August 9
We were up bright and early and headed towards Stephenville for supplies and the road to Burgeo. Mandy found her way on to the slide again (where we found her after the ferry ride):
In Stephenville Crossing, we got groceries and then headed in to Stephenville for diesel (as instructed by the Coleman Grocery Store van driver). We got there and he showed up, probably to make sure we were okay. Love Newfoundlanders.
We headed down the 175 km road to Burgeo on the southern shore of Newfoundland. It’s the only road in and out. And it’s not the greatest road; in fact, there are the only “Pot Holes Ahead” signs we’ve ever seen. This is supposed to be Caribou country, but we saw nothing. We drove through three thunderstorms and met about 35 on-coming vehicles. But of course, Dave’s rule of the road prevailed. As we hit the WORST pot hole, we were met by an on-coming vehicle. So funny.
But even funnier was the VERY WORST pot hole right in front of the Highway Maintenance Depot!
We checked in to Site 11 ($41 for three nights, senior rate including seasonal Provincial Pass-crazy, huh?) at Sandbanks Provincial Park. We were here five years ago, with kayaks, in the pouring rain and fog; we knew it was beautiful and wanted to give it a second chance.
We settled in, walked three beaches (there are seven kms of sand beaches here) and picked some blueberries:
The best line today? When we commented on the generous generator hours (8:00 AM to midnight), the Park Ranger said, “We loves our generators in Newfoundland”!
Glad to be here for a few days. Here’s a view of the View and my man from my chair:
August 10
The fruits of yesterday’s labours:
It was pretty noisy last night, but the weekenders were all leaving today. By noon, the campground was almost empty.
We decided to ride the bikes in to town (no small feat when you start with a huge and long ascent out of the park). We road up and down each road, accompanied by the ringing of the church bell. The Anglicans even have someone who pulls the bell (I say he waved at me as we rode by; David says he was beckoning me inside!). We later learned that it wasn’t the priest as we thought. The man is paid $300 a year to ring that bell! It was so quaint to see the older ones walking to church. A great moment.
Burgeo is very pretty and so clean and filled with friendly people. Too bad there are so many hills!
THAT was a hard bike ride, but so worth it. After resting, I went for a walk on Western Beach and declared this a great day in Newfoundland.
A bonus was a sighting of a Boreal Chickadee, a new Life Bird for us! The evergreens around us are filled with Warblers, too:
Here’s another view of the View on Site 11:
August 11
We decided to take the ferry to Ramea, an outport island nearby. We road up that bloody hill again (oops, sorry) and a few more hills to the wharf for the 11:00 sailing.
Because of a festival on Ramea and a Go Home Weekend in Francois (pronounced Fran-SWAY), the ferry was delayed until 1:00. We hung around, met a lovely couple from Stephenville and talked with the guides from Coastal Adventures who were taking 10 people out to Francois by ferry and paddling back for eight days:
Those are our bikes, tied up for the journey:
Time passed, and the ferry arrived, and we had a great sail. We saw a lot of dolphins and one Hump-back Whale! We chatted with the Ramea school’s Vice Principal, a retired teacher from North Bay, Ontario, who has been there three years and will stay working for four more. Great insights into the town.
We rode our bikes around this small island and town of 500. With the fishery gone, things are very quiet. We kept wondering what people did beyond driving around, hanging out when the ferry comes in, or walking to the shops. It was a pretty if HILLY ride (David even MADE ME ride the boardwalk around 1/2 of the island!):
This scrap woodpile is collected all year and set fire to on Guy Fawkes Day when Ramea and Burgeo compete for the biggest fire (as told by our North Bay friend):
After riding and ice cream, we awaited the ferry and chatted with an older fisherman (and that was tough; that was a thick accent). So funny, at 5:00, the town was SILENT! The gentleman confirmed that it was dinner time and no one would be about.
It was a great sail back (Puffins and Dolphins everywhere):
Other than the hilly bike ride home, we had an amazing day!
August 12
We decided to stay two more nights since the weather looks so good.
We hiked to Western Beach and collected more blueberries:
On our way to Greep’s Lookout (Greep is the Newfoundlanders’ term for Bald Eagle) we chanced upon four or five Merlins (another Life Bird) bathing in a small pond (they’re called Barachois here: Bar-Shway):
We climbed a whole bunch of stairs and were rewarded by a whole bunch of beauty (and more blueberries):
It was such a sunny day.
I took another walk along the sandy beaches after lunch and actually found one huge piece of beach glass! That’s very rare here.
Another beautiful day at Sandbanks, and another view of the View:
Finally a food picture and a mighty fine one.
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