NEWFOUNDLAND – A DAY OF EXPLORATION.
Day 64 – It was still quite foggy this morning when we woke up. Without a signal, we have no weather forecasts. We were concerned that it would be another no-visibility day, but the fog began to burn off around 9 a.m. This is what the girls do on a foggy day (from yesterday).
Pixie
Luna
Gracie and Java
Rob took a couple of hikes in the partial fog while I fiddled around in the RV. Grates Cove was designated a National Historic Site because of the rock walls which remain on the hills (they were created in the 1700’s by original settlers to outline garden and property boundaries). John Cabot landed here twice in the late 1400’s, the first European explorer to discover NF, and on his second visit during one of the infamous North Atlantic storms, he ran aground & his ship sank. Until it was stolen by two people in a truck with a radio station logo (and never found), there was a rock here which was believed to be carved by him with the names of his children and of his ship. It is rumored that he was either killed by Indians (who later were seen wearing his jewelry) or that he’d been badly injured when his boat sank & during rescue, and that he died soon thereafter due to the injuries or due to illness. (It must be noted that since we arrived here, we have discovered two other locations that claim that John Cabot landed there and later crashed there. Believe me, Newfoundlanders do love to tell tall tales! Seriously. There are plenty of other stories we’ve heard.)
Anyway, Rob took a hike to the rock walls and up to the top of a hill where he made a rock cairn. Most of this hike was on a well-maintained boardwalk. Guided historical tours of these rock walls are given by the artist-in-residence of the Artist’s Studio/Restaurant/B&B, Terrence Howell, but individuals can walk amongst the walls anytime.
Click any picture below to see a slideshow.
Because the fog was dissapating when he got back to the RV, he figured another walk was in order. No telling when we’d be fogged in again – the fog gets so thick you cannot see the water at the bottom of the cliff. Near the RV parking is a well-maintained boardwalk trail that skirts the cliff’s edge and goes a short distance to historical displays that are part of this park. There was an historical fish stage museum. These buildings were used for processing the fish, once caught, and were considered to be a meeting place for the town’s fishermen. Across the trail was a replica of a cook house. From this trail you can reach the rocks below and the water of the Cove.
We packed a lunch for later and left for some exploring. Rob took me up to the rock walls. I got to see his cairn at the top of the hill, from a distance that is. The views from walls were very nice since the fog had lifted and the sun was coming out. There were few clouds. The car said it was 55 degrees.
We drove to Bay de Verde, a much bigger town than Grates Cove. (Bay de Verde’s population was 398 in 2011, having peaked in 1961 at 884 people.) John Cabot also landed there and crashed nearby. Poor John, so many shipwrecks.
Bay de Verde is southeast of Grates Cove, about a 15-minute drive. Grates Cove is on the northern tip of the peninsula; Bay de Verde is on the eastern side near the tip. Across from Bay de Verde is the large, rocky Baccalieu Island. Baccalieu is now protected, as an Ecological Seabird Reserve. The sea between Bay de Verde and Baccalieu is called the Baccalieu Tickle. Many, many shipwrecks have occurred there.
Baccalieu Island, how remote can you get! It was once occupied by some families – must’ve been hardy souls. The area around the Island (which includes Grates Cove & Bay de Verde), was considered to be the prime fishing grounds for Cod in all of North America. In the early years of settlement, fishermen came all the way from Europe for the Cod. During that time frame, Cod were caught by “Jigging”, fishing one-fish-at-a-time with a weighted hook. Next, the Cod Trap was invented and soon all fishermen were using this method. Later, in the early 20th century, Gill Netting became common place. Gill Netting is achieved with a huge net that is towed behind a large boat and it catches everything in its path. Finally, Bottom Dragging was introduced, decimating the remaining population and destroying the Cod spawning grounds. By 1992, almost no Cod were being caught, and a moratorium was put in place in the hopes of allowing Cod time to regenerate. This moratorium essentially remains in place today with a small quota being allowed in certain circumstances. The ebb and flow of these communities has coincided with the success of the Cod fisheries. The moratorium caused a drop in population throughout the outport communities. These people have long struggled to make ends meet and continue to do so.
We went to the Blundon Heritage House in Bay de Verde where we learned so much about the Baccalieu Island and Bay de Verde areas. We toured the house, about 130 years old, and were hovered over by 3 old ladies who wanted to serve us tea and sit down and chat for hours, LOL. Much of what we learned was from this museum and from a book we bought at the store there, Stories of Bay de Verde, by Gerald J. Riggs.
The harbour at Bay de Verde was really a major harbour with large fishing boats and the Quinlan Fish Processing Plant buildings dominate one side. The town of Bay de Verde is enclosed by two hills, Church Hill to the south and Big Hill to the north. The main harbour is called Foreside to the west and the secondary harbour is called Backside to the east. We stopped to eat our lunch at the pull-out over the Ocean and the red cliffs below. A Minke Whale was in the Cove. The Minke Whale is a Whale we have seen often when whalewatching near our land in Maine. It is small [25′ to 30′], but larger than an Pilot Whale [10′ to 25′] and a Dolphin [8′ to 10′] or Porpoise [4′ to 6′]. This was a sign that the Capelin might be starting to run in this area. Capelin are the oily fish that the Whales & Seabirds feed on in the summer months here.
I should mention the entrance/exit from Bay de Verde. You come in to the town via one road, a windy road which is sharply heading downhill. It is cut through gorgeous red stone; we are sure they had to blast through to accomplish this. What an entry to a town!
We drove south from Bay de Verde and checked out the next town, Low Point. There were maybe six homes there with others totally disintergrating. A lovely setting though. Capelin Cove followed, a beautiful cove that appeared to be much more successful that Low Point. Still, it was quite small. The Cove was surrounded by mammoth red rocks and cliffs. Awe inspiring. And then there was the word “Capelin”. This is what brings the activity to northern and eastern Newfoundland. They say that the seabirds fly above, diving for the oily fish while the whales surface, mouths wide open to catch the entire school. This supposedly goes on during the two months that appear to encompass summer here. We are waiting at the edge of our seats to see this phenomenon.
Capelin Cove, NF
We went to the dirt road out of Old Perlican, the only other entrace to Grates Cove. We wanted to see if we could get the Honda down this road to see several other coves and harbours, and take a different route back into Grates Cove. It worked out fine for the first 30 minutes or so, then the road got too rough. We did pass several ATV’rs so maybe this road isn’t made for cars. At Daniel’s Cove we turned around but not before observing a totally isolated community which was very beautiful in their remoteness. Small dirt driveways led thru the trees to sites at the edge of cliffs. I want to live here! But we’d destroy the car getting to and from the closest grocery store or post office. From here, you could see the outline of the Bonavista Peninsula, the next peninsula to the west. From what we’ve heard, here lies some of the most beautiful scenery in NF. This is our next destination.
We turned around and drove back to Grates Cove via the standard route. We stopped at the Artist’s Studio to pick up our order of Partridgeberry Syrup Concentrate. Can’t wait to try it! And we made arrangements to visit the restaurant one more time before we leave. When we arrived back at the RV, it was 55 degrees and we were anxious to sit outside for awhile to see if the Minke Whales were visiting Grates Cove yet. The fog had begun to roll in. It was warm enough until we were enveloped in the fog. We went inside and waited. Soon the fog rolled back out and we went back outside – until it rolled in again. Then it was cold and we would go back to the RV. We played this game for awhile. The fog rules here.