how to get to – Page 2 – PalmTreeMusings

Taxco, the silver capital of Mexico

November 30, 2024December 13, 2024Posted in North AmericaTagged backpacking, best things to do in, budget travel, how to get to, Mexico, Pozas azules, pueblos magicos, silver mine, Taxco, travel, travel blog1 Comment

November is such a nice time of year to visit Mexico- beautiful weather, low crowds- so this year we decided to spend Thanksgiving break in Taxco, one of Mexico’s “Pueblo Magicos”, or Magic Towns. These charming small cities feature walkable city centers, historic churches and plazas, and plenty of delicious options to eat and drink.

Arriving at the Mexico City airport, there’s three easy ways to get to downtown, or to any of the main bus stations. You can hop in a taxi, take the Metrobus, or walk all the way down to Door One and access the subway. For 15 pesos (75¢ US) you can buy a metro card, and then each ride is 5 pesos (25¢). Two people can share one metro card. We transferred to the blue line’s last stop, the Tasqueño bus terminal. It’s a very nice, very modern bus terminal, and we found busses departing for Tasco every 90 minutes. 554 pesos later (approx $25 USD), we had two bus tickets on Costa Lines and were on our way.

We arrived in Taxco two and a half hours later and walked from the central bus station to our hotel, the Posada de San Javier ($65 per night for a king suite, with breakfast). The city of Taxco trails down the side of a mountain, so it doesn’t matter where you stay- everywhere you go is going to be a short but steep climb from your hotel or restaurant or the main zocalo. Just take it slow and steady, or hop in one of the ubiquitous VW taxis that constantly circle the plazas.

The stunning main feature of Taxco is the twin-spired baroque Church of Santa Pisca, built from 1751-1759. Everything else in the historic city can be found in relation to the church. Wanting to really relax on our trip, we spent four days in town and found ourselves lounging on rooftop terraces, enjoying coffees and chilaquiles in the mornings or hot chocolates and churros in the evenings. We spotted a few other gringo tourists in town, but the majority seemed to be visitors from other parts of Mexico or Latin America. Taxco feels safe, is easy to walk around, and has options to fit any budget.

Our favorite activities in Taxco:

Take the cable car up to the Hotel Montetaxco and enjoy the view from their mirador, while sipping a juice cocktail. It costs 9 pesos to hop in a collectivo (combi) to reach the base of the teleferico. Round trip tickets on the cable car are 120 pesos, or you can take the cable car up and walk down.
Visit the Pre-Historic Mine, located underneath the Hotel Posada de la Mision. Tickets are 180 pesos and come with a mezcal cocktail afterwards at the hotel bar. The tour is in Spanish but the guide translates parts of it.
Visit the silversmith shops or workshops, pretty much all over the city. Look for the .925 or .950 stamp if you’re looking to buy, or just enjoy watching the sheer talent of the artisan workers.
Eat pozole at any number of pozolerias (Tia Calle was very inexpensive, if not very atmospheric).
Try the region’s pink rosa mole dish, made with rose petals and white chocolate. We enjoyed the dish at La Parroquia, which features balconies and a terrace overlooking the main zocalo. A perfect al fresco dinner spot.
Plenty of places offer chocolate and churros, but we liked Chu Cho, nestled in Plazuela de Bernal, for their wide variety of toppings (try the marzipan!).
Visit the Pozas Azules (blue swimming holes). You can take a full-day guided tour from one of the tour operators in town, or just walk to the main road and grab a combi heading out of town toward Acapulco (the stop is in front of the Coppell building). The combi costs 35 pesos, and entrance to the pools is 100 pesos.
Tour the Spratling Pre-Hispaña Museum. Spratling put Taxco on the map in 1929 and made sure its pre-Hispanic culture would be preserved. This museum features his private collection of artifacts. Worth a visit, and only 75 pesos per person.
For another beautiful view of the town, visit the Cristo Rey statue above the main plaza. It takes about 45 minutes to walk up there, or take a taxi for 80 pesos.
Eat as much ice cream as possible. We liked the Crema y Nata Heladeria, tucked into the bend right at Plaza Del Convento. Delicious!

