Newfoundland1

Our reservation for the ferry to Newfoundland was set for June 1. We arrived in North Sydney, port of call, the evening before.  It was an opportune time to do laundry.  North Sydney is certainly a working-class community, owing to nearby mining and a good-sized port.

After doing our laundry, we headed back out of town toward the campground to have lunch at Lick-A-Chick.  I kid you not.  We had to try this local hang-out; burger and fries seemed safe enough.

We then drove to the parking lot to wait our turn to load.  We had a few hours to wait, so we strolled over to the terminal.  There we met an engaging Newfoundlander whose grandfather had been one of these ferry boat captains who used to sail the straits between Newfoundland and Labrador, often being paid in moose meat or fish from the villagers scraping a living out of the rock and sea, nothing going to waste.  She told us the story of her grandmother who kept saving the wrapper from the store where she had purchased meat and then reused it, hiding the fact that she was feeding her granddaughter moose meat instead of the hamburger listed on the label.

After arriving in Port Aux Basque eight hours later, we headed east to Rose Blanche Lighthouse.  Once in sad repair, locals banded together and have given it a facelift, making it open to the public.  The gravel lane to the lighthouse was closed by an iron gate and chained.  We crawled over it anyway; it was 8:30 in the morning on a Sunday after all. 

Walking down the lane toward the lighthouse several small buildings were shut up, but it looked like a couple of souvenir shops and a "take-away".  Rose Blanche Lighthouse is unique because it was made from granite which sure seems to be in abundance on this island.

My first Newfie geocache find!

Under restoration