Finding Newfoundland (Again)
Back on "the Rock" after 14 hours of driving and a (sort of) overnight ferry! We breezed through Massachusetts and alllll of Maine on our way to New Brunswick where we spent our first night in St. John on the Bay of Fundy. It was a quick overnight stop and we were on our way again early Sunday morning headed for North Sydney and the overnight Maritime Atlantic ferry to Newfoundland. We learned the hard way on our last trip that booking a cabin was critical, so assumed we were all set for a good night's sleep and a civilized 8:00am arrival. Unfortunately, vessel issues on one of the routes meant more trips needed to be squeezed and ours was changed to a 7:30pm departure and a 1:30am arrival. Ummm, wait, what?
The ferry ended up leaving a little late so it was closer to 2:30am when we disembarked in a pitch black tempest of blowing heavy rain and fog. After downing a few of our fave Iceberg beers we managed to get a little light sleep but definitely not enough. Channel-Port aux Basques where the ferry docks is hardly a hopping town during the day, and is 100% shut down at two in the morning. The nearest populated place is 1.5 hours away and our first stay in Corner Brook was 2 hours from the ferry plus we wouldn't have been able to check in anyway. We (and at least a dozen others) opted to pull over at the Welcome Center about a mile outside of town, recline the seats, and try to snooze it out at least til daybreak. I found out that Subaru Outback seats basically recline all the way!
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| You can just make out the "Welcome" sign but can't see the "No overnight parking" sign right in front of us. |
Only slightly less groggy at 7am, we gave up on "sleep" and decided to get some breakfast then hit the road. No fish cakes but we did get baked beans! More local menu items to come. It was still pouring rain, the wind was whipping it all over, and we were socked in by fog or clouds or maybe both, but with nothing else to do or see in the rain where we were, we headed north on the Trans-Canada Highway. The two-lane undivided highway winds through mountains and bogs and I remember it being beautiful last time I was here, but today it was a white knuckle/two hands on the wheel at all times/eyes straight ahead kind of drive.
Good news- we survived! We decided to take a loop drive around the Cape St. George Peninsula which is known as the French Shore because it's Acadain fisheries were controlled by France until 1904. The peninsula extends west from the town of Stephenville which is primarily famous for being an American Air Force base during World War II. Not really my thing but beyond the old military barracks and quonset huts there is an amazing coastline with sheer rock cliffs topped with flat green meadows that go right to the sea.
We stopped at the Marches Point parish cemetery on a high bluff. There are a number of modern grave markers in a maintained grassy field but others date to the late nineteenth century and are surrounded by wild grasses and flowers. There are many members of the Benoit and Camus families buried here who were among the first Acadians to settle in western Newfoundland. I was initially bummed out about the weather, but the drizzly mist and the low clouds actually made the views pretty spectactular!
After passing teeny tiny villages (really clusters of a dozen or so houses) with names like Jerrys Nose and Three Rock Cove we got to Boutte du Cap Park at the tip of the peninsula. The clouds had just about socked us in but we were able to see some stunning sea cliffs and a beautiful cove with crystal clear blue water.
Have a great time. Wish I was with you. Kate x
ReplyDeleteUs too!! 💜
DeleteYou are being good sports about the ferry mishap. I’d be so cranky!! Have fun!!
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