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Published: September 20th 2010
Our cottage
Southport CottageHello all, from Newfoundland, a province that now owns a little piece of both of mine and Rene's hearts. Where does one start to talk about such a wonderful island:
Here I am writing again from yet another ferry. Seems to be a good place to write, think and do some remininsing.
This time the ferry is the Argentia Ferry. This ferry is taking us from Newfoundland back to Sydney Nova Scotia.
This ferry ride is kinda sad for us. We have been in Newfoundland now for 2 weeks. We have seen some amazing
sights, smelled some interesting and some not so pleasant smells. We have heard some beautiful and some funny music. But most of all we have met some wonderful people.
I left off in my last blog about catching the ferry from North Sydney to Port Aux Basque. on Sept 03, 21010. Rene and I commented to each other that if the ferry ride was any indication of what was to come in Newfoundland we were in for an interesting time. There was a wonderfully colorful lounge on the ferry and it turned out that it was the lounge/bar area. As it turns out, many of the people
Southport
kayaking in the harbour on the ferry were native Newfoundlanders who hadn't been home in a long time and many of these folks were young men who are working and living in Alberta, but come home to Newfoundland for their vacation and special occasions. I think the special occasions start the minute they board the ferry. There was this fantastic entertainer on board who sang funny traditional songs and told some crazy newfie jokes. The rum and the beer were flowing freely and as the trip progressed the entertainer got louder, the men got tougher and of course the ladies got prettier.
Soon there was singing and dancing and at the end of the evening one man stood up to promptly fall straight back with
a mighty thud. (I don't think it was the rocking of the ferry???) Anyway it appeared he wasn't hurt, so we had a
secret little chuckle and it was time to dock. We docked at 2:00 am and thought we would drive just a ways and
find a place to lay our heads for the rest of the night and then continue on our way to our rented cottage the next morning. Well it turned out that there really
Southport
Just another view is no place to stop in the pitch darkness of Newfoundland until Corner Brook. We stopped at Tim Horton's in Corner Brook finally at about 5:00 am. Good thing Rene had a little sleep on the ferry. It was so cold and we needed gas. We got a coffee and had to wait until 6:00 am for the gas station to open. Gassed up and by then we decided that maybe we should just keep going and see how we felt as we carried on. Well--- Rene did super and carried on driving. I on the other hand absolutely could NOT keep my eyes open and for the next 3 hours or so I kept falling asleep on the bike. For those of you who have ever wondered if one can fall asleep on the
back of a motorcycle, I am here to testify that indeed one can fall asleep. Now I don't think I was ever in a
deep sleep, but I continuously kept nodding off and bonking my helmet against Rene's helmet. Of course we would crash heads and I would jolt awake. I tried so hard to stay awake, but it just wasn't happening. Rene told me
Southport
Just another view later that while he was driving he was thinking of a way to tie my ankles to the bike so I wouldn't fall off (how thoughtful eh?). At about 9:00 am we stopped for bacon and eggs at this WARM little roadside diner. The breaky and especially the hot coffee was delicious. After that I managed to stay awake for the next several hours. Rene kept saying that he was fine to keep driving so I left that to his discretion. FINALLY at about 3:00 pm we found our cottage in Southport
Newfoundland. We rode up to the cottage and knew that this was the exact spot we were hoping we would find.
We saw the cottage on the internet and had communicated with the owner and felt that it was exactly what we were
looking for and when we drove up and found it we were not disappointed. It was PERFECT!!!!! We were excited to
get settled. We unpacked our clothes and put them in a dresser!!! We we thrilled with the prospect of being alone
in our own "home", cooking full meals and sleeping in the same bed for more than 3 nights. So first things first,
we
Sunset at Southport
Can't get enough of this view fell into bed and had a well deserved nap. We slept until about 7:00 pm and went down to Harbour Couture. At
this home based fashion design house we met with Peggy and Viv. Viv is a born and bred newfie and Peggy is from
Nova Scotia, but is now a newfie. They are looking after Southport cottage for the owner when he is not there. We
sat and visited with them in their quaint little yard and learned a little about each other. Rene and I were still
exhausted, so we excused ourselves and went up the little hill to bed.
