Hearts Content and Winterton on the Baccalieu Trail, Newfoundland

Woke to overcast skies and 60 degrees.  Spent the morning running grocery shopping - we went to three stores and still couldn't find everything we wanted.  Stores are nice, but small with limited selection.  We tend to buy low fat, low salt, whole wheat options of various foods, but few of those are available here--full fat, lots of salt and mostly white breads.  I especially miss my whole wheat crackers - not because they are healthy, but because I think they taste better.  By the time we were done, it was raining and it is forecast to do so all day.

Lunch and a nap along the coast with the sounds of a soothing light rain on the roof.

We drove up the coast to Harbour Grace, where Amelia Earhart left on her solo flight to Europe.  Spotted this derelict - big ship in a harbor.

Then across to the west side of the peninsula and north to Winterton to tour the Wooden Boat Museum.
They covered the history of wooden boats and then explained the differences in the types of boats that were used in this area - kayaks, canoes, umiaks, schloop, schooner, dory, punt, etc. etc.  I got lost and could not tell the difference between some of the smaller fishing and work boats.  They have a huge workshop where folks can work for a week building a boat using traditional construction techniques.



They also covered the life of local fisher families and the shacks they used for fish processing - a model of which was in the museum and then we saw some adapted for current day use, brightly painted.



We double backed and drove south along the western coast down to Heart's Content were the first transatlantic cable came ashore from Europe.  The cable info was interesting, showing where the cables came in and all the machinery it took to get the signals in and out.  in 1866, they needed a massive ship to lay the cable on the ocean floor and commissioned an old passenger liner that was too large to be economically viable as a cruise ship.

This was a full scale operation with many cable operators.  Western Union provided housing and entertainment in the form of library and billiard room.  By the early 1900's, women were a significant number of the operators.  Although the paternalism that provided good housing, etc., was beneficial, it had its drawbacks - folks had to have permission to marry with the company deciding whether the employee had achieved enough financial stability to support a family.
Where the cable came ashore

Path of the Cable that went directly across the street to the Cable Station


This is what the above sign pointed to - cables coming into building

They ship that laid the cable

Jack reliving his days as a Marine


Billiard table was huge, much larger than a standard pool table, made for snooker and here is the fancy score keeper.


We continued a few more miles south, spotting a few small icebergs.  It continued to rain all afternoon, tapering off by the time we got to a campground.  We parked right next to the office where we could internet.

Weather was pretty miserable today, but we are not complaining as we have enjoyed so much excellent weather so far.  Calling for more rain tomorrow, but Friday is supposed to be nice.


Baccalieu Trail, Newfoundland -- June 26-27, 2017

Lily pond in St. John's Pippy Park
Monday presented a super glorious morning - sunny and warm.  We left St. John's and traveled through the western suburbs, which are growing.  New subdivisions popping up all over!  We eventually got beyond those areas and drove along the coastline through small towns.  We stopped early to enjoy the beautiful day and checked into a campground in Brigus.
Crystal clear water along the coast




I think this may have been an old well in one of the yards
Woke to another gorgeous day and headed over to the old section of Brigus.  We parked just outside of town and walked to the quaint harbor town to visit Captain Bartlett's family home built in the early 1800's.  Cap't. Bartlett was the skipper of the ship that took Admiral Peary to the North Pole.  He made many trips to the Arctic and the family lived in the home until the 1970's.
Captain Bartlett's Family Home

Polar Bear Rug

Jack said when we are really old when we start seeing items we remember as artifacts in museums.


A beautiful early 1800's tall case clock



The town is full of very old homes, interesting architecture, blooming lilacs and crab apples.  We walked down to the harbor area to see an old church overlooking the bay and then checked out the cave they dug so that Cap't. Barlett could easily get to his ship in the deep part of the harbor.


Love the name of this property

View of the modern side of Brigus
 

Brigus Harbor

Monument in the harbor to Captain Bartlett



Country Corner Cafe
We ate lunch at a local cafe where I had their specialty of cod chowder and Jack had a hot turkey sandwhich.  We shared a desert of blueberry crumble with ice cream.  Wonderful!

