GOOD LUCK, GAIL!
NEWFOUNDLAND – LITTLE HARBOR TOWNS.
Day 73 – At 7:15 this morning it was sunny and 53 degrees. A gorgeous day, a little windy, but basically perfect. On our way out for a drive east and north, we stopped to renew this campsite for a couple more days; we like it here, the girls are relaxed & happy, and the weather has been great.
The Provincial Park is on the western side of the Burin Peninsula. We’ve already made the loop south, then across the bottom of the peninsula, back up north again and over to the western side of the coast. Today we drove east, then north to take all the small roads we could find that take you to the tiny villages on the eastern side of the peninsula.
We visited towns named Little Bay, Beau Bois, Spanish Room, Rock Harbour, Jean de Baie, Red Harbour, Rushoon, Baine Harbour, and Parkers Cove. All were lovely. Rock Harbour and all three villages on our final turnout: Boat Harbour, Brookside, and Petite Forte were the standouts, particularly Petite Forte. Petite Forte was one of the most authetic, awe-inspiring places we have been yet. There were fjords running between the forested rocky cliffs, culminating at the mouth of the Harbour. Unspoiled by tourists & time, if there had been a little piece of land there for sale, the RV might have found a new home. This was the last of three small villages on the 28 km road which went east off Route 210, the only north/south road on the eastern side of the Burin Peninsula. The population in 2016 was 50 people.
The Placentia Bay on which these towns lie, is a large body of water between two big peninsulas. There are beautiful islands in between the peninsulas. A few are reached by ferry, but most are uninhabited. The Placentia Bay joins the Ocean just above the Grand Banks, one of the most prolific fishing areas in the Atlantic Ocean. All of these towns & villages grew from tiny settlements hundreds of years ago when fishermen came from Europe to catch the abundant cod fish. The history practically oozes out of the cracks in the rocky cliffs. Some of these towns have been isolated for so many years, it’s like stepping back in time when you visit them. Roads were brought in for transportation as recently as fifty years ago. The only way one could reach another town was by boat, or possibly on foot or by horseback.
Click any picture below to see a slideshow.
We have more exploring to do tomorrow. If it’s anything as beautiful as what we saw today, we’ll be thrilled. We got back to the RV at about 4:15 p.m. after stopping for groceries at Marystown, one of the few larger towns on the peninsula. We sat outside in the tent, then came in and had dinner. The high today was 74 degrees, sunny and a little windy. Perfect.