Wild Cove and Francois

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We got out of Grey River.
Our plan was to wait for high tide and then go out the mouth of the fiord with it, but the sun was shining out on the ocean and we'd had enough. We didn't even wait for the ferry and ended up accompanying it to the narrows.
We weren't a hundred percent on what the weather would do but as we cleared the mouth we were treated to incredible sunlight. Anything coming would be seen by us in advance. The winds were strongish but not unmanageable, the waves were big, but we'd dealt with that before, i was nervous but i got over it, and man, it felt amazing to be out on the water again, especially now that the ocean once again seemed like our friend. We sailed by the worst stretch of coastline, 14 miles with only one viable harbour, without a care in the world. We could see forever it seemed. Finally.
As if to make it all more perfect two dolphins leapt out of the water to our right, leaping and twisting their bodies as if in play. Not to be cliched, but this was pure magic. We were glowing for about an hour afterwards.
no pics of that either, sorry.
We rounded the big, the beautiful Cape La Hune. We coasted into the stunning white sand crescent of Wild Cove. It looked tropical. We ate and admired the perfect bay with its turquoise waters, rock pinnacles, waterfall, and dark blue lake. I was so happy i was running around in the sand like a four year old. We went on an amazing, epic hike up the mountain behind us (where Rob got a little climbing fix) where every step revealed an even more amazing view. We could see the entire headland of Cape La Hune, look deep into the Fiord behind, gaze at the cliffs of Aviron Rock. We took the long way home, stopping to gorge ourselves on the first real outcropping of blueberries we'd seen, which of course were the best blueberries that anyone has ever eaten in the history of the world (they really were amazing) and we were obsessively addicted to eating them for about half an hour. We even found a beautiful rocky pond where we were able to swim (briefly, it was damn cold) and finally rid ourselves of the unbelievably pungent smell we'd both acquired. (i didn't know people, let alone myself, could smell that bad) I got all excited about some insects i'd never seen and Rob climbed some more cliffs and we got stuck coming down and had to bushwack through some of the thickest newfoundland gnarled forest to make it back to the beach. A little complicated, but we made it. This is what its all about. To have arrived, using only the wind and your own muscle, to one of the most beautiful places i have ever been, miles from roads, cars, tourists, where all the frustration and rain and difficulty only seems to make it more worthwhile--this is what its all about.

We now were faced with a decision. The clouds of Grey River, the fear of the storms, all of it seemed long ago and far away. Finally i was really up for adventure. Hermitage was about 35 miles away. Could we make a run for it? We wanted to check out some fiords that looked amazing on the map. Even more importantly, we just wanted to keep going. We also wanted the pleasure of staying in this beautiful harbour for a night. But, it was sunday. We still didn't know the ferry schedule. We thought (and turned out to be right) that the ferry only went to hermitage on thursday. Which meant getting to francois thursday night, then burgeo friday, then hitching to rose blanche, driving back to port aux basques saturday, then driving for two and a half days home. Or we could hitch from Hermitage... three 12 hour trips.
We wanted isolation, and we got it, with everything that goes along with it.
So we sadly packed up and went to Francois, hoping to find out about an earlier ferry but knowing it was unlikely. It was a beautiful sail. There was very little wind and the swells were gentle. Peaceful thoughts came easy, but we were both sad.

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Photos

blueberries
harmless berry or addictive drug?