Sept 04, 2010 we woke up to one of the most amazing views of the land. Our front porch looks right into this
beautiful, quaint little harbour. We sat outside with our coffee and knew without a doubt, we had choosen well. Although we didn't want to leave our "home" we did need to get some groceries, so off we went to see if we could
find us a grocery store. The closest larger community was Clarenville, so off we went. Along the way in
Gooseberry Cove we stopped at Karen's Convience store. We walked in and
Church
In Gooseberry Cove introduced ourselves. Karen was working that day and her husband Graham was in the store visiting with her. After we introduced ourselves and told them where we were from, Graham, without missing a beat says to us "you want to go for a boat ride?". Well we jumped at
this opportunity, but had nothing in the cottage to eat, so Graham suggested we meet back at Gooseberry Cove Harbour at 3:00 pm. We quickly agreed, jumped on the bike and rode like the wind to Clarenville. 29 kms off the main road on this windy coastal road, and another 20 kms of highway driving. We got our groceries for the next few days and met Graham back at the dock at just after 3:00. Off we went in his speed boat. For the next 6 hours, we were out on the sea with our new friend Graham. He took us to visit his friends in their cabin, he showed us a bald eagle
nesting ground, (saw several eagles) he showed us one of the several beaches where the fishermen catch caplin (a
little fish for us prairie people)lots of interesting rock formations and rugged coast. So jaw droppingly
majestic. Graham,
Fishing
Fishing schooner looking for Mackrel then took us out to his cabin. He has a cabin in a beautiful spot and beside him are two other
families. One was his sister Donna and her hubby Ed. Another was a friend Herman and Myra. We docked the boat
and had a great little visit with them. I kept telling Rene to pinch me because I just couldn't believe this
wonderful day was happening for us. We finished our day at Claude and Valerie's fish farm. Visited with them for
a bit and finally got back to Gooseberry Cove at 9:00 pm. What an amazing day. We fell into bed, so thankful to
Graham for his unabashed friendliness and hospitality.
Sept 05, 2010. We had a well deserved day of being absolutely lazy. We read and slept the day away in the
beautiful warm Newfoundland sun. I went for a walk in the afternoon to check out our little village of Southport.
One of the fisherman there told me that the town used to have a population of about 240 people and the fish plant
employed at least 100 full time people. When they closed the fish plant, the population over the years decreased
and now
Jack Baker's Hill
the beach from up high there are only about 40 full time residents. Some of the houses appear to be just totally abandoned. What
a shame and quite sad for the local residents. Peggy had given us the movie Randon Passage to watch, so we watched some of the movie. It is a historical movie about the inhabitants of Cape Random, a small outport where survival was dependedent on catching and selling fish in exchange for supplies. It is set in colonial Newfoundland, over the span of many years. Quite an interesting story about how the outposts of Newfoundland were started. Of course it was a Hollywood movie, so some controversy about the authenticy of the story and the facts.
Sept 06, 2010. We woke up, now fully rested and anxious to do some exploring of Southport and the surrounding
communities. Peggy and Viv had told us about several great little hikes in and around the community. One of them
is called Jack Baker's Hill and the other is called Heart's Ease Beach (cool name eh?) So up Jack Baker's Hill we
went. It was a great hike that took us to the top of a huge hill that over looked the ocean. Jack
Baker's Hill
was at one time the hill that the local fishermen climbed so they could see the ocean. They would climb up this
hill to see how the spring thaw was coming and what was happening with the ocean. All the way up and down were
ripe delicious blueberries. We picked as we went and determined we needed to spend some time with a bucket and
pick berries to take home to eat. After Jack Baker's Hill we hiked to Heart's Ease Beach. Now this beach is not
what we consider a "beach". This beach looks like a beach from a ways away, but the whole area is rocks. Little
smooth stones that have washed up and made a "beach". While we were exploring the beach and the little island that
is connected with it, we spotted a Minke Whale. Most of the whales we were told are gone now. They are already on
their way to warmer climes. Whales chase and follow the caplin and the caplin are gone for the season and so it
appeared are the whales. We were thrilled to see one of the last whales in these waters for the year. Another
quiet night
Trinity
View of the town of Trinity from the Skerwink trail of sitting on our front porch watching the sun set.
