Seminorth of the Island

A few preview pics of a trip North.
After finding out on the day of my arrival that the last ferry to Nova Scotia via Argentia (130 km from St John's where I was headed, see Placentia Bay and St John's far right on map), I resigned to having to catch a ferry from Port aux Basques, about 1000 km from St John's, see far left beyond Corner Brook.
How to get there with a bike?
1) hitch hike- Pro: fun/adventurous/random - Contra: try hitch hiking 1000 km with a bike in a country full of bears (in the rain) and we'll talk about it.
2) put bike on bus then on ferry- Pro: why not?- Contra: bus fare 109 CAD+ bike 26 CAD+ ferry 30 CAD + ferry for bike 13 CAD (+taxes?) = about 180 + having to pack the bike to leave at 7.30 am from a street corner to go on a 12 hour milk run to the ferry terminal. NO thanks.
3) book a flight to Nova Scotia- Pro: same price as bus, 1h50 minutes instead of 20- Contra: have to pack bike all the same and get it to airport + have to reduce luggage drastically.

Anyway.. cut a long story short (one of my specialties recently it seems..) I will end up having to shed a lot of my load, as I have booked a flight direct to Montreal for next Sunday, departure 5.30am from St John's. And will end up having to pack bike and cart afore-mentionned to airport and and and, but even if a little *disappointed* to miss Nova Scotia and not be cycling there, I'm quite happy with my choice of going to Quebec directly, as for some reason I'm starting to feel under pressure with time.

In the meantime, I hitch hiked to Gros Morne on Monday, about 800 km from St John's (see top left again).. an incredibly beautiful national park in NL. Driving through it I was thinking "wow, had I known, I would have come earlier" but I didn't, and anyway I was cosily knitting with Christine, so that's no time wasted.

I have yet to explore.. On the way up I saw this buddy
a youngster bald eagle, bouncing very statelily on his branch..

Spent the night in Woody Point in "the House that time forgot" (THANKS BILL!!!)
Woody Point is a most beautiful little settlement on Bonne Bay (pronounce Bombay).. there are a lot of crafty people there, and incidently a shop where they sell the most gorgeous and sweet-smelling wool ever. I will hardly admit to the fact of having bought half my life saving's worth of wool after sending back half the amount I bought back to Iceland the day previous.
On fait ce qu'on peut! :P


Hiking in Gros Morne today.. there are quite a few bears (pronounce bare, Einar, ekki beer) and 8000 moose. Apparently that's a big problem, especially since they are not endemic animals, but were introduced in NL so that hunters could have their sport; and yet it is not allowed to hunt in a national park. So the vegetation is turning pretty flat. Considering a moose can eat up to 40kg of plants a day, that's a lot of forest disappearing down their moosely tummies!!
And despite there being 8000 and trying to follow a couple of moosetrodden tracks, I never saw one.. but a lot of hoofprints!And beardung..
Baker's brook falls
A view from Berry hillThe lighthouse at Lobster Cove
And our jolly sailor who'll hitch back to St John's on Friday to catch her flight excruciatingly early Sunday.

Bless bless!