As we headed down the park road a woman came by and pointed out the long cable we were dragging behind Speedy....I’d forgotten to stow it away. Fortunately, it wasn’t connected to the electrical box. Just dragging it was embarrassing enough. While I stored the cable, Ellen walked back to the site to retrieve the surge protector which was still conncted to the box.
Suitably chastened, I drove off and across town to Cape Spear, the easternmost point in North America (unless you count the Alaskan Aleutian Islands on the east side of the 180th meridian). Cape Spear is another spot high on cliffs overlooking the North Atlantic and it was blowing hard enough that one could barely stand in the wind, but since it was coming out of the west, we were able to find a somewhat sheltered spot in front of the ruins of the WWII fortifications to look out for seabirds. All we could identify were Northern Gannets and gulls, but they were the first gannets we’d seen. We also saw Swamp and Savannah Sparrows in the grasses on the site.
We hiked up to the historic lighthouse, but it was being renovated, so nothing was open to visit. It was still a bit early and the visitor center and new lighthouse were also not open yet. We left just as the first tour bus arrived.
We were on our way south to La Manche Provincial Park. We are going to do one of the boat tours on Witless Bay tomorrow to see the largest puffin colony in North America, about a half-million puffins...also whales and other seabirds, we hope. When we left the cape, the GPS routed us along a coastal back road that went through the small fishing village of Petty Harbour. It was about 10am, our coffee break time. As we were driving through, Ellen joked about finding the Starbucks in Petty Harbour then, if by magic, a sign popped up for the “Water Shed, Coffee and other arts 10-4”. Needless to say, we stopped.
It was stil a few minutes before 10 so we roamed the wharf for a bit. As we walked along, we saw a boat flying both the Newfound and Labrador flag and a green, white and pink flag, similar to the Italian flag. We’d seen this flag elsewhere and since there were a couple of men on the boat, I asked about it. It was the Newfoundland flag before confederation with Canada...once again, or still, a controversial subject. I could see where the fellow I was talking to stood. He was wearing a T-shirt with the flag and the caption Republic of Newfoundland.
We chatted a while. I asked about the local fishery as there were lots of large crab pots stacked up on the docks. He said they fished crab and cod right now and lobster and other fish like herring in their seasons. There is just a recreational cod fishery, no commercial fishing is allowed, but the daily limit is 15 fish. They were working on what looked to be a small fishing boat, but was actually just a recreational vessel that used to be a fishing boat.
By that point the Water Shed was open. We stopped in and it was a very nice coffee shop on the wharf. A few tables outside and comfortable seating inside. The coffee was excellent, probably the best caffe latte I’ve had in Newfoundland, and the brewed coffee and the blueberry scone were also good. They were doing a pretty steady business while we were there. I suspect that Petty Harbour isn’t just a fishing village any more. Fancy coffee and pastries aren’t usual fisherman fare.
After Petty Harbour. the road ran back out to the main road south, coincidentally named Main Road. It is also known as The Irish Loop. This southeastern part of the Avalon Peninsula, also called the Southern Shore, was a major area of Irish settlement in Newfoundland. It is more setled than the west side of Newfoundland, but less densely populated than the areas north and west of St. John’s. We were talking with an older local couple here in the campground and they said that it has hardly grown in the past 50 years because it is known for its fog and wetter weather. It was sunny, 80 degrees and breezy as he said this.
We made a quick stop at the Visitor Center at Bay Bulls, then another at the Molly Bawn tours office (actually just a shed) in Mobile to find out about their boat tour on Witless Bay. They have a 35ft converted fishing boat and take only 12 people as opposed to the other tours that have the big tour boats and take many more per trip. She was ready to book us on the next tour, leaving in 15 minutes, but I said we’d try tomorrow when it might be less breezy. We did go down to see the boat and got a chance to speak to the young German biologist who is the naturalist guide on the boat. We are booked for the first boat, 10 am, tomorrow.
It was off to the campground, which is on a pond just inland from the shore. The park is named for an abandoned town which was on coast and the site is part of the park. There is a trail out to the townsite and we planned to walk to it after lunch and laundry. We took a campsite that backs onto the pond and it just across from the comfort station, which includes the laundry. Quite a good deal, this laundry, 75 cents Canadian for a wash or a dry.
After that chore was complete it was off on our hike. We had bit of a misunderstanding of the distance. The campground map showed 1.4 km to the suspension bridge over the inlet gorge by the town. What we failed to notice was that it was from the trailhead, not the campground...and the trailhead was a mile uphill from the campground. It took us a bit longet to get to the bridge than we expected.
It was a nice, if strenuous, hike. After reaching the trailhead, it was mostly downhill to the gorge. When we started out, we thought that it was going to be a very uncrowded hike, but when we reached the unexpected trailhead there wre dozens of carss parked. The trail ran through the woods and reminded us a bit of hiking in Acadia since there were several sections, particularly near the end, that traversed bare bedrock. Just before the suspension bridge, we found out where all the people were. Upstream from the bridge is a waterfall and above the waterfall is a natural dam and a large deep pool, the local swimming hole. It had lots of people and dogs in the clear river water. There is no lack of water in Newfoundland.
We walked out onto the bridge but did not go on further. The trail continued up a steep hill with stairs for another kilometer to reach the town site around the next point. It had taken us twice our expected time to get this far and half the hike back was steeply uphill. We turned around and trundled back to Speedy.
Tomorrow it is off to see seabirds and whales in the morning and then head further along the Irish Loop. We may stop at the Colony of Avalon archeological site, but we will also be stopping at some of the popular birding hotspots along the way.
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