Icebergs galore

Our day started early since we had to travel 175 miles, partly on secondary roads and partly on the TransCanada Highway (TCH).  Before we left my neighbor informed me a moose came through the campground yesterday morning. Of course we were out hiking so… missed it.

The road into La Scie was terrible. They were so bad the manager of the campground apologized as soon as we got there. She was going for lunch so she said “make yourselves at home, choose any site, I will collect the money when you're ready”. How amazing is that. She suggested #6 because of the view and because it’s the longest site. So we did just that, took #6.  The view was so worth the bad roads.

Island Cove Campground

Our rig...note the view of the icebergs

Susan and I quickly set up and headed for the beach to see the icebergs. It’s 28 degrees C hot, humid, and sunny. Newfoundland should not be this hot. Susan’s not complaining, I’m just plain hot. The view was breathtaking. Susan had to put here feet in the north Atlantic. Now she’s happy.

The beach

Swimming with an iceberg

The fishing village of La Scie (pronounced la “see”) has a population of approximately 1200 people today. It was inhabited by the French in the 1500’s. With its French history, the village received its name from these early settlers. The name La Scie which means “the saw” was derived because the hills surrounding the area resemble the teeth of a saw.

The village of La Scie

Looks like teeth of a saw

This is a typical Newfoundland small town community, everyone know everyone. Susan and I were sitting watching the sunset when 2 local fishermen (Stew and Ray) started talking to us. After a half hour they asked if we wanted to go out on the boat to see icebergs tomorrow at 2 pm. The two people beside us from Ontario were going. We said sure. After they left we continued to watch the sunset with an alcoholic beverage in hand, perched above a 500 foot cliff, listening to the wave’s crash into shore, and catching a glimpse of an eagle soaring overhead. It does not get any better than this or does it?

Sunset

The next morning it was looking real ugly out and I thought the boat trip would be cancelled for sure. Bev, the park manager reassured me it was going to clear and the boat trip was on. You see she knows both Stew and Ray real well and she also knows Newfoundland weather.


We decided to go to the Tea House to check it out before our boat trip. It’s a cute place that was once the owner’s parent house. They renovated, added a front addition, and turned it into a Tea Room and Museum. We watched Valerie (the owner) make Toutons which is a Newfoundland stable. It consists of bread flour and water fried in a hot skillet then covered with jam, syrup, or molasses.

The Tea Room

Valerie and the help

Starting of a Touton

Finished product

The smells were wonderful but we had a boat to catch. This was not going to be just a boat ride; it was also a family outing. In total 13 people were on board all family except us 4 Ontarians. Everyone treated us like family. They had beverages, snacks, and don’t forget about the “fisherman’s brewis”. More on that later.

The boat

The Captain...Stew

We headed out of harbour and spent the next 2-1/2 hours baking in the sun as we looked at icebergs. We got so close it was almost scary. I was just hoping a piece would not break off. The weather was perfect. We took extra sweaters and winter jackets but I wish I had worn shorts.

We did happen to spot one minke whale. They tell me when the capelin are running the area is cover in humpbacks, minkes, and fin whales. As we passed by some smaller pieces of iceberg, Roger scooped some up so we can have them in our drinks tonight.

We got some for our drinks

We headed back to shore but in the meantime someone was cooking up something that smelled great. “Brewis” is a Newfoundland stable consisting of cod, a small amount of pork, salted cod, fried onions, and soaked hard bread. It is soooooo good, I didn’t think I would like it but I had double helpings.

Fisherman's Brewis

With our bellies full and smiles from ear to ear we went back to camp. This scenario is beginning to sound familiar.  My only wish was that my sister Joyce could have been here to see all these bergs.

The next day proved to be ugly so I’m glad we had our boat ride already. However I was able to watch the iceberg in the harbour calve.

Before

Note the different in look...same iceberg
different day

The ugly day was due to hurricane Arthur passing through. High winds, lots of clouds, and a scant amount of rain. Bev reassured me we wouldn’t get blown of the cliff. She said “I haven’t lost one yet”. Nice to know Bev. Thanks.