Sept 07, 2010. We had decided when we came to Newfoundland, that we were going to spend most of our time relaxing and not doing too much travelling, but of course we wanted to see some of this province, so this was the day we chose to go out exploring. We wanted to see some more of the outpost villages of Trinity Bay (the bay
that Southport is situated) and we wanted to go to the tip of the bay. It is called Cape Bonivista. We were
therefore up early and off we rode. Our first stop was Old Bonaventure and the movie set of "Random Passage".
Interesting to see the set after just so recently watching the movie.Our second stop was in Port Rexton and the Skerwink Trail. A 5 km hike on the cliffs of Trinity Bay. Unbelievable seascapes, cliffs and what a well looked after trail. At one point in the the hike Rene and I thought we smelled that unmistakable smell of rotting flesh. Sure enough as we peered over the cliff we saw a dead moose. It appeared like he fell off the 250
Southport
Southport from the hill behind the cottage foot cliff to his death. Looked like his neck was broken so hopefully he didn't suffer. We spent about 2.5 hours on this trail it was so wonderful.
Our last stop was Cape Bonivista. We drove as far up the tip as we could and found the oldest lighthouse in
Newfoundland. It was near the end of the business day, so we didn't take any tours, but we walked around and
toured on our own. Water crashing and smashing on these gigantic rocks. what a rugged and majestic place. As we
toured around the weather turned and it became very windy and it started to rain. We hoped the storm would pass,
so we jumped on the bike and headed for home. Yeah, well.....the storm didn't pass this time. It actually got worse as we rode on and by the time we got back to Clarenville to grab more groceries, we were WET. Ran in to Sobey's and by the time we got out the weather was beautiful and we had a great half hour ride home.
Sept 08, 2010. Rene did some work on the bike today and I worked on my tan and my reading and writing
Southport Cottage
View from the hill behind the hosue skills.
Went to Peggy and Viv's for an amazing fish dinner. Met Duncan and Renee who are friends of Peggy and Viv, who
live in a close community called Hodge's Cove.
Sept 09, 2010. Another sunny clear day. Peggy had offered us the use of her kayak, anytime we wanted it, so on
this morning the harbour water looked like glass, so off we went to explore the harbour by kayak. Totally different views of Southport from water level. After our kayak trip we hiked up the hill that was directly behind our
cottage. Totally different views of Southport from 300 feet above. We found an old container and as we hiked and
looked, we picked blueberries. "One for the container and two for me". Took us no time and we had 3 cups of
blueberries to savor for desert or breakfast.
After picking berries we went to Ed and Donna's for a visit. Ed wasn't home so we visited with Donna for a bit and
off back to home.
To thank Graham for his hospitality we invited him and Karen to share dinner with us. We had a yummy BBQ with all
the fixin's and had a great
Boating with Graham
Checking out the sea with a new friend visit. Graham plays a mean guitar and has a wonderful singing voice, so we had a time
of singing, laughing and getting to know each other even better. It kinda feels like we have known Graham and
Karen for years. We have lots in common and lots not in common, so it was fun to learn about each other's lives
and the things that make each of us tick.
Sept 10, 2010. Another lazy day of berry picking, reading, napping. So great to be able to just do nothing.
Watched the rest of "Randon Passage"
Sept 11, 2010. Another calm peaceful day on the harbour, so off we went again for another couple hours in the
kayak. Talked with some of the local fishermen. They told us that we should enjoy this calmness because we were
getting a nor'easter comin in and that means some terrible cold weather and mean winds. In the afternoon we went
for a walk and then home to get ready to go to a local party with Graham and Karen. Graham picked us up about
8:00pm and we went to his home and met one of his brothers and one of Graham and
Boating
More views from the boat Karen's daughter's Nicole. Within an hour or so off we went to their friends home. Met tons of other locals. Finally arrived back at the cottage at
4:30 am. What a fun night.
