EXPLORING THE UPPER BONAVISTA PENINSULA, DAY 2.
Day 69 – Well, we only were able to get Monday’s post out. This is what happens if we don’t keep up with the Blog daily. It’s now Thursday at almost 8 p.m. and we’ve been traveling to a new campsite most of the day. Below is the post from Tuesday, another busy day at the Bonavista Peninsula.
The high temperature today was 65 degrees, warmer than yesterday and not as windy. We left the RV around 10 a.m. for another day of exploring the upper Bonavista Peninsula. We didn’t get back to the RV until around 8 p.m. If we don’t cut this out, the girls will pack their bags and run away from home.
We headed southwest once we reached the paved road out of the campground. At the intersection we turned north and drove to beautiful villages in gorgeous coves. To name them all: Charleston & Sweet Bay to the end of that road; back on the main highway heading north – Princeton, Summerville, Plate Cove West, and Plate Cove East; on another road – Open Hall, Red Cliff, and Tickle Cove at the end of that road; back to the main highway – King’s Cove, and the final grouping of small villages before the towns surrounding Bonavista – Duntara and Keels.
You never know what you’ll find. Some of these villages are fairly large and populated, but many are tiny and occasionally only house a few people, often with a population of less than 50. Some are rather boring and others knock your socks off. (Sometimes you wonder how these people can wake up every morning to such incredible beauty and not really realize what they have. Many of the folks we’ve met really are so used to it all, and icebergs as big as their town or frolicking whales in front of their home, or caribou or moose wandering through their yards, these things don’t even stand out in the least. They are just trying to survive, day-to-day. We’re not criticizing; we are just in awe.)
We loved in particular: Red Cliff, Tickle Cove, and Keels. Newfoundland is an Island that is basically a huge rock – they call it “The Rock” – and the cliffs and hills and rocks are amazing. But the rocks in Red Cliff and Tickle Cove were just as gorgeous and intriguing except that they were a red/purple in color, and when contrasted against the deep blue water of the ocean, words cannot describe their beauty. Here in Newfoundland during this time of year, the green foliage is like the new spring growth in the northeast U.S. – almost fluorescent in greens – and here that color is mixed and contrasted with the dark green of the spruces. Combine all of this is one place and your senses go on overload; you can’t take much more beauty. And then there was Keels – a tiny, old village at the end of the road – quaint, quiet, and charming – where the old houses sat nestled in the rocky cliffs as if protected by the rocks, overlooking the ocean below.
We continued north towards Bonavista on Route 235, stopping to take pictures of horses at Newman’s Cove with two icebergs in the background. And if that wasn’t enough to see, a beautiful Red Fox was trotting along by the side of the road; when you see the picture, check out its tail!
Back in Bonavista again, we went to Ryan Premises and toured the Museum at the Harbor.
“The northern tip of the Bonavista Peninsula is where John Cabot landed in 1497. Upon seeing land, his first words were ‘Oh buono vista!’ or ‘Oh happy sight!’ There you will find the Ryan Premises National Historic Site of Canada, a restored multi-building fish merchant premises, which tells the story of five centuries of the fishery in Newfoundland & Labrador.” from the Newfoundland/Labrador Traveller’s Guide 2023
We headed east on Route 237 to visit the towns we missed yesterday. We took pictures of the lighthouse at Catalina, spent some time at Port Union and its National Historic District (which is in the middle of being revitalized & reconstructed) and the fossil site and rocks there, and the charming villages of English Harbour & Champney’s Arm.
“Port Union, as the name suggests, is a union-built town, one-of-a-kind in North America. Founded by Sir William F. Coaker, an early 20th-century reformer, union organizer, politician, businessman, teetotaler, and failed farmer. Coaker devoted his life to bettering the lives of downtrodden fishermen.” from the Newfoundland/Labrador Traveller’s Guide 2023
Port Rexton was next; it’s the closest bigger town to the campground. We’d wanted to go to the Two Whales Cafe, a vegetarian/vegan restaurant that was supposedly very good. But they were closed when we got there. We tried the Port Rexton Brewery because they supposedly had a large selection of beer, and we hoped they were pub-like with their food choices. We’d only had protein bars for lunch, so we were hungry. It turned out that a food truck attached to the Brewery which served various kinds of grilled cheese sandwiches was the only option. Naw, grilled cheese sandwiches just didn’t sound good to us. So we drove back to Trinity, not far from Port Rexton, and had dinner at the same place we ate last night. On the way to the restaurant, Port Marina, we drove through Trinity East, which was cute and basically just an extension of Trinity. Dinner was the Linguini Terra Nova again for Rob and the Pan Seared Scallops with a side Caesar Salad for me. It was good once again.
It was past the girl’s dinner time again when we got back to the RV. But as soon as they got their food, all was forgiven.