August 19th-21st

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Harvey has invited me to stay at his cabin. It is an hour south and a bit from St Johns. But first, I must go to Point Spear. It is the furthest point east in Canada. I keep on hoping to see whales, and my hopes are raised again at this expanse of ocean in front of me. They come in late June and stay for July, but mid August is too late to see the daily event of feeding whales. I am satisfied with the point, the light house and the military dig in from the Second World War. I went through the heart of down town to get there and saw one of the truly huge cruise ships docked just meters from the main street of down town. The cruise ship is taller than the buildings. The downtown and surrounding blocks are as picturesque as the postcards, lovely. I escape Point Spear just as a big tour bus arrived, I'll bet it was from the cruise ship. The drive to Harvey's cabin is beautiful, as everything here seems to be. It's a mix of short, wind stopped fir and pine, and then sweeping hills and flats of bog. The cabin is tucked away off a gravel road with a few where you think that there is no one around for miles. There is a wood stove, loads of light from well placed windows and a supremely appreciated solar panel system that powers the fridge and lights. I like all of the decks. The best view is the deck on the top floor outside bedroom in the loft. The main deck faces the sunset,and is lovely for dinner. There is still another deck under the top deck to give you yet another beautiful view. I'm taking the day off tomorrow, and staying home to read and nap and relax.

I did just that, encouraged by grey skies and wind. But this morning, I took off to see the sites that Harvey had told me about. Today, it was clear deep blue skies and only light winds to start. I went to St Mary's Cape, the bird sanctuary. There are mainly Ganets on these cliffs. You take a one and a half km walk out to where they are nesting and then stay for a long time in awe. It's hard to describe, adequately and even harder to show with the inadequate camera that I have. The bird watcher professionals with massive cameras were almost as interesting to watch as the birds. The birds...they soar on the thermals hitting the cliffs. Their wings ruffle and tilt to escape what looks like a sure crash into the rocks. The oceans blue makes them beacons with their white bodies rimmed with black on the wing and a slight blush of bronze like a cap on their heads. The glide down and then pull up with tail feathers cocked to land on a hand span of space amongst thousands of others nestled onto the steep cliffs. They are safe from all predators, but won't their babies fall? Mothers crowd their large grey and downy chicks against the rock while they stand on the edge,preening feathers with no concern at all. They step one foot aside when their mate lands beside them and then slide their beak up and down his, showing their love by looping their necks together. The noise is beyond belief, thousands of birds crying out together. Birds lifting and soaring landing and feeding, again and again. I couldn't leave.

Finally, I went to my next destination, a long powdered sand beach, between two arms of rock. I walked the beach with waves crashing in the growing wind, warmed by the sun while I ate my lunch sitting on a convenient piece of driftwood. This is truly a holiday without end, I think the magic of it is finally sinking in. I'll return to the little cabin away from everything, and bask in the sunset, my last night here. Tomorrow, I will return to St Johns. Good night and sweet dreams.

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Comments

[Jean]

Whoo hoo Gilly
The point sounds marvellous and your blog has inspired me to put eastern canada as my next travel destination, after Italy of course! I'm back at work, the renovations completed and hotel in Barcelona booked. See you soon. J

[GillStrange]

I certainly am having a good time. I commiserate with back to work, but I hope that thoughts of Italy will get you through.