Sept 12, 2010. Out late means a big sleep in right? Right!!!! We invited Viv and Peggy to join us for brunch since this was our last day. Because it was our last day here at Southport we did all our laundry, packed our luggage and prepared to leave our little nest. Oh by the way the fishermen was right. The nor'easter came and with it came the COLD winds and heavy rain. Rained most of the day, so perfect day to prepare to continue our journey.
Sept 13, 2010. Of course because we were leaving today we were up early and anxious to get going. We were
certainly worried about the weather, so up we got, made a quick breaky, had a quick photo op with Rene in Harbour
Couture fashions. You see, Peggy designs and creates these great oil coats and this linen hoody.(among many other
things) Rene tried them on earlier in the week and looked especially good in them so Peggy
boating
another view while boating asked if she could take
pics of him wearing them and use them on her website. Of course Rene was all modest and such, and after much
convincing and in all his humility he finally agreed(not really, he jumped at the chance to model) He's almost a
celebrity now. He acted in several commericals a few years back (if you want to know about these commericals, ask
him to share his celebrity status one day) So after the photo shoot, we roared away from Southport. It was hard to
leave this calm, peaceful, serene place that has treated us sooooo well for the past 10 days. As hard as it was to
leave the place it certainly was even harder to leave our Newfound friends that we have made in Newfoundland.
Thanks so much Peggy, Viv, Ed, Donna and Graham and Karen. We will not soon forget you and our time in Southport.
God willing we will meet again.
And now for a quick commerical break------- if you want a place to come, relax, rejuvenate your soul and meet some
of the greatest folks in the world, GOOGLE... Southport Cottage. It's a vacation home that the owner rents out
when
Boating 3
Yet another boating scene he is not there enjoying it for himself. I sure hope we, one day will be back. Thanks Southport Cottage!!!
So we were then on our way to St.John's, the capital of Newfoundland. We had a hostel room booked for the next 3
nights there. Thank goodness we left when we did, because that darn nor'easter made the 2 hour trip to St. John's
a little less than enjoyable 😞
We arrived in St. John's at about 11:00 am. Our room wasn't ready when we got there so off we went exploring the
oldest city in North America. Some interesting facts: John Cabot first found Newfoundland in 1497, but the land
was not settled until the first English and Irish came in 1610. These Europeans came to Newfoundland because the
fish were so abundant and they could eat all they wanted. We went to the museum called "The Rooms". Tons of fascinating history. After visiting "The Rooms" we went to tour the Basilica.
Finally our room was ready so we settled in and off we went again to check out the town. Now if you know anything
about St. John's, one of the things the city boasts is a
Cabin living
New friends in NFLD street called George Street. The street is believed to have the most pubs and bars per square foot of any street in North America. 22 bars on a single street. Well .... we had to check it out. Since it was Monday night it was not busy at all and we listened to some great Celtic music and met the owner of one of these establishments. Doug is also a motorcycle enthusiast and offered to show us around a bit the following day.
Sept 14, 2010. we met Doug at 10:00 am and told him that we wanted to see Cape Spear, but other than that we were all his. So off we went to Cape Spear. Cape Spear is the most Easterly point in all of North America. Great old
Lighthouse and more waves crashing on the rugged rocks. Beautiful. After hiking around the Cape for a while, back
on the bikes we got and rode out to a great little community called Petty Harbour, then on to Bay Bulls, and
finally around Conception Bay. Had a great 4 hours with Doug. After we left Doug's company, we went on this
amazing hike up to Signal Hill. To
get to Signal Hill, we walked through the Battery. The Battery is St. John's
first community and of course then the first harbour. Lots of little houses built on the hills and shores of this
little harbour.
Oh yeah..... speaking of the houses of St. John's. The downtown district is lined with street after street of 3 story colorful homes. Homes that are yellow, red, green, blue etc. and often are on different levels, as some of the streets are very steep. Very unique. Many know this area as Jelly Bean Row.
Oh yeah..... speaking of the houses of St. John's there are also some very unique houses in the small fishing outposts found all throughout Newfoundland. These unique houses are called Saltbox houses. They are 2 stories and square. Thought to resemble the boxes used to ship salt to Newfoundland in the 1800's. When we were with Graham on the boat, visiting Claude and Valerie, they live in a Saltbox house during the week when they are working the fish farm. Often the whole bottom of the house was devoted to the business of farming fish and the top level of these homes is where the family lived. Very
feeding the fish
Claude and his fish farm cool!!.
