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Published: April 6th 2015
Cape Spear
Next stop: EuropeA whale at last! A real viewing and not just a flashed sighting!
This morning we first went to
Cape Spear, the most easterly point on the North American continent. Our magic is back – the sun came out to illuminate the view. Of course, the view is of endless, deep ocean, but looking back to St John’s and along the rocky outcropping was not to be missed. The harbour entrance, the Narrows, was just visible, which showed what a key military asset it was when sailing was the fast way to travel the world. Crashing waves on rocks seem endlessly fascinating to us who can only visit the sea.
Soon after leaving St John’s the land returned to the woods and green vegetation we saw throughout the interior. A half-hour drive brought us to Petty Harbour for a break and a last look at an outport. The village is now famous for its son,
Alan Doyle, lead singer for the group,
The Great Big Sea. The harbour, perhaps better called an inlet, is narrow and long with a dock that gradually steps in from its wider mouth, giving it the appearance of a superior parking venue for fishing
Petty Harbour
...a little place with lots of talent boats. I am reminded of our oft-repeated lesson that Newfoundland and Labrador were carved by successive periods of glaciation.
Somewhat preoccupied by fears of seasickness on our excursion boat, I fortunately joined the already formed tour line-up rather than shopping for unwanted souvenirs. Almost immediately the line started moving, and I was able to secure an outdoor seat, best for fresh air. The boat had motored less than five minutes when a crew member and half the customers shouted, “Whale!” Even the captain was astonished as the whale repeatedly surfaced, letting me get my eye on it. The captain moved the boat in a slow circle to give everyone the chance to see the whale, while warning us that
Minke whales were tricky to spot and didn’t stay in the same place for long. So cries of joy erupted when it surfaced even closer to the boat. The captain kept warning that it wouldn’t hang around. Well it did! It seemed quite curious and swam around the boat, surfacing and turning. Someone beside me called out that if there was a peculiar green under the water that was the whale. I pointed my camera at the green colour and
kept pressing the button, hoping for the best. My eyes wanted to see by themselves, not on via the screen. I have now really seen a whale!
What a disappointment when I checked my camera to see how the photos turned out. Nothing! Not from this morning and not from last night. I assumed my card was full, and this new camera didn’t warn me. My downcast spirits revived as I reran the visuals in my mind. That was the important experience. I changed the card and hoped for the best. (Hooray! The photos were “hidden” in a new file.)
We were all urged to sit down as we crossed the swells into the ocean proper. Only about ten minutes later (still feeling ok – drugs are good), the gradual appearance of
puffins turned into the flying, dipping and fishing of thousands of puffins around Gull Island in the
Witless Bay Ecological Reserve, plus more thousands of
gulls,
petrels,
murres, and
kittiwakes. In a bobbing boat, taking photos of flying birds is hit and miss, so again I just pointed in the approximate direction and kept pushing the button. The birds nest on the island. In the low vegetation on the
Puffins
At home by the burrow cliff face, the puffins have burrows that they return to for life; the burrow has two rooms, a “living room” and a “bathroom”. The acidic “bathroom” kills tree roots, thus stunted trees only grow on top of the island, not the cliffs.
I will probably never return to Newfoundland and Labrador, so my emotions were a mixture of sadness at the end of an experience and happiness over really seeing a whale and seeing the puffin colony twice.
Back at the hotel, a whole pot of tea greatly refreshed me, along with eating a snacky lunch and putting my feet up. Then on to the chore of packing my suitcases to protect all the jam and chocolate bought in the marvellous villages and towns, while allocating the weight in a formula that made sure I could lift each bag without injury. Accomplished at last, I walked over the Military Street to buy a sandwich for tomorrow’s flight on the plane – not sure what was available was much better than what would be available from Westjet. My intention was to walk around and maybe have tea in a café, but light showers deterred me. Good thing, a heavy
shower cascaded down a little after my return to the hotel.
The rain lifted in time for us to bus to our farewell dinner. The
Wedgewood Café had an unprepossessing front in a strip mall, a little out of the downtown area. Inside, the restaurant was bright, arranged with four long tables for our group alone. Wine was poured and conversation took off – soon interrupted by a musician, Anthony McDonald. He sang some now familiar Newfoundland tunes as we ate salad; when the main course came, he took a break. My cod was served with an unusual thick dried-tomato sauce and with excellent vegetable rice and properly cooked carrots and broccoli. A few more songs led to the event of the evening – being
screeched! Michael handed over a napkin-wrapped frozen cod to Anthony, who explained in hearty mock seriousness that kissing the cod was mandatory and dire consequences awaited those who faltered. He solemnly carried the cod around to each person – even the previously most-squeamish kissed with only a wrinkled nose betraying their nerves. Meanwhile, the wait staff were placing little cups of screech at each setting. Anthony taught us a little “Newfinese”, and, when he approved
Kissing the cod
Ok, the fish was frozen! of our enthusiasm, we downed the screech in one. Actually, modern screech is a decent rum; he said it originated from Newfoundlanders sending low-grade salt cod to Jamaicans and Jamaicans returning the favour with low-grade rum. The performance turned into a sing-song.
View
">video of the Screeching ceremony.
Lorraine Walls
non-member comment
Wonderful memories
We have unbelievable memories to last a lifetime of our 2 wk. bus tour of NFLD. ,in July 2014.Your well written blog describes the joy we experienced on our three boat tours ,puffins, whales and up close spectacular icebergs. A wonderful holiday from beginning to end and perfect weather was a bonus.