Baltimore City Real Estate

Travel in Newfoundland: Avalon Peninsula

Sunday, July 20, 2003

Our destination today is Terra Nova National Park, on the east coast of Newfoundland. We were very surprised by the fees they charged: $ 5.00 per day per adult for a more $ 21.00 per day camping with no amenities (electricity was $ 5.00 more per night). The area boasts tree forests to reach the sea are many hiking trails, mostly between four and ten kilometers.

We went to the Marine Interpretation Centre. A guard explains different aquatic animals they have in their touch tank: stars, scallops, crabs various barnacles, etc. It was very informative. They also have tanks with local species in them: cod, Caplain, etc.

Monday, July 21, 2003

Took part in the trails today to see the wildlife and scenery that Terra Nova has to offer. We saw three plovers, herring gulls, a whiskey Jack (Jay-gray), and squirrels, which are not native to Newfoundland. We saw moose tracks and droppings and bear tracks, but not moose or a bear.

After a day of hiking, it was early to bed.

Tuesday, July 22, 2003

Taken to St. Johns, Newfoundland capital. We Pitty are parked at Park St. Johns. It is located near the Memorial.

Until 1948 Newfoundland was an independent country. On July 22, 1948, they voted or not be part of Canada. The first ballot has been evasive. After some negotiations with the government Canada and the necessary concessions, the people voted by the Confederation a narrow margin. Many Newfoundlanders, even today, many hoped that the Confederation has never occurred. The other options were to become a member of the United States or to remain independent.

A caused a decrease in the Channel (French for stick) Provincial Park. We were put in the overflow section, which is perfect for us because the area is wide open. There is no electricity or water, except for boiling available in a provincial park. We are therefore pleased pay $ 13.00 Canadian per night. We are far from spit lake that has water temperature of the bath water. There are hiking trails. This leads to a picturesque falls where swimming is allowed but not recommended. Another leads to the ruins of the town of La Mancha. After Confederation in 1949, the locals had the opportunity to resettle in a big city, because it was too expensive to maintain roads and other offers services such as electricity. Most refusals. After a violent storm hit the region in the 1960s, the city had been destroyed and that people have been relocated anyway. Only the foundations of buildings still this old fishing village prosperous. Similar stories exist for many fishing villages on the island. When the fish died of dredging, the life expectancy of the Newfoundland fisherman has also been terminal. Many have chosen to abandon the old methods, which originally had brought their families abundant in this island, and moved to larger cities looking for less work.

Friday, July 25, 2003

Today we went whale watching. We found that Gatherall in Bay Bulls charged $ 50.00 per person, but someone recommended bird sea or ocean adventure Bauline Towers East, near the park for only $ 20.00 per person for a one-hour journey. We decided to check up and see what they offer. We met Jerry, the owner operator of Seabird, who had just returned from a trip to the Big Island, the sanctuary of Puffin. He said they had seen about six humpbacks Shipping. When we left our little group four has grown to more than twenty people. There was plenty of room for all aboard. Three Islands include Witless Bay Ecological Reserve: Large, green, and Gull. Great is the most important and sets off the coast of East Bauline. The first bird was reported on Fulmar, a rarity since there only twenty pairs on the island. Then there were the little puffins skimming the water, flapping around as fast as hummingbirds, colorful beaks which contrasts with the bodies in black and white. Also in abundance are terns, or Murr in Newfoundlander, and kittiwakes, a smaller family member gull, which has plunged his wing tips in bottles of India ink. Mostly birds. Off for large prey.

Everyone on the boat was scanning the horizon as we headed to Wed Finally someone yelled, "Thar she blows, to starboard. Judgement on hunting, we went and there was our first humpback whale, with a dive with a gesture of the tail fin. Overall, we have saw a dozen whales. The number could be more or less. It is very difficult to identify unless you get pictures. We got a couple of fin tail, which usually have the identifying marks. Some of the whales were still vocalizing us. Everyone on board has acted like eight years, David, full of enthusiasm and awe at these beautiful people. Sometimes we were less than five feet from the whale. Somehow, I think it was due in as much fun as we were, like porpoises in Charleston, SC Harbor. Our voyage on the sea was more than one hour, and we had even not begun to return to Great Island or dock.

We returned on the leeward side of the island and saw the nest sites the Kittlwakes with adults and babies. We went through many caves, a cave of the skull so called because it resembled one, and natural arches carved into the rock by water and wind. The trip took almost two hours. Everyone was on their money, plus some.

After a quick sandwich we left for twenty minutes drive from Ferryland. We wanted to see the colony of Avalon and other interesting sites. We would back to Shamrock Festival Ferryland tomorrow. When we arrived, they were still setting up the site. Colony of Avalon is there too. We joined a guided tour, which had just begun, outside the visitor center. Jennifer Carter was our guide. If she did not know the answer to our issues, it has been in constant communication with someone who does.

