Newfoundland - Western and Northern Coasts

Sunday, July 24
We got up early because we had to be at the ferry terminal by 8 o’clock. Once we got there, however, we had to wait in line with everyone else to be loaded, so we didn’t actually get onboard until about 9:30. THe ship left the dock promptly at 10, and we set off on the six hour trip to Newfoundland. It was pretty windy, and at times a wave would hit the ferry so hard there would be a huge noise and we thought we’d hit something! The boat was pretty new, and had cabins for passengers to sleep in if so desired, a movie theater with seats that reclined, that was also a pretty good place to nap, a large lounge with fairly comfortable seats, a card room, a kid’s playroom, dining room, cafeteria, etc. Bob said the only way you knew you weren’t on a cruise ship was that no one came up to you to try to get you to buy a drink! Overall, the trip was quite pleasant.

The time in Newfoundland is a half hour later than Atlantic time. Newfies say that their time is a half hour off from the other Atlantic Province timezones because God took an extra half hour creating Newfoundland to make sure that it was more beautiful than anywhere else.

Newfoundland’s nickname is “The Rock” and you can tell why as soon as you see it - it’s mostly rock with a lot of short trees and lots of water. We headed up to Corner Brook, the 2nd biggest city in Newfoundland with 24,000 people! It started as a papermill town, and it continues to be a mill town, although there are other industries there now as well.

Running into Corner Brook from the sea is a huge bay that is 30 miles long and very wide, called Humber Arm. Actually, there is more than one arm to it, but the main “Arm” is about a mile or so wide and filled with several islands. It is a glacially carved bay and is actually considered to be a fjord. The water is a brilliant blue, and reminded me a lot of Cayuga Lake. We camped right on the beach at a park near the open end of the water which is so clear you can see the bottom. We didn’t see much sealife, although I know it is there.

As we drove up the arm past several small fishing villages, we kept seeing small Newfoundland orange dories pulled up all along the beach. Many of them had small shed next to them. We asked what they were and found out that, at least in this bay, they are the lobster boats! We could hardly believe that, but the ranger told us that the men have a small winch on board to haul up the traps, and each man can run about 450 traps during the season. Since they do most of their lobstering in the bay, they don’t need bigger boats. The water out in the Gulf is generally too deep for the lobster, because the deeper the water, the colder it is. Because even the bay water is very cold, it takes a 8 or 9 years for the lobster here to reach even a pound, so they are a lot smaller than the Nova Scotia lobsters. I didn’t find out why the boats were all the same color, but I suspect that orange is a lot easier to spot in whe water than gray or blue or green.

Once lobster season is over, the men fish for cod or snowcrabs. Right now it is in between seasons, so we only saw a few of the boats out on the water. Although the season is over for large-scale fishing, residents are able to fish for their own consumption right now.

When we asked the ranger what people did for a livelihood in this small area of Lark Harbour and York Harbour if they didn’t fish, he said they called it the “Town of the Newlywed and the Nearly Dead!” However, in recent years more of the 30 and 40 year olds have been coming back to make a home there and maybe travel the 45 minutes to an hour into Corner Brook to work.

Monday July 25
We stopped at a local fish market and bought salted cod, scallops, smoked capeling, smoked herring, and cod bites which are pieces of fried cod. Then we stopped at a u-pick strawberry place and got some fresh fruit, although the berries were not very sweet.

We were told that Newfoundlanders are “terribly friendly,” and we’ve discovered that it is true! The ranger at the park last night was very helpful , as was the woman at the fish market. Then at the u-pick we met a woman from St. John’s who was on vacation with her children and grandchildren. After talking with us for only a few minutes and telling us places we should be sure to see, she gave us her phone number and told us to call her and her husband when we get to St. John’s for a personal guided tour!

We drove to the next huge glacial bay (fjord) which is called Bonne Bay. It was just as beautiful as the last bay : beautiful blue water, rocky mountains with short spruce trees on them, and small fishing villages. It is actually a pair of fjords which were carved out by different glaciers, with the South Arm being deeper and colder than the East Arm.

After a while we entered Gros Morne National Park which includes many small villages along the western shore of Newfoundland. There is a unique area there called Tablelands where we took a hike. It’s unique because it is made from the earth’s mantle which is usually only found in the center of the earth, but millions of years ago, this area was pushed up out of the earth. The rock is orangey brown, and seems to be kind of soft. As we walked on the trail it was a little like walking on the surface of the rocky moon. The barren brown hills reminded me a lot of what we had seen in the western part of the United States, but there was a lot more water flowing here!

Bob got bored with the trail, and took off after a moose that was way in the distance. He actually got close enough to get a picture of it, though, so that made his day!