We drove a mile to Cupids Cove, just a mile away and parked along the harbor where we took a little nap before exploring their Legacy Center with exhibits about the history of Cupids Cove, the oldest British settlement - 1610 - just six years earlier than the Colony of Avalon in Ferryland.  We saw photos of the cod spread out and drying all over the beaches and then stacked floor to ceiling in barn-like structures, awaiting export.  This was also a huge seal hunting port in days gone by.
Sea urchins all over the beaches where the gulls drop them

Artifact from the 1600's from the original colony.  Supposedly a wine container with the likeness of a local priest who railed against liquor

Home with a widow's walk where the women used to watch for their husband's ships to return home.  This modern one has a chair!

View from the top of the Legacy Centre where they host outdoor weddings - beautiful venue


We returned to the same campground for the night and enjoyed cocktail hour outside and a light dinner.        

Last Days in St. John's Area, June 24-25, 2017

 Yesterday it rained all afternoon, so indoor activities.  We visited Newfoundland's premier museum, The Rooms.  The building is as impressive as their exhibits on the natural history, people, and the arts.  We had an early lunch at their cafe, overlooking the city.  I had a late breakfast of toulons, a signature dish in Newfoundland that is fried bread dough served with molasses.  These were served with sausages and baked beans.


View of The Narrows from The Rooms Cafe

St. John's street scene


We next went to Newman's Wine Vault where Portuguese Port Wine was stored.  The building was fascinating, but we were hoping for a wine tasting, but none was offered.


Looking down at the top of our RV on the ferry leaving the terminal
Today (Sunday) is gorgeous - sunny and warm.  We drove west to Portugal Cove and took the ferry to small Bell Island - a former mining boomtown.

Portugal Cove Harbor

Views of the Coast from the Ferry

Approaching Bell Island


They had an excellent tour of an iron ore mine led by a woman whose family all worked in the mines until it closed in the 1960s.  The mines were spread for miles underground the island and additional miles under Conception Bay.  Lots of family stories, mining history and lore, and artifacts. The mine was never automated and the heavy iron ore was shoveled by hand.

At one point, she turned off the lights so we could experience the total blackness of a mine and in the dark, she sang a mining folk song.  She had a fabulous voice.  Great experience.

Walking down, down, down.  

They left large stands of iron ore as columns to hold up the ceiling of the mines

The guy on the scaffold was pulling on the loose rocks after blasting, one of the most dangerous jobs


Brrrrrrrr, steady 42 degrees year-round

Rocks that had to be picked from the iron ore - in the old days boys as young as 9 worked long days separating the rock from the ore

We drove around the whole island, taking time for lunch and a short nap at Lance Cove.  We had ducks for company and visited the memorial for the folks who died in WWII submarine attacks.  Those iron ore boats were prime targets.




ATV guys leading us to the beach - Newfoundlers are super nice folks
On the northern end of the island, I had read about a beautiful secret beach and after asking multiple people for directions, a couple of guys on an ATV actually led us there (later, we saw a local who led another couple here in his car) .

The road in was a total mess, so I walked in and then clambored down over rocks to Grebe's Nest Beach.
Jack wasn't sure the RV would survive these potholes as we could not see how deep they were

Clamboring down the rocks - maybe I will take up rock climbing next trip



Grebe's Nest Beach

Cave entrance to secret Beach


Emerging from the cave onto Secret Beach

A beautiful black sand beach and some of the warmest water in all Newfoundland


On one side of the beach is a mine shaft opening which I walked through to get to the secret black beach on the other side.  Beautiful!

We got take-out dinner from Dick's at the ferry terminal - a landmark restaurant here, known for their fish and chips.  We got our dinner just in time as the ferry was getting ready to leave, so we drove aboard and ate our dinner on the ferry crossing.  Then back to our campground in St. John's.

Tomorrow we will take a tour of the coastline on the little peninsula north of St. John's and then start heading west.  Below is a map of the eastern Avalon area of Newfoundland where we have spent the last ten days.