Have you been to Taxco, or another of the Pueblos Magicos in Mexico? What was your favorite part?

Beat the Heat with These Northern National Parks

July 11, 2024December 4, 2024Posted in North AmericaTagged backpacking, best things to do in, budget travel, camping, canada, hiking, how to get to, Isle Royale national park, Minnesota, North Dakota, road trip, Theodore Roosevelt national park, travel, travel blog, upper Michigan, voyageurs national park3 Comments

Even though I’m from Texas, I try everything I can to get out of the insane southern heat each year. Last summer we visited Maine, Newfoundland, and Labrador. This year we decided to head to some of the US national parks up north in an attempt to find cooler temps.

As we crossed the Mackinac Bridge into Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, we felt the cool breeze coming off the Great Lakes, and knew we had arrived in “the north”. If you’ve never been to the UP, I highly suggest you take a few extra days and visit Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, as well as the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum. Those are two of my favorite tourist attractions up that way, and definitely worth a visit.

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore- do yourself a favor and do the boat ride!

The first park on our list was Isle Royale National Park– the least visited park in the continental US. As it is an island, you can only access Isle Royale from upper Michigan (from Houghton, by boat, or Copper Harbor, by boat or sea plane), or from upper Minnesota (from Grand Marais by seaplane, or Grand Portage, by boat). Whichever mode of transport you choose, make sure to book well in advance (at least a month), and be forewarned that although it’s a national park, the transport is private, and quite costly. Of course, bring your national parks pass if you have one for free entry, and our camping on the island was free as well.

Established as a national park in 1931 by Herbert Hoover, this gem is only accessible by boat or seaplane

From Pictured Rocks, we drove to Grand Portage, Minnesota, and took a 7:30 am ferry (stay at the nearby Grand Portage Lodge and Casino for an easy morning). By 9:30, we were getting dropped off at the island’s Windigo visitor center, and walked to the nearby Cottonwood Campground with our camping gear. It’s only 1/4 of a mile away, so you won’t have to lug your stuff too far. There are potable water spigots at the campgrounds, so don’t worry about extra water for all your days in the park. We lucked out and were able to get a small camping shelter rather than a tent site, which was nice, because Isle Royale is often rainy (and putting up or taking down a tent in the rain is no fun).

Feldtmann Lake Overlook hike, about six miles, definitely worth it

In our time on the island, we hiked, explored the Visitor Center, checked out the small store (they do have food there, including hot breakfast sandwiches, so you can supplement the camping food you need to bring), hiked some more, and looked for wildlife. Isle Royale has both moose and wolves, so visitors like to keep a sharp eye out. The Windigo side of the island only gets about 50 visitors a day, so it won’t take long to get to know your fellow campers and hikers and find out where they’ve spotted some wildlife.

We spotted four moose while we were on Isle Royale. They can be unpredictable, so keep your distance, and keep a tree between you and them (we have a good telephoto lens)

In addition to Windigo, you can visit the other end of the island, Rock Harbor. You can take a boat there (from Windigo or from the mainland), or you can do a multi-day hike of the 45 mile stretch. Rock Harbor also features a nice lodge and restaurant.

Boardwalks, bridges, and hiking trails connect various campgrounds on the island

Even in July, the temperatures on Isle Royale ranged from pleasantly sunny and warm low 70s, down to cool and rainy 45 at night. Bring lots of layers, bug spray, and waterproof bags. We had a spectacular sunny day, cool night, and rainy morning while we were there.

After ferrying back to Minnesota, we were only a few miles from the Canadian border. Just after crossing over we saw a wolf! Canada has the best wildlife!

