| Newfoundlandia |
| This dream came true in the year 2000. What we discovered was a wonderful place where the people are the number one treasure in the province. Although Newfoundland people are the brunt of jokes throughout Canada, much like the Arkansas jokes in the USA, they are some of the liveliest, most generous folks you could ever imagine meeting. The true grit of the Newfoundlanders was demonstrated on September 11, 2001 when Gander, St. John's and other places in the province opened their doors and hearts to those stranded on their shores. Anyone who has been to Newfoundland and interacted with its people was not surprised with their generosity. We spent 5 days camped in rainy, stormy Cape Breton waiting to go to Newfoundland. (Make sure you make reservations for the ferry way in advance.) We had some camping adventures there on Lake Bras D'Or. Finally, we took the short ferry, 6 hours, from Sydney Cape Breton to Port aux Basques. Waiting to embark on the ferry, we met our first Newfoundlanders, a mom and daughter who told us "Once you come to Newfoundland, you'll be back again and again." Little did we know the absolute truth in that statement. |
| I surprised myself by calling and visiting people that I had only known online before this. Jenny, who lives in the town of Lawn on the Burin peninsula, in true Newfoundland spirit, welcomed us to her brand new house for an evening. We were introduced to the strong outport Newfoundland accent when we met her cousin Tom and his kids. Spent a wonderful evening there with Jenny and since then we've been back to see her several times. The Burin Peninsula that she calls home can best be described as horribly beautiful. You go from bogs, barrens and berries to breathtaking bays and beautiful fishing boats in the space of minutes all over the peninsula. We also had the opportunity for an eyeball-to-eyeball conservation with Ham Radio friends of ours who live in St. John's, Diane and Ken - VO1TJ and VO1ST. They have also become fast friends since then. My first glimpse of Signal Hill was sprinkled with all the history of radio communication information Ken could muster. I learned a lot that week. It was humbling to stand there where Marconi had stood over 100 years ago and changed history and global communication. As I stood there looking out to sea and looking over the St. John's Harbour, I felt a kinship with the land I had not been prepared for. Had the opportunity to see and hear Newfoundland's finest musicians at the Newfoundland & Labrador Folk Festival. It is held every year on the first weekend of August.Jim had been asked to play at the Festival and we went to see his performance. Before this, I had emailed him about ti and he invited me to call him and raise a jar with him during our stay. Not able to contact him before his performance, I planned to go back after the show and talk to him. He ended up at the beer tent where I met him and his wife, Lillian for the first time. He was surrounded by friends and well-wishers and took time to talk to me. A beer was quickly purchased and put inoto my hands before I had the chance to say "no." It was then I found out he was born in Pennsylvania and was a Ham Radio Operator also! A friend of his took the photo above as he whispered to me, "Us Pennsylvanians have to stick together!" |
| And no trip would be complete without meeting Mr. Fidler at Erin's Pub! We walked in and asked the bartender if I could use his phone to make a call so meet someone here. His reply? �Are you the ones here for Jim? Go right in the back and call.� Pays to know Jim Fidler, we found out that evening. We just sat there for hours chatting with Jim and Phillip, a Newfoundlander who has spent the last 12 years in North Carolina missing Newfoundland. He finally decided that the longing to be home was a need that must be satisfied and picked up - lock, stock and barrel � to come home to stay. He was adamant about being home, that HERE was the only place for him to be. We waxed poetic about music, politics, various cultural influences in Newfoundland, computers, chatrooms, etc. Jim also expressed thanks that in our conversation we did not use the �N� word (Newfie) nor had we been screeched in. He said some �NFLD traditions� that tourists are introduced to are not really traditional. And the screeching in as it is done in some places is not traditional at all. We discussed using the word �Newfie� and the general feeling at the table was that Newfoundlanders don�t like to be called Newfie by non-Newfoundlanders because of the negative connotations involved with the word. I was not aware of the stereotype prevalent in Canada about Newfoundlanders being simple minded and drunk. We in the states don't have that view of Newfoundlanders. We dont know enough about the place to HAVE stereotypes about it! Just like in African-American circles where fellow African Americans can call each other �nigger,� but no one else better do it. Newfoundlanders can call each other Newfie, but please don�t call them that if you are a CFA (Come From Away). |
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| Our first trip was memorable enough for me to fill an entire notebook with journal notes. We went for 10 days, 10 short days. Vic, Karen and I got an education in how large the island is. We set foot on the Rock in the southwest corner at Port aux Basques and drove across the island on the Trans Canada Highway to Mile Zero in St. John's, camping in Terra Nova Provincial Park along the way. The ride on the TCH was an experience in itself. It was under construction for the first 100 kilometers - a dirt road. On the other hand, it was the first time we saw a moose! Two casually ran across the road with a silver fox or coyote as we passed by. We stopped at Clarenville and I got my first taste of partridgeberry muffins - a craving that would last for years to come. We also discovered the mysteries of the Burin Peninsula as well as the Avalon. |
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| Newfoundland is one of two island provinces in Canada, the easternmost land mass in North America. Having been England's oldest colony, as well as a sovereign country itself, Newfoundland joined the Canada confederation on April 1, 1949. One of the oldest settlements in North America, it is Canada's youngest province. I first visited the East Coast of Canada in 1997 when Vic and I went to Cape Breton for our 25th wedding anniversary. During this trip, we discovered some East Coast Canadian music. Delving further into the Atlantic Canadian Music, we developed an urge to visit Newfoundland, home of some of our favorite Canadian musicians - Great Big Sea, Rawlins Cross and Jim Fidler. |
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| Cape Spear - the most easterly point in North America as seen from Signal Hill |
| If you wish to read more about my first trip to Newfoundland, click here. But don't forget to come back! |
| My second trip to Newfoundland was with Andi, my girlfriend from Buffalo. We decided to take a quick side trip before we wenrt home from our week at the Gaelic College in Cape Breton. Another notebook filled, I noted that the ferry ride from North Sydney was a confirmation of the Newfoundland spirit: |
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| I had a great time eavesdropping on a conversation between Eddie from Cornerbrook and a couple from Japan. Eddie was telling Ken all about the province and why it is wonderful. He was explaining to Ken that although Newfoundland is the poorest province in Canada, you�d never know because families pool their resources to help everyone get by. He said it�s been done for hundreds of years and it seems to be a quality ingrained in the culture. He said in the Northern Peninsula and in places in the Western part of NFLD there is no concept of owned land, so there are no fences and everyone helps the other. He recommended touring the Codroy Valley and Gros Morne Park. |
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| I include this map of Canada for those friends of mine who are geographically challenged. From Philadelphia to St. John's, Newfoundland it takes a good three days of travel. The white spot between New Brunswick and Quebec is Maine. You can take the ferry from Portland, Maine to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. It takes about 12 hours and is an overnight ferry. In Bar Harbour, Maine, there is another ferry service that uses a hugs catamaran ferry boat. It takes about 4-5 hours and goes to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia also. From Yarmouth, it is a 6-8 hour drive to North Sydney, Cape Breton, where the ferry to Newfoundland is.
You can also drive through Maine into New Brunswick, Canada. Make sure you stop at Saint John, New Brunswick (not to be confused with St. John's, Newfoundland. Note the unabbreviated New Brunswick Saint and the apostrophe "s" in the Newfoundland city name.) In Saint John you can see the Reversing Falls. The tides in the Bay of Fundy are the highest in the world. The rapids in this river running through Saint John go backwards twice a day as the tide comes in. Quite a sight! The drive from Portland through New Brunswick o Sydney, Cape Breton is about 12 hours. |