In the early morning after the dinner theatre in Twillingate I was out early with intensions of getting lots of photo reference for future paintings. This little fishing village is so picturesque. I wandered the streets taking in the sights as the sun rose over the harbor.
Just before sunrise
Even though the cod fishing has been severely restricted and the lobster season has ended, people were working the boats. It was inspirational and I am hoping I got enough reference to develop into something resembling artwork. I doubt I can do this village justice but will try.
The waterfront was just coming alive.
Once back at the hotel packing began and within a short period of time we were on the road. We had been fortified with coffee, Carol had the good sense to pack coffee making stuff before we left home. Starting a day with coffee when you wake up, watching the sunrise on the deck or walking the dog with a cup is a fine way to rise. Thanks to Carol we start each day with at least one cup before getting on the road.
Twillingate, Newfoundland
We needed to get back down off the peninsula to Route 1, the TransCanada Highway, before heading east. We had canceled our stay in the Terra Nova National Park and booked an AirBNB in Bonavista in search of Puffins, those colorful, silly little birds that live in remote places. We stopped in Gander for breakfast a couple of hours after leaving Twillingate. Gander has the airport is where the planes landed when air travel was suspended on 911. Thirty eight planes and six thousand six hundred people arrived in Gander, a small town of only 10,000 in Newfoundland. You may have seen the play "Come From Away", this is where it happened.
Breakfast in Gander.
We had a good breakfast with some super thick homemade whole wheat toast. And then another $75 worth of gas and we were back on the road. Our audio book entertained us as we traveled through the rolling landscape. Great vistas were in every direction and conversation came easily as the hours and road melted away behind us.
We got in a hike in Terra Nova National Park, just enough to get the kinks out of our legs.
Soon we were heading up Route 230 toward Bonavista. We discovered the best Puffin viewing site was actually in the town of Elliston, about 10 miles east of Bonavista, so we set that as our destination. We stopped in at the 'Puffin Shop' and asked directions, misunderstood the directions and ended up elsewhere but they had an interesting monument to 214 men, sealers, who lost their lives at sea during a 1914 storm.
Puffin Chairs!
There was also the worlds largest puffin chairs and a couple of gift shops which we wandered through but found nothing interesting except the wash rooms. We soon were back on track and found the Puffin site, parked in the lot only to discover 'No Dogs' - sorry Harper. Harper is such a good sport about this sort of indignation, she just curls up on her blanket and sleeps in the car while we are off somewhere. And no, we never leave her in the car when it is hot!
Carol confronts some fears while Harper has to wait in the car.
We hiked to the edge of the world and there, just across the gap were the Puffins. This little spit of land is one of the few places that you can view Puffins from the land. This colony draws quite a crowd and the Puffins put on quite a show. I was surprised how quick they are and that they live underground. When they land they immediately scoot down a hole and out of site.
Puffin in flight with a fish in its beak.
We guess this is to get the fish they just caught out of harms way, the seagulls are ever present to snatch their catch away. I took lots of terrible photos and some mediocre video but just watching them was enough. Cute little birds indeed.
Along the hike to see the Puffins
From Elliston we wandered over to Bonavista to find the cottage where we would be staying. It turned out to be a delightful little place, likely a converted fish camp house. Bonavista turned out to have even more personality than Twillingate as it is a busy working fishing harbor. It has not succumbed to all the tourist crowd yet.
Our little cabin for the night, Harper in the doorway.
It too was full of charm and personality but of a more down to earth kind. It felt like it would be a comfortable place to call home. We explored through town and headed out to the lighthouse - understandably there seems always to be lighthouse on these rocky shores.
Just about sunset
The Cape Bonavista Lighthouse sits at the very tip of Cape Bonivista clinging to the rocks high above the sea. The whole structure is painted red and white, or at least it was once. The lighthouse is now faded, giving it a unique personality. The area at he end of the cape is covered in small rocks which people visiting like to stack into cairns. We did the same as we hiked over the barren rocky outcrop.
The cairn we made.
Harper had a great time hiking over the stone, sniffing away and she met a couple of other puppies along the way. Always with a protective woof at first, then a lot of butt sniffing, then buddies. The winding road back into town provided so many interesting views as the sun was setting in the west.
Sunset and fishing boats in Bonavista.
We found a locally owned grocery store lumber yard combination and had to stop. Carol went into the store and I sketched with Harper asleep in my lap. We ordered a pizza, drove around a bit sight seeing, taking photos and wondering about life in Bonavista. We both agreed that a couple of weeks here in the summer would be an ideal vacation. The pizza was great as we sat on the couch watching a mindless movie on Netflix. It is good to be mindless every once in a while. In the morning we packed up and headed down this peninsula - not unlike heading down from Twillingate. The speed limit is 50 - 80 Kilometers an hour which is about 30 to 55 MPH - not a speedy drive. Rain was predicted at 3 PM, and our check in at the next AirBNB in St. John's was 3 PM, this didn't look too good but it worked the rain kept getting pushed off. St. John's is the capitol and largest of cities in Newfoundland. We are staying here for a week and using it as a base to explore from.
The AirBNB where we will be staying for the next several days, a duplex, our door is on the left.
Rain is predicted for all day the following day (today as I write this) so we can catch up on things. We stopped and picked up a few things that we needed, and found our way to the house. It is an awesome old house not too far from the town center. We have two bedrooms and everything you could possibly need. We got unpacked and settled down on the front porch with beverages and a friendly game of cribbage while we waited for the rain to arrive, which it has. It is supposed to continue to rain through Friday morning. I popped out for burritos, Carol and I love burritos and have not had any Mexican food since we left home. They fit the bill nicely. We caught up on a few videos where Carol fell asleep on the couch and I sat at the table catching up on the blog. I got a post done last night and got it posted by 11:30. I will post this one tonight so you will have it in the morning. It is good to have a rainy day to be lazy in, although I do expect some exploration later this afternoon.
Below is a gallery with lots of photos, click an image to enlarge
