Newfoundland 1, Canada

We have been off the grid for the last 12 days as we have been busy traveling.  We have been in Newfoundland which is a spectacular adventure in itself.  We traveled through this massive and beautiful province in a short period of time and could have easily stayed a month and still only have scratched the surface.  We both agree this is a place we would visit again and stay for a month or two – so much to see and do.

Sunday July 30, 2017

Port Aux Basque/Margaree

We left our RV at the park this morning at 7:00 am and drove to the ferry terminal.  It was raining but the terminal was very nice and we could leave the terminal to get something to eat on Main Street in the town of Sydney – at that early hour our best and only option was Tim Hortons.  After a long wait to board we set sail and docked in Port aux Basque 7 hours later.  As it turns out our truck was the first one on the ferry and we were going to be the first ones off.  Matter of fact no one could get off until we did.

I made all the plans and reservations for this trip in February and March when most of our destinations were locked in the cold bite of winter.  I did not want to stay in Port aux Basque but chose a small fishing village of Margaree about 30 minutes away right next to the coastal waters.  It has a hefty population of 300 people on a busy day.  Although still considered a fishing village there is little fishing done here ever since the cod were over fished and are now a protected species from commercial fishing.  Most of the people here are retirees and some work in Port aux Basque.

For those who are OCD trip planners (Steve G.) it is surreal to plan a trip, do all the research, make reservations and put together an itinerary with dates and time.  I like to even look at the places we are going to stay on Google earth and zoom in on what the buildings look like and reference where they are located.  During the planning stages places are just dots on the map and reservation and bookings are things that are going to happen.  It is surreal to finally arrive and see, feel, taste and smell the place you made plans to be, to meet the people you talked to and walk up and touch the buildings that were 2 dimensional on Google earth.

We are staying in this cool little Airbnb run by a mother and daughter.  Nobody locks their doors here and everyone is friendly.  We walked all the way into town, about 300 yards, to the only restaurant and had dinner.  After dinner we stopped an older gentleman who was out taking a walk and asked him if he would tell us a little about his town.  He was born and raised here and will retire from the Royal Canadian Navy in a couple of months.  He pointed to a small road heading out of town and said when he was a kid that was the only in and out of Margaree.  It is a narrow road overgrown a little on the sides but still narrow.  He said he remembered one winter when it snowed 27 feet and the town was cut off for a month.  Now there is a new road that connects to the main road and it cuts the trip from 25 miles down to 9 miles which makes the going to and coming from town much quicker.  Margaree is a beautiful location.  PRC

 

Our adventure began Sunday when we boarded the ferry. Although the ferry was huge it was difficult to imagine that it could hold the multitude of vehicles making the crossing with us. Besides cars and semis, there were all the RV’s and vehicles they were towing.

Surprisingly the trip went quickly and we soon docked into Port aux Basques. We went directly to the AIRBNB that Peter had booked for us in the small town of Margaree. It was good to spend time in a small Newfoundland town. Margaree used to be a fishing village and now only numbers 300 people. This time our AirBnB was in the basement of a house. The hostess left breakfast for us in the kitchen upstairs.  It  consisted of breads and homemade jams. The view from the kitchen window was spectacular. We took a lovely walk along the road behind the house which used to be the highway that ran through Margaree.  JY