Voyageurs National Park is only 4-5 hours west of Isle Royale, so we drove the Canadian route to get there, stopping at Thunder Bay and Kakabeka Falls along the way. I always love taking Canadian roads because of their beautiful scenery, and lack of advertising billboards. We spent a lovely evening at the Bay View Motel in Fort Frances, next to the delicious Harbourage Restaurant. At International Falls, we crossed back over to the US, and visited the Rainy Lake Visitor Center and then the Ash River Visitor Center.

Spread across 210,000 acres, the star feature of Voyageurs National Park is the lakes, rivers, and inlets, so I’d highly recommend booking a NPS boat tour in advance, renting a kayak or canoe, or even staying on a houseboat nearby. There are also plenty of hiking trails and wildlife to view from land or from water, including beaver, otter, moose, and bears.

We actually saw this handsome fella about an hour after we left the park

Similar to Isle Royale, this northern national park features excellent weather in the summer. Temps while we were there ranged between 77 and sunny, down to about 60 during a rainstorm. Voyageurs does tend to be very buggy, so long pants, bug spray, and even a net hat might be a good investment if you plan to spend a few days here.

After Voyageurs, we had one more northern park on our list that we had not done yet. We passed into North Dakota, and after stopping at the Geographical Center of North America, we arrived at Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park is spread across three distinct “units” (north, south, and Elkhorn, linked by the Little Missouri River), and we visited two. This park is 70,000 acres, and was designated a National Park in 1978- the only one named after a person! Roosevelt built a cabin at Elkhorn and lived there for several years, studying ranching, hunting, and conservation, before he became president in 1901.

Similar to the Badlands of the Dakotas, the rock formations here are shaped by erosion

The park has a semi-arid climate and features pronghorn, mustangs, elk, bison, bighorn sheep, prairie dogs, coyotes, cougars, and more. We almost crested 80 degrees while we were there, but some late afternoon cloud coverage kept us in the upper 70’s. Since it was 101 back home with a hurricane bearing down on our state, we were happy with 79 degrees and a light rain shower!

Wild buffalo roam the prairie in the park

You can visit several prairie dog towns and watch these cute critters at play!

Formed by layers of ash from volcanoes 65 million years ago, layered with sediment brought by wind, water, and freezing, the hills of the badlands can present really interesting striped colors and formations. Lazy rivers that have formed oxbow lakes meander along the prairie as well, growing rings of cottonwood trees along their banks. Fossils from a long-ago swamp in this area have revealed large clams, crocodiles, alligators, turtles, and champsosaurs.

Exploring our national parks is a fun pastime for us. We love getting out in nature, taking a hike, watching for wildlife. Learning about the history and geography of each area is fascinating too. Each park has its own unique setting to enjoy and partake in. Which national parks have you visited? What was your favorite? Leave us a comment.

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Interview with Chris: Navigating the South Pacific

March 18, 2024April 3, 2024Posted in OceaniaTagged backpacking, best things to do in, budget travel, Fiji, how to get to, Samoa, Tonga, travel blog, Tuvalu, Vanuatu2 Comments

It’s been a while since our fearless traveler, Chris, the other half of Palm Tree Musings, took a trip by himself. On this journey he started off with me (Deah), in Hawaii, and then visited Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu, Fiji and Tuvalu on his own. Here are a few questions and answers about his trip.

1. Why’d you leave your wife behind?

I asked her to go in this trip, but she refused. I think she’s tired of islands, plus she hates long plane rides. I did finally talk her into coming with me as far as Hawaii, though, and we spent ten days there. Then she was happy to spend some time at home by herself, a little stay-cation.

2. Why did you pick these 4 nations for this trip?

I only have 23 countries to visit in the world left, but a few are active war zones and a few have visa issues. So I figured I’d better get these while I have the time. It’s tough getting all the way out to this area of the world, and you have to allow a little bit of extra time, because the flights are sometimes unreliable and can really domino into a problem if there’s a cancellation or delay.

