Newfoundland15 - Avalon Peninsula3 - St Mary's Ecological Reserve

Talk about a "natural high", the fossils, the brisk wind, tenacious plant life and a curious seal made this one of the most perfect days ever.  Happy that we took the time to visit the fossil beds, we motored on to St Vincent's where we had heard that whales can often be seen near shore.  We pulled into a parking area with picnic sites next to a rocky beach and started to get out of the van when a fellow camper from Ontario motioned to us to stay put.  He had been watching the whales all day from his motorhome.  Yes, they were that close.  He told us to look for gannet flying overhead because they look for fish.  The whales know that and they follow.  Schools of fish come really close to shore and the whales follow.  This was too good to be true!  We stayed the night.

Whale watching at St Vincent's

The long curved beach with a steep sand and gravel mix provided the opportunity for excellent viewing.  We saw 10-12 humpback whales cruise the shoreline.

We had been fortunate that we had arrived during a period of clear days, so we left the next morning for St Mary's because we knew we wanted to see the gannet colony there.  No need for a guide to take us; we hiked out 1.5 km to the gannet colony.

Atlantic Gannets at St Mary's Ecological Reserve

Murres and kittiwakes

In the second picture taken from the footpath, the middle bluff looks like it sticks out and this is where we walked to and sat down just a few feet from the gannets. Wow!  To our right were the murres and razorbills (black) and some Black-footed Kittiwakes. To gain some perspective, slightly above and to the left of that middle bluff, it looks like it is a bit level and there appears to be some yellow there.  That's where all the people were. I know, you can't see them; but compare that to the size of the bluffs and you can get a sense of what 100's of thousands of gannets look like when they come to Newfoundland to nest.

Knowing we had just experienced a most spectacular sight, we were feeling pretty content and so on day #42 we were ready to leave Newfoundland.  We were not scheduled to leave on the ferry just yet, but we drove to the ferry dock at Argentia and asked if there was room.  No Problem! One week ahead of schedule. but early enough in the season to get a space for the van and a room for the night aboard.  As we enjoyed a buffet dinner, we watched dolphins and whales. Such a nice way to say goodbye to Newfoundland.

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