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My belly is so swollen from dinner last night and now a hearty breakfast consisting of fruit, yoghurt, and banana pancakes this morning. Isn't that a Jack Johnson song? Banana pancakes? We were joined by a young couple also staying at the B and B who I must tell you about. Kyle Chevalier is from Toronto and has just graduated with a commerce degree. He is about to ride his bicycle from St. John's NL to Victoria BC to raise money for cancer, specifically breast cancer. His girlfriend, who lives in Arizona, is accompanying him by car as his support and soulmate. Kyle hopes to finish his journey in Victoria towards the end of August. His website is www.riding4boobies.com. He will be starting his ride from St. John's in the next few days. We wish him well on this incredible trip and endeavour and we plan to follow him online as he rides his 100km each day. We will likely pass him en route in the next week or so as we start to make our own way home. Go Kyle Go! It was an honour to meet you!
We all took the 11:45 am ferry, the Marine Atlantic Vision
from Sydney NS to Channel-Port Aux Basques NL. Getting the bikes onto the ferry was an adventure and of course included at least one metal deck to cross. Because the ferry ride typically takes 6 - 8 hours and can be rough, we were asked to tie the bikes down to the deck. Doing so took a ridiculous amount of time thanks to rusty strap clamps and buckles that once closed were virtually impossible to adjust - thanks Ian for your big strong hands!. Once the ferry is loaded, you are not permitted to remain on the car deck. No persuasion needed here! The ferry (and sister vessels) is fantastic. There are 2 decks full of staterooms for rent if you wish (there is also a midnight sailing that in fact we had hoped to be on the prior day, but it and the sailing before was cancelled due to bad weather in the strait). The main seating decks resembled those of a cruise ship, not a ferry. Plush colourful settees and armchairs filled the main lounge area, which also contained a full bar, small cafe, and flat-screen TVs airing hockey. Also on this deck was the main restaurant, its
tables dressed with crisp white linens ready for passengers to enjoy a set daily menu with 3 choices of mains. One deck lower housed the movie theatre, with 3 large screens and fully reclining seats. We were aware that this sailing was fully booked, however we don't know where everyone went - maybe the staterooms? Most of the seating area was empty, and there were also only a handful of passengers seated in the theatre. The layout in the lounge was such that you could lay down on the plush settees and actually get some sleep, which I managed for about an hour. With bad weather looming, the ferry hammered down and got into port within 5 hours instead of the usual 6 to 8. We arrived at 5 pm and chose to spend the night in Port Aux Basques rather than riding for a couple of hours to Deer Lake. It was raining, with low cloud cover, low temperatures, dusk approaching and we agreed it was probably prudent to stay put, get up early in the morning for a daylight start. Again, many have people warned us about moose on the roads, especially at nighttime, which helped cement our
decision. Fortunately, and unfortunately, we have yet to spot one.
Our first impression of Newfoundland from the ferry was WOW! Sailing through a rocky harbour entrance, with waves crashing over and onto rocky shores, initial views of pristine, brightly painted tidy clapboard houses perched randomly on the cliffs overlooking the harbour, snow covered barren hills in the near distance, was, strangely enough, nothing like we had expected even though it presented itself the way tourism advertises and promotes. The accents we listened to on the ferry, and in the stores and Tim Horton's here, are adorable, and we pretended to understand what was being said to us - NOT!
After a quick trip to Canadian Tire to see about adding to our weather gear (rainproof jackets to go over top of our bike jackets), dinner was pizza and pop in bed at the Port Aux Basques hotel, with entertainment provided by the finale of American Idol (don't say it). So happy that Candace won.
Les and Carol, Darryl and Leah, and Addi, we're on our way!
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JOAN MUMBY
non-member comment
Dear Helen and Ian, You are in Newfoundland already! You should both consider cashing in on your writing skills. With your terrific command of the English language, you could write articles for newspapers and magazines. I am amazed at how much descriptive detail you include in your daily blogs, when you must be exhausted after long days of riding. those heavy bikes. What about a book - your own life story could be made into a best seller, just write it in the third person and you have a novel. I don\'t know anyone else who has so many talents, and you are mine - my very own chosen daughter, and I love you to bits, Mum