If you’re looking for almost-deserted beaches, Tonga is a great place to start

3. Did you have any trouble like that on this trip?

Yes, my plane leaving Vanuatu was cancelled due to mechanical issues, and that airline doesn’t have any backup planes. That put me returning to Fiji much later than I planned, endangering my connection to Tuvalu. I had to do a wild cab ride from Nadi to Suva, Fiji at break-neck speed, at high cost, but it turned out all right. A few other travelers were in a similar position. You have to be pro-active to make sure an issue gets fixed in time.

4. You visited both Samoa and American Somoa. Any differences between the islands?

I found the culture on both to be about the same. People commute between the islands frequently because of family ties. There are several small flights a day, as well as a ferry once a week. There is a National Park on the US side, and you can use US dollars there. The international date line runs between the two.

5. The low-lying island of Tuvalu is quite threatened by climate change and sea level rise. Did you discuss the topic with any islanders, or see evidence of concern while you were there?

I talked to several islanders that brought it up. Some of them had friends or family that have already migrated to Australia, New Zealand, or the US to avoid sea-level problems in the future. It’s definitely present in the minds of the islanders, as they look to preserve their culture if not their home island. Also they are seeing the coral reefs start to die off as the waters warm.

6. While you were on Tonga, you probably ate a lot of fish. What other foods are popular there?

A lot of starches, like ramen noodles and roots and tubers such as taro and cassava, potatoes and yams. On Sundays everything is closed so you’d better go to a shop the day before and buy some instant noodles and tuna. Of course there’s fish all day, every day. I went on a boat trip and the guy caught a fish and used his knife to fillet it right there- the freshest sushi I’ve ever had. Red meat is much harder to come by.

Extremely fresh fish, with taro, cassava, yam, and corn. A typical meal in these islands.

7. Vanuatu and Fiji are part of Melanesia, while Tonga, Tuvalu, and Samoa are Polynesian in culture. What’s the main difference?

It’s mainly a difference of geography, but there are some cultural and historical differences as well. Polynesia spans from Hawaii to New Zealand, and as far east as Easter Island. Melanesia is north of Australia, and north of that is Micronesia. Melanesia sort of encompasses the “Ring of Fire”, so volcanic islands with high cliffs and eroding volcanos. Polynesian islands are flatter, with more coral reefs. The volcanic activity there was much older, forming atolls, which are made by ancient volcanoes that collapsed back into the sea. Culturally, the Polynesians came from SE Asia, while Micronesians are descended from indigenous islanders. The Polynesians were seafarers and knew how to navigate by the stars.

8. I know you love scuba diving, so did you get a chance to dive on this trip?

Yes, I dove with Big Blue Vanuatu. They visit several reefs and wrecks around the atoll. I really enjoyed diving “the cathedral”, an underwater cave with an open roof. If you’re staying in or near Port Vila, I recommend them.

9. What’s the hardest thing about planning a trip like this?

You have to plan a lot of one-way and return-trip flights on a variety of airlines. It’s helpful to have some airline miles with some of the big ones like American Airlines, Fiji Airways, or Hawaiian Airlines. You’re also crossing the international date line several times, so it’s easy to get confused while you’re booking flights. I found that making a mind map helped me.

10. What is next in your travel plans?

After hiking both the Appalachian Trail and Pacific Crest Trail, I’m ready to start the Continental Divide Trail. Hopefully Deah will provide support for that, as she did on my other hikes. Also I’m hoping we can both go to Western Australia this summer, making a few stops at Palau, Micronesia, and Solomon Islands along the way.

Thanks Chris for showing us the Pacific Islands, and answering these questions!

Wow, Oaxaca!

November 21, 2023November 21, 2023Posted in Central AmericaTagged backpacking, best things to do in, budget travel, dia de muertos, how to get to, Mexico, mezcal, monte alban, oaxaca, travel blogLeave a comment

Busy with life and other adulting things, C and I decided we needed a break. I checked my Google Map to see what fun locations we had pinned as “Want to Visit”, and Oaxaca caught my eye. A month later, we were immersed in this cool town, wowed by the laid-back lifestyle, the temperate weather, and the fun things to do nearby. Read on to find out more about vibrant Oaxaca!

