Tuesday 4th August
An overcast cold day but another drive out for the day, to Cape Norman. Through Cook Harbour (the same as the South Seas Captain) and parked in Wild Bight where the (terrible) asphalt road ran out.
Carol wasn’t feeling up to it but I did a trek to the lighthouse.
Signs by the trail promised me views of humpback wales and icebergs but I didn’t see a thing apart from a grey sea beating on grey rocks.
Nice lighthouse though.
Wednesday 5th August
Time to move on and back the way we came to St. Barbe and the ferry to Labrador. While waiting for the ticket office to open we availed ourselves of the adjoined Motel restaurant and some more Newfoundland cuisine - ‘cod au gratin’. Basically a kind of cod mash smothered in cheese with garlic bread - no veggies, veggies don’t seem a popular item in Newfoundland. There seems to be a high cancer rate - a connection?
Bit of a less crowded parking lot, though there was more by the time we left (an hour late).
What a difference between this operation and the Newfoundland ferry. The waiting parking lot is a joke with big trucks having to back into it. There’s only one boat (The Apollo) and it’s old.
I found the quantity of water pouring out the lifted bow a bit worrisome.
The cafeteria food has the worst selection on ANY ferry I have ever been on. There’s very few comfortable seats aboard. It took 45 mins longer to cross than they said at the beginning of the trip. And I actually got a touch of Mal de Mer.
I found out later that they’d had engine trouble - disconcerting!
The ferry actually docks in Blanc Sablon, Quebec, Labrador being about 7 klicks up the road.
It was foggy all the way across and was very foggy when we got to the other side so the plan to drive up the coast 50km was scrapped and we stopped at an RV campground in L’Anse au Clair. It does have full service so it was nice to have a.c. power and water you don’t have to boil first which is the usual here.
Thursday 6th August
It’s still a little foggy in the morning but it does start to lift to give a distant view of the sea in this somewhat industrial location.
It doesn’t look a promising day but as we bounce our way north, on even worse roads, the fog rolls away and it’s a gorgeous day. We even saw an other iceberg but missed the place to stop and document it.
Pinware River Provincial Park is second to Lomond in being the most beautifully located. We picked a site but when I walked back to claim it I found out it was already reserved (via the Internet). However we swapped for one with an equally stunning view.
The sea, surprisingly, really is that blue. At least when the sun shines.
Friday 7th August
When rounding the park on Buddy’s morning walk I found the only other (out of 15) sites that was used was the one we had first chosen - what are the odds? 15 to 1 actually.
Labrador is very beautiful (the bit we saw anyway) sandy beaches and less austere than Newfoundland but the roads are terrible and the bugs!!! You could not sit outside without clouds of little black biting flies, mosquitoes and deer flies. So we’re off back to the the island.
The ferry was booked up until at least Sunday but since they leave 25% unreserved we decided to take a chance and try the first ferry in the morning. We got there early and achieved number 3 on the waiting list and boarded with no problem.
Back on land it was back to the River of Ponds Campsite.
Lots of rabbits, no moose.
Saturday 8th August
Clouds away and clear blue skies. The weather here is nothing if not changeable.
There’s a trail here and my knee needs exercise. Carol stays to tidy things up and I head off down to the wharf.
Ise the byes.
Everywhere we see signs like this, it’s some kind of campaign to get Newfoundlanders back to Newfoundland.
The trail leads along the shoreline. Driftwood, anyone?
Eventually you reach the actual River of Ponds.
Where it flows into the sea.
A pleasant spot to spend eternity.
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