Sep 11 Day 2 Corner Brook/Deer Lake to Port au Choix, NL
WEATHER TEMP
Meet your Tour Director or Driver/Guide and other traveling companions this morning at 11:35 in your hotel lobby and travel through Gros Morne National Park - to be enjoyed later on during your tour - to the
fishing community of Port au Choix to learn of ancient cultures. The Port au Choix Peninsula juts
slightly out into the Gulf of St. Lawrence on Newfoundland's northwest coast and people have lived
here for 5,500 years. (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)
Day 2 Sea Echo Motel - Port au Choix, Newfoundland & Labrador Italics from tour brochure.
We didn't start off well. We were waiting, the only people, in the lobby at 11:30. By noon we were wondering where they were. At 12:15 the tour director called the hotel to say they were running late due to the late arrival of the ferry, which didn't make sense at the time. They arrived at 12:30 and we boarded the full bus. It turned out the tour originated in Halifax, crossed to NL on the ferry overnight, a very rough passage. Then picked up 11 in Corner Brook before we were picked up.
Karen is the tour director, in full kilt. The driver is Cliff. Karen is very experienced and organized. She does seat rotation, not sure of the logic, but she tells us what row and side of the bus we will be on each day.
Karen explaining the local flags. This one isgre en, white and pink!
The pink, white and green tricolour flag, or PWG, can be seen all around Newfoundland and Labrador. There is a deluge of clothing and accessories emblazoned with the flag, usually accompanied by the slogan "Republic of Newfoundland." It has been asserted in the media and on the internet that it has represented the island for some 200 years. Yet Newfoundland was never a republic, and the PWG was never an official or republican flag. That it represents independence to some today is a product of the province's troubled post-Confederation history. As with many traditions and symbols that appear to be ancient, the PWG is not. Rather it is a late 19th century product which took the place of an earlier tricolour flag that has been forgotten.
The pink, white and green tricolour flag, or PWG, can be seen all around Newfoundland and Labrador. There is a deluge of clothing and accessories emblazoned with the flag, usually accompanied by the slogan "Republic of Newfoundland." It has been asserted in the media and on the internet that it has represented the island for some 200 years. Yet Newfoundland was never a republic, and the PWG was never an official or republican flag. That it represents independence to some today is a product of the province's troubled post-Confederation history. As with many traditions and symbols that appear to be ancient, the PWG is not. Rather it is a late 19th century product which took the place of an earlier tricolour flag that has been forgotten.
A little blurry, called a rock cradle. We are on The Rock, and it isn't possible to dig deep for the utility poles so rocks are used to keep the poles in place.
Luckily the haven't had many moose accidents in the park. However we heard of one on the news the next night.
We stopped in Rocky Harbour for an included lunch of turkey vegetable soup and sandwiches and we met Graham and Allison Jump from the UK.
Strange crowd, mostly Canadians, with a couple from the UK (she is from Scotland) and a couple from Geneva.
Inside the inn.
On the west side of Newfoundland's Great Northern Peninsula, you’ll find the crossroads of 6000 years of human history. The sea’s bounty drew Maritime Archaic people, the Dorset people, the Groswater people and the recent indigenous people here long before Europeans arrived. Seals on passing iceflows were hunted by the Dorset and used for food, shelter and clothing. Discover one of North America’s most fascinating archaeological finds amid a rugged coastline of unique limestone barrens, forests and bays. Visit ancient burial sites, settlements and view original artifacts, from slate spears to harpoons.
It was interesting but they didn't have any real artifacts on display.
Then a photo stop at the Point Richie lighthouse.
Point Riche Lighthouse, located in Port au Choix is a "pepperpot" lighthouse that was built in 1892 and is still active. The white wooden tower is octagonal pyramidal in shape, the lantern room is painted red. The structure is 19 metres (62 ft) tall. Its light characteristic is a flash every 5 seconds, emitted at a focal plane height of 29 metres (95 ft). It is maintained by the Port au Choix National Historic Site.
What a surprise when we arrived at the motel and Karen was piping us in.
We then went for a walk around town.
The fishing factory across the street was changing shifts, so some were stopping in here.
National historic site.
Turkey soup does sound good.
ReplyDeleteCoffee is on and stay safe
I like that lighthouse.
ReplyDeleteTourist guides are not known for the accuracy of what they say.
ReplyDeleteThe chairs at the viewing place look like they are stolen from Toronto.
Liquor Express sounds better than trying to hunt down an LCBO.
Definitely, Andrew! Every little town has a Liquor Express right in the convenience store. Prices are not cheap. But as people on the tour said, needs must!
Delete