Anyway back to Signal Hill. After we got through the Battery we walked along this path that was on the very cliffs. At some points there is a tiny little goat path and they have spiked in a chain to hang onto to. Kinda scary!!! One little slip and you could be plunging hundrends of feet to your death. Not a place for a person who is scared of heights or may suffer from vertigo. We spent several hours exporing Signal Hill and surrounding area. We went out for dinner (something we rarely do) and had a traditional dinner of cod tongues, deep fried with scrunchions. YUMMMMMMMM!!! SO... cod cheeks is fairly straight forward right? and well, scrunchions are these little bits of salt pork, rendered until the only thing left is these little incredibly salty morsels. Mix them together and you have just one of many traditional Newfoundland dishes.
After a busy day we were bagged so went back to the hostel, had a nice cup of tea and off to bed.
Sept 15, 2010. It rained in the night and the forcast was more rain, but we are only here for such a short time
with
New friends
Viv and Peggy so much to see, so we are not about to let a little rain stop us. I grabbed a rain coat and off we went to
explore more of St.John's. Another interesting piece of history in this city so full of history is an area called
Quiddi Viddi. (pronouned Kiddy Viddi). Quidi Vidi was known for once being a historic fishing village. It is now a brewery, where they make and bottle 6 different kinds of beer. Someone on our tour asked how it got the name Quiddi Viddi. The tour guide relayed that there are different theories, but the one that sticks the most is that Quiddi Viddi is latin. And it means "we came, we saw". The whole quote is "we came, we saw, we conquered" The founders chose not to add the "we conquered"piece.
Anyway we had a interesting tour with some other travellers. The fog and mist was thick, but after the tour of Quidi Viddi the sun came back out. We wanted to see Cape Spear again so we jumped on the bike and roared out there, but alas, the fog continued to be thick there, so we decided to ride up to Signal Hill
Fisherman
Local fisherman with a catch of Cod again. We watched the fog roll in and
out and stayed and watched the sun and fog set on St. John's. We were set to leave the following day. We are
leaving Newfoundland and heading to Nova Scotia.
Sept 16, 2010. We woke up early and with bags packed headed out of St.John's. The Ferry was scheduled to leave at
3:30pm and we had to be there by about 1:00 pm. On our way we wanted to make a couple of quick stops. One was to Brigus. Rene's Ontario friend, Mike's birth dad resides there and we had time so we stopped in for tea. Had a
nice visit with Mike and Blanche. Then we had a quick ride through the village of Cupids. Cupids is THE OLDEST
community in Newfoundland. 400 years old this year!!!! See what I mean about so much history in this province? Too
much to take in, in just one 2 week visit.
So like I said here we are on the ferry leaving this Newfoundland. What an amazing 2 weeks we have had.
Just one more thing before I leave this blog. I need to talk about the newfie language. I am
Photo op
Rene modelling Harbour Couture Fashions convinced they have
their very own language here. It certainly makes me laugh and sometimes it's very hard to understand. Let me
share just a little bit of their tongue with you:
First of all if you are not from Newfoundland you are a "come from away". If they can't remember your name they just call ya b'y. (boy) Now everding is b'y. Here's a little more:
In Newfoundland, Ya don't gots a "grandmother" or even a "grandmudder" ya gots a "nan". Ye gots a nan, ye gots a "pop", ye gots a mudder anna fadder and ya'll drinks tea. Tea b'y, not coffee, not the red Bull, none if it. Ye drinks tea and ye drinks beer or rum. And when ya cheers your mates ya say: "Long may your big jib draw" (the big jib is the
large sail on the ship and when the big jib is up it means there is good winds and good sailing. When the small
jib is up it means there is rough sailing.
Now off ye goes.
so.... we now say so long Newfoundland and one day we hope to be back again on your shores.
And so we
Cape Bonivista
Old Lighthouse remain
In the Grip of Grace
Rene and Crystal
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Cyndi
non-member comment
Did you not take any pictures?? Another enjoyable blog of your journey miss you everyday :)