Ferry Across the Gulf to the Mainland

When we crossed to Port Aux Basques Newfoundland, we were aboard the ferry MV Blue Puttees. This boat was named as a tribute to a regiment which represented Newfoundland in WW1. The group was known for their non standard leg gear "blue puttees" which they wore because there was a shortage of khaki on the island.

On our more lengthy overnight return voyage from the Avalon Peninsula to the mainland, we were on this boat, the MV Atlantic Vision. We had no idea what to expect but were pleasantly surprised.

We by no means expected to have a cabin of the quality of a cruise ship, but what we did receive was more than we anticipated, comfortable, and all we needed.

There were two comfortable beds, a bathroom with shower, desk, window and large screen tv...more than adequate for one night.

We went outside as the ferry began to move and we bid a fond farewell to beautiful Newfoundland.

 The scenery as we pulled away from the dock was not to be missed and never to be forgotten.





Before long we discovered a lovely restaurant onboard called Flowers. It served terrific meals complete with vegetables! We had missed vegetables. Not to be too critical of our previous week's food, but two vegetables which had often been served with our dinners were mashed potatoes and french fries.

The overnight transportation went smoothly and by the time we woke up, got assembled and had breakfast, it was time to disembark the ferry. Our large group got to head for the vehicle deck early in order to expedite movement prior to the exit.

On our return trip home, we stopped at several more places. I had never experienced Magnetic Hill and was glad to have the opportunity to go there. It was an unusual sensation to be sure, as our bus coasted what appeared to be uphill. There, I met and hugged my last New Brunswick lobster.

As we drove along the St. John river to Fredericton, I couldn't help but think and marvel about the many things I had seen and done in the last few weeks.

Fredericton too was a historical and scenic place in our only truly bilingual province of New Brunswick. After our tour, there seemed to be too little time in a city that I would have liked to enjoy further on my own. I won't share a lot of photos because most things can be found through google. I'll just add a few of my favourites.

Freddy, the little nude dude outside city hall
has historical significance and an interesting story.

Memoria Address a sculpture in granite
representative of the NB balsam fir.

We received much information about author's houses, however, one of greatest significance to me was this little building with the blue shutters. It was where Mary Grannan wrote the popular Maggie Muggins children's books. These stories were used as a basis for an early CBC tv series, one of the first tv programmes I remember watching as a young child. What a terrific and inspirational little house for writing.

As we continued west, the Hartland covered bridge was another of our many tourist stops. It boasts of being the longest covered bridge in the world at 1282 ft. Although the speed limit is posted at 10, the locals seem comfortable in using this as a drag strip to the other side of the river.

Our final night was spent back in Quebec where our group enjoyed a wonderful farewell steak dinner in Old Montreal prior to coming back to Ontario the next day.


Well, what can I say? It was a terrific journey....somewhere in the area of 6500 total km. I'm told.  I had no idea at the onset that I would see and do so much in a mere 17 days. I met wonderful people, saw and learned things I could have only dreamed about, and clearly, had much to share in my blog. If I had written about everything, I'd still be here a month from now and since I have tripadvisor reviews to complete, I'd better transfer my focus now.

St. John's Days

We spent our final Newfoundland days in St. John's. After checking in to the Delta hotel, and having the excitement of an unexpected Rick Mercer sighting, we went on a tour of the gorgeous city. A local guide took us to see major landmarks and explained a lot of the city's features and claims to fame. It was a wonderful overview of an unusual city, built on rock, on cliffs and around water, inlets, and tarns. Although the weather was overcast and foggy, it was still easy to see the beauty of the surroundings.

 One of our tour stops was on signal hill. This is where merchants were given notice that their supply ships were arriving through a series of flags matching the corresponding ship. There were sculptures of dogs  positioned in several locations and the breeds obviously represent Newfoundland and Labrador.

The boats were fascinating as they moved through the water with ease.

We also had the opportunity to see historic, some infamous, and a lot of colourful art and architecture including my personal favourite, jellybean row houses.

