Western Brook Pond Fjord
Day 82 August 30, 2014
Gros Morne National Park to St. Barbe
Newfoundland, Canada
This morning we got an early start so that we could make the 10:00 am boat tour on Western Brook Pond Fjord. Since the pond is now cut off from the sea, the fjord isn’t technically a fjord anymore. The Canadians know this, they admit it publicly, and yet they still call it a fjord. Obviously, it’s better for business. It’d be much harder to sell tickets to a “boat ride on a pond.”
We parked in the parking lot, and hiked almost two miles to get to the fjord-pond. The hike was pretty, but when the fjord finally revealed itself…now that was spectacular!
Western Brook Pond Fjord in the distance
Hiking trail to get to Western Brook Pond Fjord
Hiking trail to get to Western Brook Pond Fjord
Loading on the boat for the fjord tour!
The two hour boat tour was amazing. The scenery was gorgeous! We went all the way to the end of the fjord, snapping photos the entire the way.
Western Brook Pond Fjord
Western Brook Pond Fjord
Western Brook Pond Fjord
Western Brook Pond Fjord
Western Brook Pond Fjord
Western Brook Pond Fjord
Western Brook Pond Fjord
Western Brook Pond Fjord
Western Brook Pond Fjord
Western Brook Pond Fjord
Western Brook Pond Fjord
Western Brook Pond Fjord
Western Brook Pond Fjord
Western Brook Pond Fjord
Western Brook Pond Fjord
Western Brook Pond Fjord
Western Brook Pond Fjord
Western Brook Pond Fjord
When the boat turned around to head back to the dock….Holy Crap…that’s when the mighty wind struck us! My hair was flying around like it had a life of its own. The guy in front of us had his hat whipped right off his head and into the water.
Due to the wind and choppy water, our boat was rockin’ and rollin’ side to side most of the way back. The funny thing was that we were all sitting on these very slippery bench seats. And I was wearing my very slippery camping pants. Every time we rocked to one side, I’d slide down the bench…and then I’d slide right back to where I started when we rocked the other way. Damn camping pants. Note to other travelers…if you do this boat tour, wear pants that are a little more grippy!
The hike back to the Space Shuttle
The hike back to the Space Shuttle
The final view of the fjord
With one adventure behind us, we set off on another. On the way north, we stopped at a little store to buy garbage bags. We asked for help when we couldn’t find them. The clerk kept saying something about billybooties, or something or another. Couldn’t figure out what she was talking about. Finally, with a line of very patient people forming behind us to check out, she escorted us to what she was talking about…the garbage bag brand was “Billy Boots!!” Billy Boots Garbage Bags! And to be exact, we needed the small size ones, the Baby Billy Boots. For some reason, we thought this was hilarious, and the whole rest of the day we kept saying, as fast as we could, “Baby Billy Boots, Baby Billy Boots.”
Next stop for the day would be Port au Choix, a National Historic Site of Canada. What we found when we arrived, was a town with gale force winds, and nothing opened, not even the Visitor Centre and Museum. Hmm. Interesting. Maybe it was too windy for anyone to go to work. Doubt that. Newfoundlanders are hardy people and a little wind wouldn’t keep them at home…would it?
Back on the road…
Port au Choix
Port au Choix
Look what we found @ Port au Choix.
We found the RV park in town. It was pretty amazing. Right on the ocean! But the wind!!!! The wind was brutal. No wonder there wasn’t anyone there. We could have just parked for free for the night, but we were honestly afraid we might tip over in the middle of the night.
The uber windy, completely empty RV park on the beach. Too windy for glamping!
Port au Choix
Taking pictures of each other getting blown away at the beach in Port au Choix
Port au Choix
Port au Choix
Port au Choix
Port au Choix
We needed to find someplace safer to spend the night. With no other options here in Windy-Town, we got back on the road. We ended up at the RV park in St. Barbe, right across the street from the ferry landing that would take us over to Labrador the next day.
It was still super windy in St. Barbe, but we were at least parked in a bit more protected area in the RV park/parking lot. The cool and odd thing about this place was first, that they had the fastest freakin’ internet you’ve ever seen. The second cool thing, was that the bathrooms and showers were luxuriously large and extraordinarily nice! And remember, St. Barbe is, arguably, in the middle of nowhere!!! What a treat and great way to end the day!
Airstream Moho-A-Go-Go 