Chasing Icebergs in T-shirts
Iceberg chasing in my t-shirt.
Flying to Newfoundland.
How I ended up with my summer expedition pack filled with shorts and t-shirts in Newfoundland, Canada still baffles my mind. The trip sparking conversation between Nathan and I went something like this:
Nathan: We have to book a ticket home.
Me: I’d really like to fly to New York to see the Broadway musical Come from Away.
Nathan: Ok, let’s look at tickets.
Me: Did you know that the musical is about Newfoundland (my childhood home island) and 9/11?
Nathan: Neat, I’d love to see it with you. Here’s the prices of plane tickets.
Me: Ok, well for fun let’s see how much it would actually cost to fly from Managua to Newfoundland. Only 303 dollars a person! Well, instead of watching a story about Newfoundland let’s go there!
Tickets booked.
The first glimpse. Let the iceberg chasing begin.
And that’s how I ended up chasing icebergs in my t-shirt. The famous 2017 Ferryland iceberg, some of you may have seen it on Facebook, even waited for my arrival in Newfoundland before leaving the bay and going back out to sea. And Nathan got to see his first ever iceberg!
We chased icebergs from bay to bay both driving and hiking. Finally, we hiked out to this view of the Ferryland iceberg. Pictures do not capture the perspective and feeling of being so close.
The Ferryland iceberg headed back out to sea.
Newfoundland is rich with history, rugged beauty, and has all seasons in one day. We visited before the end of May so all the tourist attractions were in off-season, but we still got to experience the culture, the land, and the people.
Landmark highlights:
Cape Spear - easternmost point in North America
Cabot Tower - marks the point where Marconi received the first trans-Atlantic wireless message
Fort Amherst - the location where the first lighthouse in Newfoundland was built, also the defense station at the entrance of the St. John’s harbor known as the Narrows.
East Coast Trail - a 300 km trail that intersects about 30 communities. It’s on our life must do list. What I hadn’t realized is that the trail outside my childhood home that we hike on weekends was part of the East Coast trail! They have signs now.
And more...
Every Newfoundland tourist attraction day must finish with fish 'n' chips. We ate at Chaf's Landing, By the Bay, and I would have made it to my childhood favourite, Ches's, but we discovered that one can have fish 'n' chips too many days in a row. Oh, I do love chips, dressing, and gravy which is a Newfoundland special.
Nathan also ate some other traditional Newfoundland dishes:
- Jigg's dinner - salt beef boiled with cabbage, potato, carrot, and turnip. Oh, and I ate lots of turnip in Newfoundland because no where else can you find turnip that tastes like Newfoundland turnip. It's scrumptious!
- Fish and Brewis - salt cod boiled with hard tack.
- Toutons - a traditional pancake made out of fried bread dough and topped with molasses.
The crowning experience of visiting Newfoundland for any "Come from away" or "Mainlander" (non-Newfoundlander) is to become an honorary Newfoundlander by being Screeched-in. Now I'm not going to spoil the surprise if you visit Newfoundland as to what the tradition of Screeched-in is, but it involves Screech (or for those who don't drink cod-liver oil and bog water), a cod's lips, Newfoundland sayings, and peppermint nobs. And now, Nathan is an honorary Newfoundlander. You should ask him to repeat some Newfoundland sayings:)
As you can see we didn't make it to the other side of the island. We stayed in the St. John's area. One just needs more time to visit the entire island and to see such places as Gros Morne National Park and L'Anse Meadows. And did you know that France is only a 55 minute boat ride from Newfoundland? Check out St. Pierre.
While we were there we were visiting my Grandma and her husband Frank. I learned a fun tidbit to take with me. One needs an "adventure fund" a bank account specifically for vacations, travel, and adventures. Then you know how much you have exactly to support your adventures and while your on one you can be planning another because you already know if you have the funds.
Well in the next blog we will be back in the tiny house. I've been dreaming for months of coming back to my tiny home.
So until then, as Nathan would say in Newfie, "Long may your big jib draw!"
I'll translate, "May there always be wind in your sails!"
