Advertisement
Published: September 1st 2015
Edit Blog Post
Breakfast this morning in St. John's was toast with bakeapple and partridge berry jams. Yum. As it was a bit rainy, we, along with Tim's daughter Shayna, decided to visit "The Rooms" which houses the Provincial Archives, Art Gallery and Museum. The building itself is beautiful with a breathtaking view of St. John's harbour, the Narrows and Signal Hill. Its architecture and name come from the tiny gable-roofed sheds, called "fishing rooms", that were once so common on the shores of Newfoundland fishing villages. The two hours we spent viewing the exhibits of the history, people and culture of Newfoundland and Labrador wasn't nearly enough time to see all that this outstanding venue has to offer, and we were sad that we didn't have time to see the art gallery, but we all felt fortunate to have seen what we could.
Next, we headed to Signal Hill National Historic Park, the site from which St. John’s defended its harbour from the 17th century to the Second World War. From the top of the hill, signalmen would scan the ocean for ships headed toward the harbour. They would then signal the name of the arriving ship to the people in the
harbour below by flying flags spelling out the ship's name. Atop the hill, a battery of cannons still stand. They must have struck fear in the hearts of potential raiders as St. John's was never attacked from this site.
Cabot Tower is the centre of the park. It was completed in 1900 and is one of the most recognizable symbols of St. John's and Newfoundland. On December 12, 1901, it stood witness to possibly the most important accomplishment in modern communications - the reception of the first wireless transatlantic signal by Guglielmo Marconi from Cornwall, England.
Best of all, though, are the spectacular sweeping views of the Atlantic Ocean, the surrounding coast and St. John's harbour. No wonder this site is internationally renowned.
From Signal Hill, Cape Spear was only a short drive away. Atop a rugged cliff overlooking the crashing waves, we stood at the easternmost point in North America. You can't go any further than this. Face the sea and the next stop east is Ireland.
We stood at the tip of the Cape and were in awe that we had made it all the way from Vancouver Island. It has taken us a
month and almost 10,000 kms to get here. It was worth every mile and every minute. Perched on a craggy rock outcropping is the Cape Spear Lighthouse. Constructed in 1836, it is the oldest surviving lighthouse in the province. The structure consists of a stone light tower surrounded by the lightkeeper's residence. In 1955 a new lighthouse tower was built on the site using the active light from the original lighthouse.
Five generations of the Cantwell family of lightkeepers resided at Cape Spear for over 150 years. The lighthouse has been restored to depict the life of a 19th-century lighthouse keeper.
There are also barracks here where Canadian and American soldiers lived during the Second World War, guarding St. John's from attack from lurking German U-boats.
After our amazing day of sightseeing, we returned to Jerry and Donna's for a delicious meal of baked trout before heading to George Street, which has the most bars and pubs per square foot of any street in North America. We were told that O'Reilly's Irish Pub was the best place to get screeched so there we went. It was Open Mic Night and the entertainment was great and included a
man from Dublin, Ireland who heartily sang Irish ballads acapella. According to Jerry, the Irish who come here to work leave a lasting musical influence and in turn, bring Newfoundland's music back with them so the two are often intermingled.
Being screeched makes one an honourary Newfoundlander. You must be a CFA (come from away), and prove your worth by speaking like a Newfoundlander, drinking like a Newfoundlander, and by kissing the almighty Cod.
The person screeching us in, who had to be a Newfie, asked, "Is ye a screecher?", we replied with, "Deed I is, me old cock, and long may your big jib draw!". This can be translated as “Yes indeed, my friend, long may your big sail draw wind”, or “may there always be wind in your sails." We each knocked back a shot glass of screech and kissed a frozen cod on the mouth for three seconds. What a proud moment. We are now happy holders of a certificate from the Royal Order of Newfoundland Screechers proclaiming us honourary Newfies.
After a few more drinks, we returned home for a good night's rest and dreams about catching cod. Tomorrow we leave St. John's
for Eastport.
(Scroll to bottom of page to see more photos.)
Advertisement
Tot: 0.164s; Tpl: 0.023s; cc: 9; qc: 47; dbt: 0.0478s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Roger
non-member comment
The Codfather
Looks like you were laughing so hard you couldn't keep the camera still when Tim was kissing the cod. Great stories and pictures Eileen. Sounds like a broken record but it's true. BTW Cape Spear is spelled wrong......