Dia de Muertos: Although the main day for this festival is the night of November 2, in Oaxaca they celebrate for a week straight, so try to stop by the town sometime in that week. You’ll find the plazas awash in yellow and gold chrysanthemums, ofrendas in front of every business, calendas parading around town, and skeletons everywhere. Not sure what Dia de Muertos is? Try watching the Disney movie Coco for a fun overview!

This *ofrenda* (altar) features flowers, fruit, corn, and other products as offerings

Besides this one-of-a-kind festival, there are plenty of things to do in Oaxaca. An area of great importance to the Zapotec people, the Oaxaca valley has been settled for thousands of years. Families in the region still make mezcal from the blue agave plant using the same time-honored traditions as their forbears, and nearby, entire families use natural ingredients to dye wool and create rugs and tapestries using ancient techniques.

Mt Alban historical site: Inhabited for over 1500 years, Monte Alban is an important site for the Zapotec people, as well as the Olmec and the Mixtecs. The archeological site is laid out according to the stars, and features several pyramids, tombs, and terraces. Visiting the site is fairly easy; you can join a day tour, on sale at the zocalo (main plaza) in Oaxaca, you can take a private taxi, or you can take a shuttle bus, which departs from the front of the Hotel Rivera del Angel (2 blocks south of the zocalo, costs 100 pesos). Once at the ruins, plan for about 3 hours, and entry is 90 pesos for foreigners. Tip: Take an umbrella or wear a hat; the sun is strong up there.

This site was the Zapotec capital city between about 500 AD and 800 AD, a home to almost 30,000 people

Day tour to the Hierve el Agua: Another popular day trip is visiting the Hierve el Agua. You can do this on your own, but it’s rather far out of town, so it’s very easy to do a full day tour, which visits several sites in the same general direction. We booked our day trip from one of the touts in the zocalo, and got picked up from our hotel at 8 am. We visited Santa Maria del Tule, a small town that features the largest tree (by circumference) in the world. Then we visited a family rug-making factory, and learned all about the natural dying techniques and how long it takes to make their intricate and colorful patterns. We also visited Mitla, another set of archaeological ruins, and had lunch. The afternoon was spent at Hierve el Agua (“the water boils”) to swim in the springs and see the limestone cliffs. We ended the day with a tour of a small mezcal factory, along with a tasting, and were dropped off back at home at 8 pm. The tours range from 400 to 500 pesos, so try to strike a good bargain!

These rugs and other tapestries take 2-4 weeks and are completely made by hand

Enjoy the coffee culture: Or, even better, enjoy a Mexican beverage of choice. We found so many cafes and outdoor terraces, perfect for enjoying a cold beer, a tasty coffee, or my personal favorite, chocolate y agua. Another fun one to try is tejate, made from toasted corn, cacao beans, cacao flowers, ice, and sugar. Of course, if it’s 5:00 somewhere, you may as well try one of the dozens of kinds of mezcals, made from the local blue agave cactus.

Seasoned with spices such as chile, anise, or cardamom, the Mexican hot chocolate drink is delicious day or night

Sample the culinary delights: If you like food, then Oaxaca is a great place for you. From dozens of varieties of corn, several different kinds of tomatoes, and of course all kinds of chiles, you can try a different meal every time you go out. Oaxaceños are known for their seven unique mole sauces (rojo, coloradito, amarillo, verde, negro, chichilo, and manchamantel), as well as the tlayuda, a thin, crispy tortilla covered with beans, cheese, lettuce, avocado, meat, and salsa. Yes, it sounds like a taco, but it’s also… not. Best to just try it for yourself.

