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Published: January 14th 2015
Point Amour Lighthouse
Graceful structure on the edge of the continent8:45 p.m. I am sitting in the laundromat that closes at 9:00, ardently hoping that at least the washing is done in time. We have two nights here, and if drying has to happen in my room, it would be feasible. In some ways I do have enough clothes to last the rest of the trip, but somehow several things I brought don’t work so well for this trip.
This morning I climbed the lighthouse at
L’Anse Amour, the second tallest lighthouse in Canada. It is one of four lighthouses that made the
Strait of Belle Isle reasonably navigable in the late 19
th century. Two families lived in the house attached to the lighthouse and tended it through its working lifetime. The building has been lightly restored, just enough for safety. 132 stairs take you up 109 feet. The staircase is circular, of course, until near the top where two ladders complete the climb. The effort was not as considerable as imagined, because every twenty or so stairs, there was a landing. The guide stopped on each landing to provide some of the history, giving all a chance to catch their breath. The structure goes thirty feet into the bedrock, and the walls start at
6 feet thick and at the top are four feet thick. A 200-watt bulb lights the Fresnel lens, shining miles into the darkness. After reaching the ground again, we all felt strangely exhilarated.
On the way to the ferry we stopped at “Chez Barney”, to buy lunch, if wanted. It was a relatively large general store stocked with goods ranging from fresh vegetables and household staples to lots of inexpensive liquor and every sort of junk food. We all bought stuff.
Once again we were on the 1:00 ferry and once again I sat outside to breathe fresh air. Fortunately, today the temperature was warmer and my bench was in the full sun. Probably my new Labrador hoodie helped keep me warm, too. The sea was completely calm with only tiny swells. Mainly I watched
Gannets and small brown birds fly low over the sea looking for fish to catch. I saw two whales, if a passerby was to be believed, that the dorsal fin gently plowing through the water did indeed indicate a small whale. The sky, a line of fog, distant Newfoundland and the sea were all abstractly blue, blending into each other.
Our afternoon
Arches Provincial Park
Geological time, almost in action journey was a repeat of yesterday’s morning journey, in the opposite direction, of course. One splendid variation was a stop at “
The Arches ”, huge rocks left by the retreat of the glaciers. The sea has been pounding them into sand every since. Several appealing arches have been carved into them, the surfaces quite sharp in spite of the polishing effects of the water. All around them, the varicoloured granite stones, which form a beach, have been polished to gentle smoothness. Beautiful to photograph; slippery to walk on!
Michael and Barry surprised us with “happy hour” on the grass verge. We enjoyed beers, wine and juice as the sun warmed the air and the light turned golden. Conversation is never in short supply.
Our destination of
Cow Head is named thus for one of two reasons: lots of female seals once congregated there, or the headland looks like the head of a seal, i.e., nothing to do with animals on four feet.
I was surprised as we pulled into the
Shallow Bay Motel. Several buildings form the accommodation and there are two theatres. Young actors perform every night, and there were four tour buses parked here. Before dinner (on our own),
Arches Beach
Stones from fist-sized to penny-sized I took advantage of the small swimming pool and hot tub. For dinner I was tempted by one of the other tour members to order the chicken wings special – really well done and all cooked fresh for each order. Plus, the garden salad was served on a dinner plate with a good variety of salad vegetables.
Then I rushed over to the laundromat, assured by the front desk receptionist that my small load wouldn’t take much time. At 9:00, twenty minutes ago, a hotel staff member showed me how to close up when I am done.
Map of the trip to date.
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