Change in plans! The sky is clear and the forecast looks good for today but rain tomorrow so we decided last night to cancel today and head out for the Northern Tip. The owner was kind enough to refund us one night.
We left around 9 am under sunny sky and a tail wind; we headed north on 430. We stopped at the “Provincial Arches Park” and looked around and took a couple pictures then were on our way again. At “Port au Choix”, we turned in and went to look at the National Historic Site. This area was populated by three different types of people, Eskimos, Indians and Icelanders over the centuries lasting over 3,000 years. There is also an archeological dig going on to this day, discovering all kinds of artifacts and left over villages. A few artifacts were on display at the Visitor Centre. We also watched a 12 minutes film on the history of the area. We left and had to drive back to 430 then headed north again. At St-Barbe, we saw the ferry to Labrador at the dock and also Labrador coast across the Strait of Belle-Isle. The road became quite rough from here all the way to Eddies Cove where we headed inland. I stopped for fuel @ $1.42. I was told that prices either go up or down once a week every Wednesday in NFLD as regulated by the government. We finally arrived at our Park, “Triple Falls RV Park” and set up after paying $56 for two nights for electricity and water; no sewer. There’s supposed to be access to WIFI where we are parked but there is no signal so we have to go to the office. We went to town after setting up and checked out the place. We drove to the end of 430 and found a restaurant called “The Lightkeeper”; it was a very interesting place with an area near the restaurant that was buried as a Viking hut and inside was a restaurant and a theatre where they put on shows every Sundays for $48 each which includes a dinner fit for a Viking King! It all sounded very appealing but unfortunately we won’t be here Sunday. We drove to the Harbour and took a look at the “Enterprise”, a huge shrimper. We came back to our site after stopping at the Legion for a quick beer and had dinner home.
As we drove up, we saw lots of piles of wood
ready to be cut; we also saw small garden plots, at times miles from towns and
well kept. We learned that it is quite
normal for this part of the Province as fertile land is scarce. I also became to respect the people who live
here; it is a harsh environment. I am
disappointed that we never saw any moose but I am still holding my hopes
high! The other thing that I find
surprising is the cost of fish; it is very expensive considering that it is
harvested nearby. I was told the
fishermen get very little but the retailers get all the profits and the market
will bear the high cost...it really is too bad!
N 51* 26.171
W
055* 38.202Alt: 132’
We drove30 miles (375 Km) in 4.5 hrs at 53Mph average. We stopped 1.5 hrs.
It rained overnight and now it is overcast and windy and 12*C at 7AM. We’ve been on the Island one week today. I decided to take Val out for breakfast so we left under cloudy sky and a cold wind. We drove to Raleigh on Hwy 437 but unfortunately the restaurant was closed so we drove to Cape Onion, looked around, took some pictures then drove back to 436 and turned North again to Quirpon where we stopped at “The Catch of the Day” restaurant and had lunch. I had the “fish and brewies” which is salted cod, dried Pork soften by the pork and bread. Interesting dish but glad I didn’t order the meal, it was kind of bland! Val had the fish chowder and loved it. We explored the area after eating then drove to Anse au Meadows National Historic Park and a full view of the Atlantic Ocean. The grounds and display were really interesting and we walked the whole thing. There were guides dressed in Viking who gave us a good show for our money...took lots of pictures! Afterwards, we drove down the road to where they had an actual Viking (Norse people as they were known) village with real animals (pig, chicken and a lamb), a church, a house, stores and a blacksmith house. There was also a real Viking boat, 60 feet long, in a shed which volunteers sailed back from Greenland in 87 days. There were guides dressed in the era and full of information; three ladies were knitting in one hut and as I walked in, they took one look at me in my shorts and decided to make me a pair of pants; one of them was looking for a husband as hers went overboard in a boat accident (as she explained). Anyway, we had a couple pictures taken then I left before the situation became any more serious. I wasn’t getting help from Val either! The sun came out in the afternoon and we enjoyed it as much as we could. It even warmed up to a balmy 15*C! We stopped for lunch at the “Norseman” a seafood restaurant and I had a scallop salad and Val a crab quesadilla
This completes our most Northern point ( N 51*
36.1’) in Newfoundland and the exploration of the Northern Peninsula. I fuelled in St-Anthony for $1.42 then we
came back to our site for the night. I
got a call from my son who is now in Quebec.
He will be there for a week then returning home to BC. His girlfriend, Debbie, is back from England
so he sounded happy.
We left around 8:30 AM under sunny sky. We drove back the same way we came up; there is an interior road but we were told there wasn’t much to see. As we pulled along the West Coast, we could clearly see Labrador across the Strait. It appeared very close in fact. The road from here down to the ferry crossing is quite rough so we took our time, going as slow as 50 KMPH at times. We stopped for coffee at a small community and I proceeded to spill a full cup of coffee on the counter and the register. After profusely apologizing, we got the hell of there before I did anymore damage or they discover that the register didn’t work anymore. We stopped in Rocky Harbour for fuel, $1.39/Litre and had lunch here. The drive down was absolutely fantastic with very little traffic. The Strait was calm and not a ripple on the Sea.
We drove to Deer Lake and since it was still early, we decided to continue on TCH 1 East. We stopped at a place on the highway but they were full, I should have known, what with being a week-end. Anyway, we continued to Badger where we stopped for the night at Catamaran RV Park. We are in the overflow with water and 30 amps. The drive from Deer Lake to here was somewhat boring and long. The Hwy was good but there was very little to see except trees and more trees. Tonight, in the Park, it is Halloween in August but unfortunately, we have no candies for the little bandits and ghosts so we improvising with healthy food.
I called Twillingate and made reservations for
tomorrow and Monday. We plan on
exploring from there. We are now in the Central Region of Newfoundland!
We
drove 360 miles (585 Km) in 6.5 hrs at an average 55 MPH. We were stopped for an hour total.
N 49* 03.080’W 056* 04.984
Alt: 454 feet
No comments:
Post a Comment