Visit the historical city center: The Spaniards invaded Oaxaca and had declared it a city by 1529, and immediately began laying the streets in a grid pattern and building churches, cathedrals, and plazas. The zocalo, or main plaza, of Oaxaca is always filled with musicians, tourists, locals, art exhibits, concerts, and more. There are two sixteenth-century churches in Oaxaca, both of which are worth a visit for their architecture and their lovely surrounding grounds.

The Church and Convent of Santo Domingo de Guzman, dating back to 1551, also includes the grounds of the Botanic Garden

Explore nearby neighborhoods: In addition to spending a lot of time in the main historic center, we also did some exploring in the nearby neighborhoods. We especially liked both Barrio de Jalatlaco and Xochimilco, slightly north of the city center. Using our Guruwalks app, we booked a walking tour for each neighborhood. In Jalatlaco, we looked at some of the fabulous street art, and ended at a delicious local taco stand (which we returned to the next night for more!). In Xochimilco, we found a hidden organic market, visited a mezcaleria, and ended in a cemetery, still decorated for Dia de Muertos.

Mexico was the last country to still produce the old VW Bug, so there are still plenty to see on the streets here

Logistics:
You can fly direct to Oaxaca from US cities DFW, Houston, and Los Angeles. If you’re already in Mexico or South America, you can fly directly from Cancun, Guadalajara, Guatemala City, Merida, Mexico City (Santa Lucia), Monterrey, or Tijuana.
There is no Uber presently in Oaxaca. The best way to get around is to call a taxi company, take a collecctivo taxi from the airport, or take the public bus.
Hotels in Oaxaca run anywhere from $10US a night to several hundred, depending on how fancy you need to be. We stayed at a hotel two blocks from the Zocalo called Hotel Dainzu, and paid $45 a night for a double bed, private bathroom, with a balcony. Later in the week we stayed at an AirBnB in Xochimilco for approximately the same price, and later we tried another hotel in Jalatlaco, Casa Gubidxa, which was $40 per night, and featured a king sized bed and several rooftop terraces.

Jalatlaco is a particularly fun neighborhood, with painted murals, lots of boutique hotels, small churches, cafes, and late night places to stop for a drink

Have you been to Oaxaca? What was your favorite part of the town? Did you visit during Dia de Muertos, or another time of year?

Come From Away: Exploring Newfoundland and Labrador

August 2, 2023August 2, 2023Posted in North AmericaTagged backpacking, best things to do in, budget travel, how to get to, travel, travel blog3 Comments

Last summer I felt like I was melting, so this year I wanted to go somewhere “cool”. We decided on Newfoundland and Labrador and wow!! I’m so glad we went. Canada, you’ve got the coolest provinces!

Because we love our car, and we always feel like the journey is about more than the destination, we decided to drive there. Up through Maine (stopping at Acadia National Park), through New Brunswick (stopping in St Andrews-by-the-Sea and Antigonish), and finally through Nova Scotia (driving the Cabot Trail and stopping in North Sydney). As Newfoundland is an island, you can only get there by flying or taking a ferry. You can, however, drive to Labrador, but it takes a very very long time along a route called Expedition 51.

All aboard! The ferry takes six hours and you can either get a cabin, or hang out in the common areas. There is a daytime and a nighttime ferry each day in the summer.

We took the ferry from North Sydney, and arrived in Port Aux Basques. After a one-night stop in the Codroy River Valley at a very homey cabin, we headed up to Gros Morne National Park. And wow. What a beautiful park. Miles and miles (or, km and km I should say), of green mountains, inland fjords, crystal blue waterways, and colorful wild flowers. We camped in the park, and went on the Western Brook Pond hike, and I found myself wondering why all of the southern US hasn’t moved up there yet.

Gros Morne is a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its inland fjords. Do yourself a favor and book the boat trip.

