Ferryland, Colony of Avalon Newfoundland, June 20, 2017

Woke to some fog and drizzle.  Ran the furnace to warm up, had breakfast and on the road north to visit Ferryland.  This is Newfoundland's version of Jamestown - one of the first British permanent settlements called Avalon at the time.  Lord Baltimore started it, but did not like the winter weather and left to found Maryland.  The settlement lived on and became a financial success with sturdy homes with slate roofs, cobblestone streets and a fortress fence to protect it from unfriendly people and animals.

The rock wall house was the home of the Governor

Note the rocks set vertically for drainage under the floor - they think this was barn/stable

Colony of Avalon Harbor

Original Cobblestone stsreet

The archaeologists have found many artifacts and it is only 50% excavated.  The roadbed and stone walls are original, while the wood they have placed is to show where wooden floors would have been.

The colony exported fish to Europe and Avalon prospered, but the man who ran it after Lord Baltimore left was found guilty of tax evasion and was put in jail in England.  His wife continued to run the "plantation" and is considered one of Canada's first women entrepreneurs.

They even had a flush toilet - the emptied chamber pots into the rock lined pit that had an opening lower down that would allow the high tide to enter and wash away the detritus twice a day.  Ingenious!

They also had a reconstruction of a 1700's kitchen that was very informative on how to bake bread on a hearth.  Interesting laboratory where all the artifacts are catalogued, identified and assembled, when possible.

 Interesting day.  It alternated between beautiful sun and spritzing the whole time - jacket on, jacket off, sunglasses on, sunglasses off.  The guide told us they often experience three seasons over the course of a day.

This 25' deep well is original and even though below sea level, it is fresh water.

The lab where the works clean, sort and catalog artifacts

We did see the original, but this is a replica of the "Ferryland Cross."  It has never been identified and is the only one like it found in the world.

We had seen these pickup trucks picking up garbage at the end of driveways through the area - even the most rural.  We came upon this rendevous with the big garbage truck.

Drove a half hour further north to another Provincial Park - this one has a nice campground and a lake, but no phone service or internet.  The blog update will have to wait another day.