Colony of Avalon is an active archaeological site of the community more four hectares created by George Calvert, AKA, Lord Baltimore in 1621. Located on the banks of a naturally protected harbor, the colony prospered throughout the 17th century, cod fishing is the primary sector. Thousands of objects have been found on the site, some dating even further to the tribes and Beotuck 16th century Basque, Portuguese, French and English seasonal fishermen. The Colony of Avalon, however, were streets paved the sewer system, flush twice daily by high tides, forging, wells, warehouses with doors on the port, fences, a mansion, and many other buildings. The excavations are still ongoing, with new artifacts found by day. The day we were there, they found a piece crystal glass and a piece of gold.

Lord Baltimore has abandoned the settlement to Sir David Kirke and went on to found the colony of Maryland. Kirke is so well to the construction of the colony, he was tried and convicted in England, probably misuse of funds that should have gone to the crown. Its Women took for another twenty-five years. Most people have never heard of this thriving institution that is prior to Plymouth Rock. Saint Augustine was founded in 1565 and at Jamestown in 1607.

Sunday, July 27, 2003

I went on a hiking trail to the ruins of the City of La Mancha. The town began in 1840 and built on the side of a steep hill, at least fifty feet above the shore. Living there has been quite difficult because everything was up and down the steep slope. Although it was almost a mile from the nearest road, the city prospered. When the confederation with Canada took place in 1949, the government wanted to move from the city so that the right services are provided. They refused. But their decision was reversed when a storm destroyed the city. It has been a sacred storm, because the city was so high the water's edge. There remain only the foundations, some with basements, the cables of a suspension bridge crossing the river, and the house of a doctor in ruins through the river and the hill.

We saw a humpback whale frolicking in the bay. On returning home, I found a backbone of the old stone and gave it to Jordan, a boy of ten who took the ride with us. Tanya Herlidan was our naturalist guide. Later she brought to our trailer pictures of the city as it once was.

Monday, July 28, 2003

It's a nice cool day Irish visit the Irish Loop: foggy, rainy and windy. Our first stop was at Ferryland in the historical museum. We hear of War World German graves. Young people who have been to the museum did not know, but he had heard stories of submarines in the region. We were told the Germans brought sandbags body and local citizens have services for them and then were buried in their cemeteries. We were told that was possible because of the loneliness of the lighthouse local, currently in the fog, would be a good place to dump the body. They could not confirm the story, however. We asked the old cemetery was located. We found it. As you can see from the photo, it was entirely is uneducated, many headstones were broken and unreadable. Whether the story is true or legend, it is still a great story.

Crossing Renews, where the Mayflower stopped for supplies while on the way to Plymouth Rock. Then off to Portugal Cove South. The landscape is quite open at this stage, a place to see herds of caribou, which are counted by thousands. Arrived at the center of Portugal Cove South, in the fog. We were told by the young girls at the center that the fog had lifted and he was totally outside of Nice. For the past week, they could see across the road. Portugal South Cove has 158 days of fog per year, nearly half the time. When asked why they were so happy, they said that it was because of the confluence of the Labrador, the Gulf of Mexico and St. Lawrence currents. At the visitors center were exhibits on the Titanic and the fossil record. The flagship men Cape Race were the first to hear the SOS of the Titanic in 1912 failed. The wireless and the old house was demolished a few new years later. Thus, some artifacts lay buried. On the road to Cape Race is Mistaken Point, a treasury of fossils 575 million years old. Because the cod industry in the area was destroyed, local citizens have become the self-appointed guardians of fossil offers tours and drive off poachers. Today was not a day for optimal look, because they turn into a slip in the North Atlantic. When I asked young women what was available in the region to keep them here, they said: "Nothing." Both were students at St. John's majoring in social work and physical therapy and was home only for the summer.

Off we drove to Trepassey. Trepassey was the takeoff point for the transatlantic voyage of Amelia Earhart in 1928. We were in a rain storm. We took refuge in a restaurant, ate lunch and watched the storm. En route to St. Shotts see caribou. They were all hidden behind the fog. We saw no caribou the entire trip. We were told that the numbers have been greatly reduced due to the disease. There is very little left on the Avalon Peninsula.

We proceeded to the west of Ireland in a loop. The shroud of Brigadoon show closed at a beautiful landscape with Kelly Green small farms that dot the hill. We broke into the song, glad to see the rest of sixty miles of the Irish Loop.

Tuesday, July 29, 2003

Went to Cape Spear, the easternmost point of North America. Although Newfoundland is an island, it is still considered part the North American continent. Just as the North Cape in Norway, also not an island, is considered the most northern Europe. In addition to a lighthouse in 1835, one of oldest of Newfoundland, Cape is also the introduction of slots built by the United States and Canadian Armed Forces during the Second World War protect roads from St. John's harbor Nazi submarines. Although we have seen minke whales breaking the surface. They were very far to get pictures. But it was exciting.