 I even managed to bring back a souvenir to remind me of my Newfoundland experience.

Take A Gander...the road to St. John's

As we travelled through Gros Morne park to Gander, I continued to be dazzled not only by the magnificence of the landscape, but by the vision that many people of Newfoundland seemed to share. The environment, conservation, and re-population of species, seemed to be an ongoing theme. I was impressed with how they took responsibility for past mistrakes and how advanced their thinking now was. At the same time, they were politically realistic with statements like "We have to look after ourselves since our few federal ridings don't make a lick of difference in the scheme of things."

One such conservation effort we visited was the Salmonid Centre where they are regenerating the Atlantic salmon (real ones not the farmed ones that some people eat). Wouldn't it be nice if in our children or grandchildren's time, there would once again be true Atlantic salmon, free from chemicals to help them grow, colouring to make them look appealing, sea lice, and so on?

It's impossible to include everything we saw into my blogs. I'm trying my best to give an overview and some of the highlights. Believe me, it's tough to select only a few high points of this magnificent trip. What was great for me might have been less so for others on the tour.

 I believe my second best day of the trip was when we arrived at the Cape Bonavista Lighthouse and puffin island. I did what I could with the camera I had. If you look carefully, you'll see the puffins and their nests. I could have watched them for hours. Puffins live ideal lives. After hatching their one egg, the youngster  goes out to sea and doesn't come back for two or three years until it's ready to have its own family...no sibling rivalry, no teenage angst, no massive food or education costs, no gray haired, stressed parents.

Someone else on the trip with a sharper lens sent me some unbelievable close up shots of puffins, moose, whales, and icebergs, all of which we enjoyed on this visit. Unfortunately, I can't share those images as they aren't my own. Here are mine.

Sadly, we had to say goodbye to the puffins far too soon. We headed to the tiny but historic and colourful fishing village of Trinity, named so because it was discovered on Trinity Sunday 1501. This town of only a few hundred has many museums and buildings which have given it heritage community status. We were pressed for time to explore this area to its full extent. Recent claim to fame was the use of the town to create authenticity in the movie "The Shipping News".

Lovely lupins were blooming in Newfoundland
    but had already finished in the other Maritime provinces.

Our evening in Clarenville capped another terrific day. The screeching in ceremony had us all doubled over with laughter. We were sworn in with songs and stories by an official citizen. He dubbed us with a paddle, after we kissed the cod, recited a lewd sounding phrase, and downed a jigger of screech to become an honorary Newfoundlander.

It was a late evening and tomorrow was another day. We would go to the provincial capital city of St. John's for more adventures.

Lobsters Larger than Life!

Our day in Shediac was truly a highlight for me. I had no idea what to expect when we were told we'd be going on a fishing boat and having lobster dinner at the lobster capital of the world. As it turned out, the boat was restored and was now a multi seating tour boat with tables which easily held our whole bus group of 46 people. We had two and a half hours of informative commentary, fun activities, lots of laughs, and fabulous food. It was an interactive trip and the time just flew by as Capt. Ron had us pull in lobster traps, showed us how to band lobsters, and most importantly, demonstrated the steps in lobster consumption.

I volunteered to help pull in the lobster traps. First one contained the chicken for the people who were unwilling to try the lobster. Next came the heavier, weighted and newer traps.

  

After we were taught how to eat the lobster properly, we couldn't wait to dig in to our delicious meal.

 

I eagerly awaited the continuation of the trip. We were going to see the world's biggest lobster.  It was 35 feet long, and 16 feet high and wide. The total weight with the pedestal stairs is 90 tonnes. This year the locals are celebrating the 25th anniversary of its existence.













 What would a trip to the Maritimes be without crossing the Confederation Bridge to PEI and immersing ourselves in the tales of Anne of Green Gables? 

Sunshine, a boat ride, lobster lunch, world's largest lobster viewing, crossing an amazing bridge structure, and dressing up as a storybook character. That's my idea of a perfect day.