We then went to Trout River campground where we ate homemade fish chowder with salted cod and snowcrab and fresh-picked sugared strawberries for dessert! A great end to a great day!

Tuesday, July 26
Another wonderful day! The weather has been cooperative, too. Today it was about 80 degrees and sunny!

As soon as we came up the hill from Trout River and gazed out on the Bay, the first thing we saw was a cruise ship! We thought at first that we were seeing things that weren’t really there, but realized that Bonne Bay and the beginning of South Arm are large enough for a small cruise ship, and that the ship was anchored there. Later in the morning we would see the passengers being taken off in tenders to the two little towns along the bay.

We drove down East Arm and around to South Arm where we stopped at Norris Point. There we went into a working research facility for marine life. They had a lot of tanks in there with explanations of the marine animals we were seeing. The water up here is cold, so there are different types of sea stars here than you might find in Florida, for instance.

We then kept going up the coast, seeing Rocky Harbour, and then the lighthouse at Lobster Cove. There we walked down to the beach to search through the tidal pools. There was sea life in there, but most of it must have been hiding as we really only saw snails and limpets.

We continued up the coast to Broom Point where we had a very informative chat with the ranger there who was talking about the family that fished in that area for 30 years. He had grown up in a fishing family and had been a fisherman himself for many years, so he really knew what he was talking about.

When the Mudge brothers first started fishing here in the 40s, they had to come up from Rocky Harbour by boat. Sometime in May they would load their dories with their fishing supplies and food and come up the coastline. Rocky Harbour is now about a 45 minute car ride, but it would take them 3 1/2 hours with their motorized boats. When school was done for the year, their wives and children would join them because it took a lot of hands to take care of their catch. All ten of them slept in the same small three bedroom cottage on the shore with an outhouse for a toilet and a stream for fresh water.

The men fished for salmon, lobster, and cod. Their children went in the boats with them at times, but most of the wives and children had to process the catch. Three people would gut and clean the cod, and then they would be flattened out on a bed of salt that was spread on the clean floor of the boathouse. After each layer of cod was spread out, more salt was poured on top. They would stack the cod as high as three feet, and as wide as they could. After a week or two of being salted, the cod was laid on clean rocks on the beach to dry. If it was going to rain, the cod had to be picked up and taken back to the boat house until it was dry enough to lay them outdoors again. They did this for a week or so until the cod were completely dry, then they could be bagged or boxed for shipment to the fish market in Rocky Harbour. The salmon was canned, and the lobster were put on ice and taken by boat to Rocky Harbour because they needed to be fresh.

Every so often a boat would come bringing supplies from Rocky Harbour and they could send their catch back with him. The fish was usually just traded for supplies that they needed for sustenance.

The men fished from about May to October when they returned home and became lumberjacks for the winter. In the late 50s, a road was built connecting Rocky Harbour and Broom Point, so the Mudges could get back and fourth a lot easier, and they actually began to make money, not just subsist.

Our guide went on to tell us that when his ancestors had arrived in Newfoundland, the waters were churning with cod. That was what everyone fished for, and it wasn’t called cod, it was just called fish. All other varieties of fish had names, but not cod, because “fish” was their mainstay. Cod were caught in big gill nets, so they usually caught a lot at one time.

He showed us the tackle they used for fishing for halibut. It was a wooden square with a rod in the middle on which their was several hundred feet of line. On the end of the line was a huge three pronged hook. They polished the hook by rubbing their knife on it so it would become very shiny. That shine was what attracted the halibut. When a halibut got ahold of the hook, the fisherman couldn’t just reel him in because the halibut could weigh several hundred pounds. They just let the wooden “spool” fall into the water, and the line would unreel as the fish swam. after awhile the fish would tire and they could get close enough to club it in the head and stun it enough to haul it into their boat if they could lift it, or to drag it into shore if they could keep it stunned long enough!

One thing I noticed about the fishing villages were saw today was that their dories are ot all the same color as they were on the west side of the Humber Arm. They still have small boats for lobstering, but they are not orange. Also, the area around Rocky Harbour is closer to the gulf, so the fisherman may go out a little further with their fishing and use larger boats.

We have also noticed that the water around here has been calm every day we’ve been in the Maritime provinces, nearly 2 1/2 weeks! I don’t know if it is because we have only been in the Gulf of St. Lawrence waters for the most part, or whether it has something to do with the air stream or currents, or whatever.

