The-PITTSTOP: Bonavista Peninsula, Newfoundland June 29-30, 2017

We continued our drive south along the eastern side of Trinity Bay around the bottom and was on the interstate (Trans-Canada Highway #1 - TCH) for a few miles.

Roadside art

We took a quick detour to drive along the coastal towns of Normans Cove and Long Cove, where we found a spot next to the harbor for lunch and a nap.

Wanted to know, but were afraid to ask.

Then we started north along the western side of Trinity Bay on the Bonavista Peninsula.

Woodpiles and clotheslines, everywhere

Buoys near Trinity marking traps of some type

We stopped to check out the small historic town of Trinity and tried to get a campground near there.

Town of Trinity

Well-known Rising Tide Theatre in Trinity has plays every night in the summer

Church in Trinity

Trinity

They do like colorful homes

But, no luck. So we headed north to Lockston Path Provincial Park and could only get a site without electric. Canada Day weekend (similar to our July 4th) is coming and the campgrounds are filled with folks who started the weekend early. No internet, no TV, but the weather is nice and we were able to have cocktail hour outside, a nice dinner and some yahtzee and reading before bed.

Friday is beautiful, but our goal first thing is to try to find someplace to stay tonight with electric. Our batteries are at least 3 years old and do not hold their charge as well as they should and I am worried about having to go two days and nights without electricity to charge them. We called around and found a new campground near the northern end of the Bonavista Peninsula that has available spots. They have no amenities yet for kids (playground, pool, etc.) so I guess that is why they have spots available. We decided to delay our in-depth exploration of Trinity and go up to the town of Bonavista at the top of the peninsula. We drove up through mostly pine trees and coming over the last hill, the town, the ocean opened up before us with multiple icebergs floating just offshore.

Found a spot near the harbor where we could park, watch the icebergs while we ate lunch.

Wooden drying racks for cod called "flakes"

Ryan Home

Afterwards, we visited the Ryan Premises Museum - a collection of old buildings from the mid 1800's and home of Mr. Ryan who was a wholesale fish marketer. The fishermen barter their catch with him for household supplies. One exhbit about bartering read "Fish low, flour high." So the fishermen were just barely surviving. For cash, many would go on seal hunts on the ice - an extremely dangerous undertaking (and difficult to read about for both the men and the seals).

An anchor!

Note the name of this type of boat

Here, we learned the story of how more than 75 men died in the early 1900's after they were stranded on the ice in a bad storm for over two days. They found them frozen, and in one case, they found a father and son frozen in an embrace. They had to thaw the bodies in a pool in St. John's before they return the bodies to families for burial. Fortunately, they were able to save more than perished, but it is one of Canada's biggest disasters.

They have memorial in nearby Elliston

Birds nesting on cliffs nearby

We saw more exhibits about the different types of boats and how the different fishing techniques, including lines and traps which stayed unchanged here until the 1970's. When refrigeration became available, the drying and salting of the cod died out and with it, a way of life.

In addition to a way of life dying out, the cod were declining and finally a cod fishing moratorium was put in place. All the small fishing villages strung out along the fingers of land that jut out into the Atlantic were adrift with no source of employment. Canada offered relocation of entire villages (even the houses) if everyone would agree to move to a more accessible place with jobs and modern conveniences like elecricity, roads, etc. Many accepted, and whole towns simply disappeared.

We drove around the large town of Bonavista, looking for Dungeon Provincial Park. Very few signs and we were lucky to happen upon it where we found some fabulous photo ops. Cows and horses grazing on the cliffs overlooking Trinity Bay with icebergs floating past. This small Provincial Park is home to an interesting double cave carved by the sea. The ocean here is crystal clear and beautiful.