the impression that the Rum Runners Roost doesn't cater to the same clientele as our previous B & Bs. Two signs in the room illustrate this: (1) Please do not peroxide or colour your hair in the room. (You don't want to find out how expensive towels and sheets are.) (2) Please! Do not put anything into the toilet unless you have eaten it first. (like diapers, etc.)

We visited another lighthouse on the tip of the peninsula north of Twillingate and paid a quick visit to the local museum which has a feature display on Georgina Ann Stirling a opera singer, known by her stage name Marie Toulinquet. Born in Twillingate, she became a world-renowned prima donna soprano who played in opera houses throughout Europe and United States. She was Newfoundland's first opera singer and became known as The Nightingale of the North. She returned home after her singing career, endearing her to the locals.

The restaurant where we had dinner tonight is called Georgie's after Georgina Stirling. It serves very good food done in imaginative ways.

Before we go to bed tonight we'll be checking the ferry schedule to find the best crossing time to Little Bay Island where we will be staying tomorrow. The island is in the throes of a major disruption to its way of life. Earlier this spring, urged and bribed by the provincial government, the 80 residents voted to re-locate on the mainland. The bribe was $270,000 per household. There should be some interesting stories and opinions.

Prints of Whales Bed and Breakfast in Sandringham

Fishing stage at Newtown

One of the tour guides at Barbour Living Heritage Village showing us a homemade anchor

Alphaeus Barbour build this Queen Anne-style mansion in 1904 for his wife after she lost her baby. She died shortly after and the cost of the house bankrupted him.