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Published: September 16th 2022
Homemade anchor
Amazing inginuity. The day started early but at least it wasn’t 5:00am like the Labrador days. But we had a long drive ahead of us as we planned to overnight in Gander. It is one of the tricky parts of the Newfoundland experience; there is only one road that criss-crosses the country and the things we want to see are spread out.
The first stop on our day’s adventure was the whaling station at King’s Point. Here we learned not just about whales but also about attempts to create an “All Red Line” to link the British Empire by telegraph in the late 1800s. There also was an attempt to link the Empire by railroad including sailing in the Fog Free Zone. The Lusitania used to call in here on a regular basis. Hard to imagine when you see the size of the South West Arm.
We stopped at Appleton where they had built a peace park in memory of the events of 9/11. Gander, of course, was where so many planes were diverted after American air space was closed back in 2001. The anniversary was just a few days away.
We finally arrived at our destination hotel and had
Traveller's friend
Can't have too many of these when you are on a long bus trip. We didn't use the Liquor Express but the washrooms were certainly welcome. a few minutes to refresh ourselves before being whisked away to a hall where our dinner was served. The tour had arranged a musical group for our entertainment, and we were entertained. Mind you, we had been on the bus so long that me singing karaoke might have been entertaining.
The Baie Verte peninsula We headed north the next morning, up the Baie Verte peninsula, to Boyd’s Cove where there is an interpretive centre dedicated to the earlier indigenous Beothuk settlement. I had never heard of this group of people, so it was a real eye opener. You were encouraged to write something about a person or place that meant something to you and hang it in the Spirit Garden where there were hundreds of other such tokens. They never remove them. Very thoughtful place.
On to Twillingate at the very top of the peninsula. What will we see there? No, not another museum, but TWO museums! One was in the old rectory built in 1915. It was very well done. The Wooden Boat Museum where they are actively building wooden boats was next and many of us bought tickets on a beautiful dory they had built
It's not cappuccinos but....
even coffee can be a welcome treat when you are on the road. One of them is for my camera operator. and were raffling off. We were all joking about how we would get it home if we actually won the thing. I said we didn’t have to worry because we weren’t going to win anyway. The guy building the next sample boat said most people just donate it back to the museum and get a $5,000. tax receipt. Now we all want to win it! There were lots of dispays about the different types of sailing ships which I found particularly interesting being a landlubber.
The Auk Island winery was next on the agenda but we didn’t partake in the tasting. I have enough trouble staying awake on the bus. Many of the tour members enjoyed it so that was fine with us.
We did a pit stop at the Gander airport. It was the centre of a lot of activity during WWII and the runways are huge. This of course, made it ideal for diverting the planes on 9/11. It is a large airport terminal but was not that busy when we were there.
We just had the one night in Gander so even though we were back in town, we weren’t finished with travel. The
Whale skeleton
The interpreter mentioned that the whale skeleton was shipped to Alberta for assembly. Apparently they have some knowledge of putting old skeletons together. They didn't mention where but the betting is the Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller. A sign read "The Humpback of Notre Dame". I like this place. last leg took us through Terra Nova National Park but we got to enjoy it from the bus. At last, we arrived in Clarenville, our home for the next two nights.
The Bonavista Peninsula Two nights in Clarenville. Bonus because we don’t have to have our bags outside our door at 6:30. Today’s run was up the Bonavista Peninsula The first stop was in Port Union near Trinity Bay North where we toured the building where The Fishermen’s Advocate was published in the 1920s. Sir William Coaker was an unknown to most of us, but his life story is fascinating. What he did with the F.P.U. (Fishermen’s Protective Union) starting in 1908 was incredible. The Advocate started in 1910 and in different forms published for many years. A guide took us through the printing area which was still set up the way it was when they shut down publishing. He was so interesting we could have spent all day there. We didn’t get to see everything because he showed us so much detail. Well worth a visit if you are in the area.
As we got closer to Cape Bonavista we made a stop at Dungeon Provincial
South West Arm/Kings Point
Hard to imagine ships the size of the Luisitania docking here. Park. It’s a very small area with more of those natural arches. As we were standing at the top looking down, we could see where they got the name.
At last, we arrived at Cape Bonavista and what did we see? Another lighthouse! This one was painted with vertical red and white stripes so at least it was different. But there is always something intriguing about lighthouses, trying to imagine what it would have been like living and working in one of these outposts. This is where Giovanni Caboto landed in 1497. One of our stops was a sad visit to the monument commemorating the 1914 Sealing Disaster where 251 men and boys died on the ice during a seal hunt. Reading the displays and reading about it online later really highlighted how tough life was in the early 19
th century.
The next washroom break was announced as Trinity which is a pretty town with lots of nice buildings and gift shops. Best of all, they had a great ice cream store. Made up for not having cappuccinos since we left home.
It was a tired but happy group that arrived back at the hotel. We have
Cod fishing
The cod is certainly king in this neck of the woods. been so well fed this trip that we opted to grab a snack at the Tim Horton’s next door and have an early night. It was perhaps the best day on the trip which is saying something because we have had some pretty good days. T
oBeContinued.
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