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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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