NEWFOUNDLAND – ICEBERGS IN JULY?
Day 83 – The wind picked up last night & it rained hard. So much for the beautiful weather! The wind was increasing this morning and it was cloudy with light rain, so we thought it would be a good day to go campground scouting. Although we are set for this coming weekend at Twillingate, and next week during the week on Fogo Island, we’ll be needing a place to stay the following weekend. When their short summer season is over in September in NF, we should have no problem again obtaining campsites.
Since the heavy winds arrived here, we’ve had trouble getting a good signal. Here today, gone tomorrow. We may again have to send a batch of blog posts out all at once when the weather improves. Meanwhile, we’d been hoping to see lots of whales here in Twillingate. This area became a huge tourist attraction when people’s fascination with Whales & Icebergs started bringing visitors to Twillingate for the ability to view both up close seasonally. Once iceberg season ends, whale season begins, supposedly. We’d seen so many icebergs at other locations, we did not rush to Twillingate for the spectacle. We decided to avoid the crowds and come later for the whales which were purported to frolic throughout the bays and could be seen up close from the land, or definitely from a boat tour. The whales had just begun to show up at Grates Cove when we were there. They arrive to feed off the Capelin, the little oily fish that they love. The Capelin come to the area beaches yearly to spawn. Fast forward to Twillingate: people here are still awaiting the Capelin and the Whales. The boat tours are standing by. The waiters at restaurants are getting tired of being asked where the whales are. We’ve heard mixed stories – the whales are currently near St. John’s and heading this way, or we don’t know where they are, or the water is warmer near the shore so the Capelin are running elsewhere, or no, the capelin run by here first they are not coming, etc. etc. Whales frolicking along the shoreline may not be in the picture for us (literally) during this year’s visit. Oh well, no big deal, we’ve seen whales before. But being close to an iceberg? That is awe-inspiring, no doubt!
Which brings me back to today. We drove south to the Trans-Canada Highway & Notre Dame Provincial Park to take a look at their campites. Once we decided which sites would fit our RV, tow car, and screened tent, we could try to get a reservation for the weekend after this coming one. We liked this Park of about 100 sites. About 35 sites had electric & water hook-ups, the rest were not serviced. Many were not big enough, a few were with water views, and most had some trees around them. There were 2 playgrounds and 2 comfort stations (restroom & shower combo facilities); we try not to camp too close to either due to noise & increased activity. Another obstacle which is important when we pick a campsite is that we head in with our RV. Most campers back in. We like to head in because the best view for us inside the RV is through the front windows. There are no windows on the back side of the RV. If we head in and face the view (i.e., water), the back is facing outwards towards the road and we have no windows there. This leaves us totally secluded and private if there are trees between campsites. When you are picky, you need to scout the campground in advance, at least we do. Most campgrounds are designed with the backing-in practice in mind because that is what trailers must do to free up their truck for usage. Many campsites are placed in a way that makes going in frontwards-first almost impossible. This is why we are so picky, among other things. We picked our favorites & then could not get a signal to check availability. Such is the frustration of being in outer Mongolia. LOL. (I take that back. We have had excellent connections in very remote places and NO connection at all in big cities. Whatever did mankind/womankind do before the internet and the telephone?)
So sorry to be so wordy…..I have a glass of wine by my computer & it makes me chatty. Grin. After the campground we headed back north and found a lobster pound for lunch. We split a Crab Sandwich and a Lobster Sandwich (Maine calls them “Rolls”; NF calls them “Sandwiches”). We found a post office & mailed a few items which won’t reach the U.S. until around December, LOL. Stopped and got gas in the Honda and continued north taking a few side roads out to see the little villages on the bays.
We found a beautiful drive out to Comfort Cove. We turned on a dirt road and drove through really nice farm country. Wild flowers were blooming and filling the fields. Taking pictures of them was difficult because it was so windy, but we tried. On the way to the top of the hill of Doctor’s Hill Farm to Doctor’s Hill Overlook, between the tall trees overlooking the bay full of small islands, I kept seeing a large ship in the distance. Except that it appeared to be all white. I mentioned it to Rob and after we turned to go back down the hill, he took a look. No, it was a large iceberg that had a pointed top (it almost looked like a tall mast). Naw. A large iceberg at the 2 two-thirds of July point on a very inland waterway and island bay? It must be stuck there. But how did it get there? We stopped for pictures. It was so cool. (Now if a polar bear had been sitting on it and a whale had frolicked by, I woulda just gone nuts, LOL.)
Still icebergs! Dr’s Hill Overlook, Comfort Cove, NF
Dr’s Hill Overlook, Comfort Cove, NF
Dr’s Hill Overlook, Comfort Cove, NF
By the time we got back to Twillingate, it was 5:30, windy and light rain. We stopped at several restaurants that had interested us but they weren’t open on Thursday. We had heard good things about R&J’s Family Seafood Restaurant but their parking lot was usually full. We found a space and pulled in there for dinner. The food was good and it was near the campground so that worked out well. The girls missed us, so we vowed to stay home more tomorrow. Another good day in Newfoundland.