Puffins, root cellars, and vikings! Oh my!

When last we left you, we were happily ensconced in the revelry that is St. Johns. A wonderfully colorful and busy city here in Newfoundland. From there, it was off to Tera Nova national park, and then onward to the Bonavista peninsula, and the village of Eliston, root cellar capital of Canada, and home to hundreds of Puffins!!!!  Puffins are very cute, small, ( 11 inches in height,) and look like tiny wind up toys when flying.  Well accustomed to tourists, the puffins did not dissapoint, flying back and forth from their nesting cliffs in the ocean, to our vantage point on the rocks only to land mere feet in front of us, and allowing for some excellent photo oppertunities.

 Having had our fill  of  puffin viewing, we ventured up to Twillingate for some most excellent coffee at the Crows nest cafe, viewed some minke whales in  the distance, and meandered our way up to Gros Morne national park for our first glimpses of this gorgeous place.

Gros Morne national park, is , in a word, Impressive. The landscape shifts and changes as you travel through the park, beginning with the Tablelands, golden yellow rocky mountains.. known as periodite rock, it lays deep in the earth and was pushed up to the surface by tectonic forces millions of years ago, to westernbrook pond, a huge glacier carved fjord with sides 2000 feet high. We took a 2 1/2 hour boat tour here, both informative and beautiful! We stayed at a couple of campsites in the park, Trout river, by the tablelands, and Shallow bay, near the other end of the park, and a personal favourite, with huge sanddune beaches and warm ocean waters.

Next up? pull out your battleaxe... its of to L'Anse aux Meadows, a tiny fishing village as north as you can get in Newfoundland. This place was amazing to visit, the first viking settlement in North America, ( 1000ad. ) and you can still see the grassy mounds in the earth where once there were sod  houses and a forge. They have reproduced replicas of what it would have looked like at the time near the actual site itself, complete with costumed and wild bearded actors who give you a thorough rundown on the history of the ancient greenlanders and icelanders led by Lief Erikson. ( My norse blood was singing a happy tune in this place... )

Last but not least, it was back down to Cornerbrook, and a happy night of camping with my aunt and uncle who happened to be visiting the rock at the same time as us, before we settled in  at Port au Basque for a couple nights of lazy camping before catching the 4am ferry back to Nova Scotia. ( Cape Breton bound! )

 We have seen so much on the rock during our three week exploration here... lighthouses, whales, moose in the fog, puffins, gorgeous senic views from lowgrounds to towering cliffs... its difficult to put it properly into words.....

 Thankyou again, to  Leisha, for making us feel at home, to the strangers at the Ship pub, for buying us a round and sharing in good conversation, to Big bear and Grey owl for making us laugh, to my Auntie Carol and Uncle Dave, for making us dinner and sharing a good night of camping, and to Newfoundland., for making this visit, I think, the first of several visits we will make to this awsome place.

Onward to the Cabot Trail, and a continuation of our Nova Scotian explorations....

 Until next time, C, R, & Sir Vanagon.