We finished our day with a 2 1/2 mile walk through a bog and forest to an inland fjord called Western Brook Pond. (In Newfoundland the word “pond” is used for “lake.”) It is not technically a fjord today because it doesn’t contain salt water, but it has the high straight cliffs of a fjord. It was glacially carved as glaciers moved through this area about 40 times, and the sea rushed in. However, the bog began growing, and became higher than sea level, so the fjord became cut off from the ocean and is now a fresh water lake. It is very clear, pure water with hardly any marine life in it.

Once we got to the lake, we boarded a boat for a trip through the fjord where we saw lots of beautiful waterfalls, but very little wildlife - only one moose. The lake doesn’t have enough nutrients in it to support marine life so animals do not hang around here. We were shown the area where massive herds of caribou come down a steep trail, swim across the water, and go up the other side through a valley of sorts to their spring habitat on top of the cliffs. There are about 500 caribou and 50,000 moose living in Gros Morne Park.

Along the hike to and from the lake we saw beautiful wildflowers - blue flag iris in full bloom (mine at home bloomed in May), dark fuschia sheep laurel, and lots of others including cotton grass. This grass has a tuft almost like cotton literally flying from its tip like a sail. In the windy areas, very little of the cotton was left, but in sheltered areas there was more on each plant. Early settlers used to use the “cotton” for lamp wicks.

Wednesday, July 27
Another bright, sunny day! This is what the Newfoundlanders say their summer is usually like - high 70s or even 80s with lots of sun, but cool evenings. They have had a pour spring and beginning of summer like we had in New York, but they’re happy now!

We stopped at Port au Choix where there are archeological digs going on since they have found evidence of the natives that lived here 5500 years ago. This point was a great area for hunting seals and other animals, and different tribes through the years as well as Europeans made settlements here.

Judging by the homes in Port au Choix, it is a little more prosperous than other towns we’ve seen. There are more new and bigger houses there. There are some new houses in most of the towns, but this has the most. The older houses in all of the towns tend to be very small rectangular houses, probably with two bedrooms. If they have three bedrooms, each room must be just big enough for a double bed! The newer houses are bigger, and often split level or two story. There are a few mobile homes and double wides, but not many. The yards are very small as the houses are so close together, not spread out the way we do at home. This could be because they are so dependent on the ocean they need to live near it and usually there is only one good place for a harbour in the area and they would need to live near it. Also, the winters are hard here, and its probably comforting to know that there is someone nearby in case of an emergency.

The road (there is really only one road going north!) is lined with beautiful wildflowers of every color - blue, purple, pink, white, yellow in all shades. They are complimented by the several turquoise shades of the calm water today that is also right next to the road.

As we got farther and farther north, we passed several towns where the fishermen must not have had enough space near their homes or shore to store their lobster traps. They were stored on both sides of the highway among the trees! Actually there were also stacks and stacks and stacks! of firewood stored near the road. We later found out that the people get a permit to cut the wood in the winter. They use sleds to get it out, and store it near the road. At first they lean it up together like a teepee to dry it. Then during the spring or summer when they are not fishing, they cut it up and stack it. Before winter, they truck it to their homes and stack it outside. They don’t really have to split it because the trees they get the wood from are so small. It’s not very good wood for burning, either, being mostly spruce and a little birch.

We could also see some garden plots in the areas next to the road. This is because the soil near the road is richer than the soil by their houses which are located by the coast. The land on both sides of the road is owned by the province, and the people are allowed to keep things there or make their gardens there. Their houses are not along the road, but off the road in their fishing villages.

Also as we kept going north we noticed that the trees were getting shorter and shorter! The wind and temperature must keep the trees from growing very much.

As soon as we got near the Strait of Belle Isle between Labrador and Newfoundland, we began to spot icebergs off in the distance. At first they were almost to small to see even with the binoculars, but eventually they became more visible.

The best thing of all, though, is our free campsite for tonight! We are at Cape Norman, the northernmost point in Newfoundland, next to a lighthouse on a cliff. It is isolated, but since it is high above the town, and can be seen from a mile away, we have had several townsfolk come up to see who the foreigners are. Our view is spectacular! We are surrounded by water on three sides, and as I look at the water from any direction, I can see humpback whales with icebergs floating in the background! None of them are close enough to get good pictures of with our basic cameras, but, boy, they are a joy to watch.! I just got into the RV after watching them for 3 1/2 hours because it’s getting cold outside. However, I can look out the RV windows and see them just fine! It doesn’t get dark here until about 10 PM, so I’ve still got quite a while to watch the show!

Thursday, July 28
We woke up to see brilliant sunshine and whales playing in the water below us. Hoping to get up closer to whales and icebergs, we headed to St. Anthony to get on a boat. When we got there, it was quite foggy, but it soon cleared up around the village. However, it did not clear up out on the ocean where we went to see the whales and icebergs, so we did not spot any whales. We did, however, see icebergs!

