Flashback: As I was preparing to leave Cape Spear, An elderly couple from Scotland came up to me in the parking lot and started talking. He was very excited about my Dalton Highway sticker on the bike, and told me that they had gone there in a tour van! We had a grand time talking together about our travels before they had to get on their bus to leave.
= = = = =
I made it to Bonavista this morning and had breakfast in a small diner on Church Street. I was probably the only one there who doesn’t come in regularly.
I listened to two old guys at another table having a lengthy enthusiastic conversation for 5-10 minutes. During that time, I didn’t hear a single word I understood. Apparently the Bonavista area is known for its local “dialect”. I talked with several other people there without a problem.
I left there and went to the lighthouse on the end of the peninsula to see if I could find some puffins or whales to photograph.
I did! (Puffins, not whales).
I almost saw a huge humpback whale, but it turned out to be a big wave.
This is said to be the landfall of John Cabot in 1497.
A few months ago, I was contacted by a guy who had seen my trip videos on Youtube.
He mentioned that he lived in Newfoundland, and I told him I was planning a trip there.
He started riding motorcycles late in life like me, and we seemed to have a lot in common.
Today I got to meet him - Calvin Whalen.
Calvin told me about the one iceberg left in King’s Point, near where he lives, and invited me to come see it. I quickly made a list of all the icebergs I’ve ever seen, and decided to increase that number to ONE.
I met up with him, and we had a good time talking about bikes, traveling, icebergs, and Bonavista accents.
I shot photos of the rapidly melting iceberg, and Calvin shared a photo that he took of the same iceberg 3 weeks ago:
I spent last night at the only KOA campground in Newfoundland, in Gros Morne National Park.
They advertised WiFi, but couldn’t deliver. :-( So tonight, I decided to get a motel so I could be sure of having internet access to catch up.
A short distance north from there is Rocky Harbor where I had a delicious breakfast of eggs, toast, hashbrowns and Moose Sausage.
Rocky Harbor:
Flashback:
Over a year ago, when I first started considering a Newfoundland trip, I had one location that was at the top of the list to visit.
A pond.
Not just any pond; Western Brook Pond. It’s a bit bigger than most ponds back home:
540 feet deep, and 10 miles long.
To see it, you must hike 2 miles from the highway to the visitor center at the pond, where you can also take a 2-hour guided boat tour to the other end of the pond and back.
It's located just 25km up the coast from Rocky Harbor.
So I rode up and read all the signs near the road, and talked with some people who were gathering for the hike in.
They told me the details:
In order to walk the trail, you need a Park Pass, and to take the boat tour, you need a ticket that you can purchase in………. Rocky Harbor!!
GRR…….
I rode back down to Rocky Harbor where the nice lady told me they were sold out for the next boat tour, but I could just go back to the pond and see if they had a vacancy.
GRRRRR….
Back to the pond entrance, I hiked in and walked up to the counter where ALL THE OTHER PEOPLE WERE BUYING THEIR TICKETS!! No problem getting a ticket here.
The pond was even better than I had expected. It’s as close to Norway as you can get in North America.
Hiking in:
Waiting for our boat:
Our sister ship:
Checking out the small waterfall:
I listened to two old guys at another table having a lengthy enthusiastic conversation for 5-10 minutes. During that time, I didn’t hear a single word I understood. Apparently the Bonavista area is known for its local “dialect”. I talked with several other people there without a problem.
I left there and went to the lighthouse on the end of the peninsula to see if I could find some puffins or whales to photograph.
I did! (Puffins, not whales).
I almost saw a huge humpback whale, but it turned out to be a big wave.
This is said to be the landfall of John Cabot in 1497.
A few months ago, I was contacted by a guy who had seen my trip videos on Youtube.
He mentioned that he lived in Newfoundland, and I told him I was planning a trip there.
He started riding motorcycles late in life like me, and we seemed to have a lot in common.
Today I got to meet him - Calvin Whalen.
Calvin told me about the one iceberg left in King’s Point, near where he lives, and invited me to come see it. I quickly made a list of all the icebergs I’ve ever seen, and decided to increase that number to ONE.
I met up with him, and we had a good time talking about bikes, traveling, icebergs, and Bonavista accents.
I shot photos of the rapidly melting iceberg, and Calvin shared a photo that he took of the same iceberg 3 weeks ago:
I spent last night at the only KOA campground in Newfoundland, in Gros Morne National Park.
They advertised WiFi, but couldn’t deliver. :-( So tonight, I decided to get a motel so I could be sure of having internet access to catch up.
A short distance north from there is Rocky Harbor where I had a delicious breakfast of eggs, toast, hashbrowns and Moose Sausage.
Rocky Harbor:
Flashback:
Over a year ago, when I first started considering a Newfoundland trip, I had one location that was at the top of the list to visit.
A pond.
Not just any pond; Western Brook Pond. It’s a bit bigger than most ponds back home:
540 feet deep, and 10 miles long.
To see it, you must hike 2 miles from the highway to the visitor center at the pond, where you can also take a 2-hour guided boat tour to the other end of the pond and back.
It's located just 25km up the coast from Rocky Harbor.
So I rode up and read all the signs near the road, and talked with some people who were gathering for the hike in.
They told me the details:
In order to walk the trail, you need a Park Pass, and to take the boat tour, you need a ticket that you can purchase in………. Rocky Harbor!!
GRR…….
I rode back down to Rocky Harbor where the nice lady told me they were sold out for the next boat tour, but I could just go back to the pond and see if they had a vacancy.
GRRRRR….
Back to the pond entrance, I hiked in and walked up to the counter where ALL THE OTHER PEOPLE WERE BUYING THEIR TICKETS!! No problem getting a ticket here.
The pond was even better than I had expected. It’s as close to Norway as you can get in North America.
Hiking in:
Waiting for our boat:
Our sister ship:
Checking out the small waterfall:
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