Thursday, July 31, 2008

Newfoundland







Despite our original plans, we somehow devised a way to squeeze in a trip to Newfoundland.  It was just too close (relatively) and knew it was likely now or never.  It didn't help that everyone said it had incredible scenery and if you're lucky, you could catch some icebergs off the coastline right about this time of year.  Gros Morne National Park was another reason to come.   So after waiting in the standby line overnight at the port (one huge advantage of an RV) we got on a ship.  As we arrived after the 6 hour ride, it looked exactly as you'd expect when approaching an island in the corner of the world.  Gros Morne has inland freshwater fjords cut off from the sea by years of sediment.  The northern shores are where icebergs are typically found in the spring and we were lucky enough to catch one near the end of the parade.  The locals don't take a second look at them as they're all over the place in early spring and can't wait for them to be gone which means it's finally summer time.  About this time we found out the ferry service from the eastern side of the island is cancelled due to mechanical failure so we'd have to drive all the way back to the west side once we're done.  At least they comped our return trip.  Apparently this isn't an unusual occurrence and bad weather sometimes keeps ships waiting outside a harbor for up to 2 days before it can dock.  On the eastern side of the island near St John's, we reached Cape Spears- the easternmost point of North America.  And to think we were in Key West only weeks ago.  However far fewer Cubans make it up here.  It's all westward from here on out and we'd gone almost exactly 11,000 miles.

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