N. L. Road Trip (8): Twillingate

Although we realised that we were in Twillingate at the wrong season but we had a bit of joy by looking at the beautiful rocky beaches and we were lucky that it was sunny all day long. Breakfast was served by the inn we were staying at which was not bad. I really liked the homemade muffins and I guess I had as many as four with my coffee. I will write about the detail of our stay, alongside with other hotels in a separate post called Where Did We Stay, later. 

So we again geared up and headed for the end of the island to see Long point Lighthouse, Crow Head and the small islands. It was a very windy day so we were told by the inn crew that the normal bout tour would not going to take place. The cliffs and  trials of Twillingate are so beautiful but we would have seem much more beauty, if we had been there either in May, June or July. Icebergs could have been seen from the inn's balcony, we were told. Anyways we tried to use the best of it so we covered most of the trial and we hiked all the way to Devil's Cove. All the cliffs, rocks and small islands around us reminded me of the Devil's Island in movie Papillon. The only difference and the big one was that we did not have the sense of isolation that he had. At least not to that extent. Automatically going to small, remote towns like there gives you that sense but you get yourself busy with the new things that you have not seen and you forget it. Staying there for a longer time, I think that would be different. It's all about habits. 

Fortunately we were alone all the time. F. F. even got a chance to spend a few minutes on Wild Blueberry picking and I took as many photos as I wanted. I guess we spent about 3 hours there and F. F. was exhausted and hungry but she did not give it up and accompanied me everywhere! For lunch we had a few slices of yesterday's pizza so we had them on our way back to Highway No. 1 and west of the island for our next destination. Overall Twillingate is a perfect place to be to see Iceberg, I have learnt. The idea is just to be there in the right season and of course had a place booked in advance.

(Photo: On a nice sunny day in Twillingate this is how the Atlantic and the cliffs look like. As I said that would have been much nicer, if it had been decorated by Icebergs!)

N. L. Road Trip (7): The Scary Drive to Twillingate

It was dark when we reached Gander and we had not eaten. So first we looked for a place to chow on something. F. F. suggested to get some pizza. So we went to the nearby Greco Pizza and ordered a party size vegetarian. It was not bad but it was white flour crust which I hate but F. F. was too tired and hungry to remind me to ask and it was too late and the order had been put. We knew that chances that they have it is very low. We had part of the pizza and we struggled really hard with the damn G. P. S. to take us to Twillingate which was the next stop where we had a room booked. According the the map we had to take NL 330 but the fucking G. P. S. was pushing us to Trans Canada Highway. I realized that we had to go to Gander Bay first so started asking around, maybe two places how to get there but people were giving direction by naming the streets that I had no idea where they were! We wasted a total of half an hour at least that way, if not more. That was including filling up the tank. It was completely dark and a bit cold. I eventually said: Fuck it! I knew we had to take NL 330 so with the help from the map and the damn G. P. S. I pulled ourselves on that road and set the G. P. S. for Gander Bay. According to it we should have reached there in about 15 minutes of less and then I would have set it for Twillingate. So we seemed to be fine. NL 330 was a two way, one lane each side road with absolutely no light and a few vehicles on it especially in that time of the night which I think was around 21:30 or so. After a few minutes the fucking G. P. S. announced that we had arrived at the destination but we both looked and there was absolutely nothing but pure dark. F. F. was a bit panicked and I was surprised and confused but I tried to calm her dawn and just set the G. P. S. this time to Twillingate and simply followed the route. Every few minutes or so a vehicle mostly a big truck would appear in my rear view mirror and passed the first chance it get. It was obvious that they were the locals who knew the road very well. I have no photos of those scary moments but with the help of the roadside signs I went to NL 331 and followed our way to the town. F. F. would advise me of possible hinders and other dangers on the way including watch the side river! We were at times so close to the water that you would think you will fall into the sea if you don't drive carefully.

We eventually reached the town at around 23:25 or so and then I didn't know where to go! The only thing I had was the address of the hotel (which in fact was an inn) and the advise from someone in there whom had told F. F. to turn left when we reached the town! I did that and I realized that I only had the address nit the name of the place! The address said Main Street and I tried to find a street sign with that on it! In that dark and all the few few stores closed, it was something really hard. I eventually found it and then tried to find the street number! It didn't take long that I learnt that we were not very far away! I went inside and saw a note for us with a key beside it. Everyone was asleep. I guess it was almost 23:55 or so. We quietly moved a few stuff in and got ready for sleep. 