Returned to the city and crossed the city. We stopped for ice cream at Moo Moo a favorite spot for 88 flavors of hard ice cream packaged. After the cones, we went to the Basilica of St. John's, where The diocese maintains their records. We were told the historian he most Pelley clan settled in communities of England. St. John was the port most close to Ireland. St. John's, they traveled to Halifax and Boston. Many Irish Catholics came and settled in cities Protestant because the Catholic Church has not been well established in the late 1700s and early 1800s. The research was is now cataloged. I will send you more information on those who are interested in their genealogy.

Tuesday, August 5, 2003

Today, we went on the Killick Coast. A Killick is a long ankle stones enclosed in soft wood sticks tied up and with the Crusaders basically tap into the seabed.

Along the way are towns with names such as Torbay, where the British landed to take St. John's by French.

Further, Flat Rock, where cod was placed on the rocks to dry flat. Pope John Paul II was there to bless the fleet. It also houses a replica of the Lourdes Grotto, which is visited by many pilgrims.

More is available Pouch (pronounced pooch) Bay, founded earlier than 1611, which was the first documented date. Although permanent houses have been imposed by the Crown in the 17th and 18th centuries, or the Royal Navy, pirates or dare enter the dangerous waters of the harbor. Thus, the city grows.

We then took another route to St. Francis Point via a gravel road with barely enough for passage. At the end of the road is a heliport and a beacon to warn mariners of the rocks. For Peninsula Baccalieu are the North and Baccalieu. The view is breathtaking.

The Sierra Club must also think that too, because we met a group of hikers Tour of the runway from the East Coast having lunch on the pavement.

Finally, the section on Portugal Cove, the ferry boat terminal at the island Bell. Bell Island is famous for its iron mines, which go under the sea during the Second World War, the German government has urged the local boat captains man of their submarines, because they knew the waters of the region. Newfoundland, at the time was an independent country. One of the ferries recently had a collision with a Russian trawler in confined waters, putting It Out of the Commission. The government does not know if to continue or reward the ferry captain. We lunched on the beach Cove Café, part of a B & B by the same name. The fries were superb, a large tray of shims.

Leads to the Cape Shore Loop, including Placentia, the French original of the capital. We took the dirt road by a gravel road. The Fradsham have a summer house on this road, called Misty Mountain. Nobody was home. We left a note. The road passes through a gorge that cuts cataracts sixty foot through the hills, a pretty sight. We parked the range where the Placentia Regatta held in July on the one hand, the Triple Crown of Newfoundland.

We visited the city of Placentia set in 1662 to protect French interests in North America. Castle Hill overlooking the town is a National Historic Site. He managed to protect the city against invasion, but no blockade. The terrain was not conducive to agriculture and slowly factions condemned the colony. The French later built the fortifications of Louisbourg, NS, leaving Placentia Colombia.

Also in Placentia other archaeological passes the port base. A dig is at Fort Louis, a military post, and Fort Frederick, the harbor entrance. The first can be visited and you can see processes at work. It is less accessible, but a better quality of objects is discovered. They can be seen at the treatment center archaeological city.

Drove to St. Mary's Ecological Reserve, which is strictly for the birds: gannets,

On the way back to Piacenza we stopped at various cities along the route. The first was St. Brides, whose population doubled in 1941, when the Americans have implemented a basic listening to German ships in the region. More than 400 GIs stayed for the war years. They were able to relay messages to the U.S. naval base at Argentia thirty miles to the North. The military medical personnel also took care of its people since they had no other medical care available to them.

Next we stopped at Gooseberry Cove, a small cove with a beach black sand. It is very quiet, watching the waves on the sand. Sand is unusual in Newfoundland, since most beaches are rocky. Some rocks scattered from the beach, but most had been sprayed in the sand by the action of currents.

Our next step was to Ship Cove, a man who had breakwater stone. On the dam erected cairns people. I added my own collection. Meanwhile Maggie collected wood float to work on his sculpture.

Home at Plaisance and a stop at the Archaeological Centre. They had to find a silver coin, slightly smaller a dime, with a cross inscribed on one side. The opposite side is more difficult to read. The lady also show a copper coin, discovered recently, with three flowers on one side Leis.

From the O'Reilly House, built in beginning of the century for the local magistrate. It has been renovated with donated items. The house also contains exhibits on the relocation of many communities Placentia Bay. The stories are very sad. All cities were fishing villages, independent of each other. As long as there was fish, there was work. When fishing was prohibited for them, their lifestyle has been removed. This is reminiscent of the destruction of the buffalo and resettlement Amerindians.

About the Author

John and Maggie Pelley are Geriatric Gypsies. Both of us are retired from the rat race of working. We are full-time RVers, who ran away from home. We began our travels on the East Coast and, like the migrating birds, seek the warmth of the seasons. No more shoveling snow in Chicago. We have discovered volunteering with the National Park System. During our travels we have found that each town has a story to tell: some are more interesting than others. Both of us enjoy good listening music as we go. John has a CD he has recorded of Native American flure music. We have learned that RVing has a learning curve. We want to pass on some advice the help others avoid this trecherous curve. Life is an adventure. We are living it to the utmost.