We were taken to four large icebergs that are around the St. Anthony area. These icebergs broke off of glaciers in Greenland, and it normally takes about 2 years for them to make their way from Greenland to St. Anthony. The iceberg is made up of packed now that fell anywhere from 10,000 to 100,000 years ago! Normally by July the icebergs are no longer seen around here, but there have been several here for the last two weeks. At times the iceberg or chunks of it will get stuck in a bay and remain there until it completely melts.

The largest iceberg we saw was 600 feet long, 300 feet wide, and 40 feet high. It is called a table iceberg because it is so flat. The tallest iceberg we saw was 100 feet tall, 500 feet long, and varied from a few feet to 100 feet wide. The part of the iceberg we could see is only about 1/8 of the actual iceberg. The rest of it is beneath the ocean.

If an iceberg is the size of a small car to a small house, it is called a growler. Pieces smaller than that are called Bergie Bits. We saw several of these in the areas that we were in.

From our campsite last night we saw several huge icebergs. They looked small to us, but they were a long way away. They are all around the Strait of Belle Isle and down toward St. Anthony in what is called “Iceberg Alley.” We were told that there is an iceberg the size of Manhattan now off the coast of Labrador which they expect to see here in a couple of weeks. We probably won’t see it while we’re in Labrador because it is 60 miles off the coast.

After the boat trip we went to the local fish plant where they process the shrimp the fishermen are catching and bought 5 pounds of shrimp. I know what we’ll be eating for the next few days!

We had several hours to kill before our Viking Feast, so we drove around to 4 small fishing towns within about 8 miles. There were icebergs in the harbors and next to the coast line of all of the towns, and they, too, were fogged in. The cutest town was Goose Cove where all the houses are in a horseshoe around the harbor with the rocky hills behind them. The hills seem like they would protect them some from the awful winds they get in this area. We were told that in St. Anthony they get from 16 to 18 feet of snow every winter and pack ice clogs the harbor. Often they see seals and even polar bears on the ice.

All of the little towns have hiking trails and boardwalks along the cliffs overlooking the sea. We’d like to be here when it was sunny with no fog because I imagine they would be beautiful. There is very little vegetation on the rocky outcroppings. It reminds me of the places we’ve been in much higher elevations above the treeline. Here we are not that high up, but the weather is just too cold to support much life. There is peat moss and lichen on the rocks with some tiny wildflowers, much like on the tundra.

Then we went to the Viking Feast where we were greeted by several tough characters. The meal was great: cod tongue, capeling, moose stew, Jigg’s dinner (corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, and carrots), roast beef, a type of bread stuffing with fish in it, salmon, rice with shrimp, salad, and for dessert, a pancake with partridge berries covered with bakeapple sauce and whipped cream. It was all delicious, and we sat with a rowdy crew from all over Canada, so we had a great time.

We camped by the ocean at a local park with a “growler” in sight and had the whole place to ourselves!

Friday, July 29
We headed north of St. Anthony to L’Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site. This is the only known Viking site in North American and the earliest evidence of Europeans in the western hemisphere. It is thought that Leif Eriksson might have come here with the first group of people.

The site was first dicovered in 1960 at which time archeologists dug up the site and found clear evidence of Norse people having been there. You can still see the mounds in the ground where their homes and workshops were located. The site was never bothered by anyone in recent years because the locals thought the bumps in the ground meant it was a native burying ground.

After completing the dig, the National Park had houses reconstructed nearby which were made just the way the Norsemen would have made theirs. The walls were made of peat cut in brick shapes. They were about six feet wide - 2 feet of peat, 2 feet of sand and rocks for ventilation, and 2 more feet of peat. In the workshops, the walls were not quite as thick. At the time the Norsemen would have been here 1000 years ago, there was wood located here, and they would have used the wood for the rafters and roof, which was then covered with peat.

After viewing the real site, we went down to road to Norstead, a recreated Viking village. The main attraction there is the replica of the Viking ship that was sailed from Greenland to L”Anse au Meadows in 1998. We also saw women weaving on a loom like they would have used, using a drop spindle to spin the wool into yarn, and doing one needle knitting. Some women were also cooking over an open fire. They had some dried, salted capeling, and had Bob toast one over the fire before eating it. They also had bread they had made in their oven. A young man was using a forge like they might have used 1000 years ago. It was all very interesting.

We were also able to see a large iceberg floating by that is shaped a littled like a ship. I think it is the same one we saw in the distance from Cape Norman two days ago, but Bob doesn’t think it could have traveled that fast. I guess we’ll see when we get back to Cape Norman later today!

Tomorrow we’re headed by ferry to Labrador!

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