It was hard to leave Gros Morne, but there’s so much more of Newfoundland and Labrador. Newfoundland itself is about the size of Virginia. We drove to the very far north along the Viking Trail, in order to visit L’anse Aux Meadows, the only settlement in Northern America that the Vikings definitively settled at. We were able to visit a recreation of a peat house, and talked to a few living history enactors who told us what life would have been like for the group that came with Leif Erickson, from nearby Greenland and Iceland. Vikings? Very cool.

Evidence shows that the Vikings overwintered here in 1021 CE, and off and in for the next decade or so

We were close to the ferry to mainland Labrador, so we hopped on the 90 minute ferry (this one does sell out, so book ahead, or get there early- they reserve 25% of the tickets for first-come first-served travelers). We wound up spending two days and two nights in Labrador, learning about the Basque whalers of the 17th century who hunted right whales, and poking around picturesque fishing villages such as Red Bay (pop. 142) and Mary’s Harbor (population 312). Best seafood chowder we’ve ever had, and greatly appreciated on a cold, foggy July evening.

The parks service at Red Bay World Heritage Site will run you out to Saddle Island for a walk around the old whaling station

While only 20 km away, it’s warm and sunny in this harbor !

Back over to Newfoundland on the ferry, and we set off to find icebergs, puffins, whales, and France. Along the northeastern parts of the island, known as Iceberg Alley, it’s not uncommon to see hundreds of icebergs between April and August. We did see 6 or 7, from a distance, but you can also take boat tours that will go right up to them. Iceberg Alley is also prime viewing zones for both whales and puffins. From Twillingate to Elliston, we drove along winding narrow lanes that looked out over the ocean and the islands tucked away beyond the mainland shores. We camped near a puffin nesting area, and watched the funny little birds zoom around and dive for their dinner.

Baby puffins, by the way, are called pufflings.

Heading south, we took another ferry and arrived in France! The islands of St Pierre and Miquelon still belong to them, and thank goodness for it, or America would have gotten a whole lot less bootleg liquor during Prohibition. While the ferry to St Pierre is not very crowded, the small town over there only has four or five small hotels, so MAKE SURE you have a place to stay before you take the ONE ferry each day. We had a room reserved for one night, but desperately wanted to stay two. The kind folks at the visitor center found us a cheerful local man named Jean Marc who put us up for the night, who was a real joy to chat with. We also had an amazing lobster dinner that night, so I’m definitely glad we got to stay longer. Although you can see all of St Pierre in a day, why not take two? Or add three or four and see Miquelon- but staying overnight there is even harder, so plan carefully.

More than four million liters of whisky flowed through the tiny islands of St Pierre and Michelon during Prohibition

An hour after leaving France by boat, we were back in Canada. We had one more stop to make- St John’s, the capital. We wanted to stay in one of the colorful old Victorian townhomes along “Jellybean Row”, and were not disappointed with Rose Heritage Inn. Our room wasn’t quite ready, so we headed to the tiny fishing village of Quidi Vidi, and had a craft beer while listening to a live band, gazing out at the cutest. little. harbor. I’ve ever seen.

Chris at Quidi Vidi Brewery, which claims to make their beer with iceberg water!

The next day, we did some history touristing around the area. We went up to Signal Hill, where Marconi received the first transatlantic radio communication in 1901. We also went to the Cape Spear lighthouse, the easternmost point of Canada. Another cool and foggy day, as we hiked around the headland, we could hear whales off the coast, blowing air through their spouts.

Signal Hill: also the final battle of the Seven Years’ War

I honestly could have stayed in Newfoundland another month. But at some point we had reached the absolute furthest point from our home state of Texas, and we had to turn our car around and head south. We stopped in Gander along the way, and learned about their storied airport (from World War II to September 11, that airport had some some wild happenings). We attended a fiddle ceilidh in Nova Scotia on the way home, and lingered a bit in French Acadia in New Brunswick and Quebec provinces. But before we knew it, we had crossed the border out of Canada, and were back in the US, a bit dazed and dazzled by our time in Newfoundland and Labrador.