(Photo: The damn Magellan G. P. S. We had trouble with it mostly because we just bought it a day before our flight and was not really familiar with it but despite that it's a stupid machine. I got it as refurbished from London Drugs for a reasonable price. I didn't want to spend more than $100 for it. For the next trip to N. L. or somewhere which I have not been to and is kind of remote, I know now that I would have to rely on a combination of map and G. P. S. as well as laptop if I can get a signal where I am lost. This picture is taken on the way back from Twillingate on the way to Highway No. 1)

Pigeon Mountain

I got a chance today to be a bit free so I thought I should use it for a nice hike. I chose Pigeon Mountain in Dead Man's Flat. I was in the parking lot at about 10:10 AM and started following the information I had downloaded from the net and quiet frankly it worked although the grammar of the writer sucks!

There were a few vehicle parked there and it meant people were already going up. The signs that the guy refers to them are a bit vague, mostly. For example he says you pass couple of ravines but I guess I passed at least three, may be four. And the information board she showed in his note was never seen by me so I was a bit confused. But then he was right: After about an hour and a half or a bit more I got out of the trees and a steep trail started. The view of the surrounding mountain is very beautiful and the weather, as I had read, was partially cloudy. So sun would come out and it not only warmed me up in that windy weather but also helped me to get a few nice shots. after I got to the snowy section I realized two guys were coming down. They had covered their heads, had mitts on and where carrying sky poles! I was going to ask if they were coming from the Himalayas but didn't! I had a little chat with them and they descended. Then there the remaining part of the group coming down when one of the women, after I said hi to them, hoped that I had mitts on me! It really was not that bad. I didn't feel I would need any mitts, gloves, poles, ear muffs, toques or anything else. Just a few minutes to the top and that actually is the south summit I saw another group resting with the same gear and equipment. I think it took a total of a little more than 3 hours to reach to the top. I took a few photos and headed down but before going down I saw something on the top of a rock I had passed. I remembered what I had read: There is another summit, most likely the northern one. Footprints showed that none of the two groups had gone up there so I decided to go. That was a challenge because unlike the south summit, this one comprised of brittle rocks with not much guidance on the route to the top. I call this rock Chips Summit because the layers of rock would be easily broken and I had to be really careful not to fall and roll down the valley! Fortunately the trial was not too long and find myself on a vast flat summit with a cairn and a shed with antenna and solar cells. The view from there was magnificent and that is what you see in the picture. I assume that shed, which I had a glimpse of inside, must be a weather checking center or something similar. There were big batteries, the shape of car batteries inside. I took a few more photos and headed bad to the main trial. To that moment I have not had anything. So I took a sip of water. There was nothing special on the way back. I was just hoping to see a few animals but that limited to a few birds and a screaming squirrel! I reached the parking lot at 16:50 which means the whole hike took about 06:30 hours. Overall it was a very pleasant hike and I enjoyed. I was better than the previous two (Miner's Peak and Yamnuska). With the weather going toward winter I'm not sure how many more time I can hit the trials but I try to make it once a week if the other stuff of life allow. 

(Photo: The north summit of Pigeon Mountain. I really like the shape of the mountains in the back)

N. L. Road Trip (6): Terra Nova National Park

We stopped at Terra Nova National Park on our way to the north side of the island but because of the distance and construction on Highway No. 1 we were late. The office was open only because there was a cruise from Greenland there! I thought to myself: It would be amazing to be on a ship from Europe to here. So tried to use the best of it and took the closest trial and hiked for a bit. I just about 1 hour we were there we saw beautiful nature of the park as well of a few kind of birds, the first one similar to Pheasant, from that family of course and another one, a wading bird, from Sandpiper family and the other one was a diving bird circling above water, looking down and diving to catch its food which most likely was a small fish. I'm not sure if I can call it a diving bird though because it comes out quickly while a diving bird goes deeper maybe. Not quite sure! 

It was getting late and dark and we had to go to our next destination that we had a hotel room booked so we headed north for Gander which would be our stop for dinner. Terra Nova is beautiful like most of the parks in N. L. and Canada and it was different for us because of the cruise ship and the birds we saw but I can not say if it is better than the other parks that we had seen or we would see. Apparently it is a very big park and it might have other things to see and do but one thing I am sure of it is that it has no mountain which makes it less appealing to me but I insist what we saw was really beautiful. In addition to that they have a tank full of Starfish and other sea creatures which worth seeing so definitely Terra Nova is a place to be.

(Photo: A type of sandpiper looking for portions of its dinner on the banks of Terra Nova Park's pond located in northeastern Newfoundland) 

N. L. Road Trip (5): Cape Saint Mary's Reserve Park

Being in Placentia gives you the opportunity to check out a few places including:

1- You can get on the ferry and go to Nova Scotia.

2- You can go to Avalon Wilderness Reserve, and

3- You can have an Ocean View drive and go all the way to Cape Saint Mary's Reserve Park.

We chose the last one as it had been planned. 

The drive so long and the road is so quiet but you drive through small communities and you wonder what people are doing there and how they manage their life because it truly looks like the end of the world! After more than an hour drive which felt much longer to us we reached our destination which looked like it was the end of the world actually: An area of high rocks and cliffs which only consists of  a lighthouse and a Parks Canada office with a tiny gift shop. There were only a few people around and obviously all from Newfoudnland. The park guide gave us a bit of explanation and guidance and told us that they would be gone by the time we were back. This place is again another Parks Canada places which there is no admission fee for it but I wanted to buy something from its gift shop as they have nice craft but F. F. was angry as a result of hunger and sleepless so I forgot about it.

Basically this reserve park is combined of a few trials close to the edges of very dangerous high cliffs which are covered with seabirds. It's a very beautiful place and windy. I don't know how far you can go but you look at distance and you see the same coast for kilometers away. I just went until the trails were marked. I would have gone further for sure if I had been only by myself. The weather was a mix of sun and cloud and of course like most of the places in Newfondland you enjoy a whole lot more if it's a pure sunny day. Cape Saint Mary's was probably the only place we went that we would have seen the same if we had been there earlier in the year. I only regret that I could not spend much longer time over there and experience more but trips the way I like them could be done only alone!

(Photo: The marked trial takes you to the edge of the dangerous cliffs where hundreds of Gannets are sitting or flying around) 

N. L. Road Trip (4): Placentia

We headed west after spending 2 days in St. John's, not that we had seen everything but we simply didn't want to limit ourselves to one place. Placentia was our next stop. It is fairly a small town and that is where Castle Hill, another national historic site of Canada locates. I checked that first and we realized that the main gate was closed so we thought the place was closed as it was Sep. but it appeared that the gate was closed to the vehicle and we could simply walk up which is not more than 15 minutes.

Castle Hill was originally build in the then Placentia as a French and English fortification. I think it was first occupied by the French and they were protecting the French fisherman and they intention was to colonize Newfoundland and Labrador and then were driven out by the British and both the fort and town became a British settlement. Today there is no French spoken resident in N. L. but there are some in Nova Scotia including a colleague of mine whom I will have a little talk with her later and a post most probably as well. I think the French then moved to Cape Breton which is at the other side of the Province in Nova Scotia as I said but I will write more about that later. 

So it started raining when we got up there but one of the Park Canada who provided a little history of the place for us, and was a very nice gentleman with a heavy accent which was hard to believe brought us umbrellas so we could walk a bit more easier although we had our kind of raincoats on. The sky was cleared out shortly after and I was able to take a few photos. The place was open but not for business. The Park Canada guys I guess were getting ready for the end of the season. 

Placentia as I said is a very small town but it worth checking it. For dinner we went to Harold Hotel and fed ourselves with their seafood dishes which was good and reasonable price. Two meal which made us completely full cost around $40 including the tip. The place was packed because the other two restaurants in the town, including one Chinese were closed (They are closed on Mondays). There is a nice and long boardwalk in case you want to have a walk by the Ocean but we skipped. Placentia is also gate to Cape Saint Mary's Reserve which will be the subject of the next post.

(Photo: The town of Placentia from the top of Castle Hill)