We spent last night in the Wal Mart parking lot in Clarenville. This is our first time and we had promised ourselves that we would do this at least once during our trip. Campgrounds in this area are few and far between and since we arrived in town late after a fairly lengthy drive, it was just plain easy to wheel into the parking lot and set up. The mite infestation has flared up again on the pups and we are off to the vets. We are informed that this type of mite is self limiting and are given two more weeks of antibiotics. We will keep you all appraised but for now, nobody seems too concerned, even Oscar and Oreo, so we will just continue on.
It is a short two hours to St. John’s. It is here however that things start getting interesting. Our first stop is at CP Pippy Park campground where we are informed they have no spaces left other than overflow. Okay, thank you very much we will try the other campground. You know where this is going don’t you. Next campground, and the only other campground in St. John’s is the Crossroads Motel. Sorry but we only have unserviced sites. Fine we’ll take one. Since everything seems a little busier than anywhere else we have been, maybe we should book our ferry crossing? That’s a good idea, I’ll start setting up while you go phone. A somewhat concerned Lynn returns. There’s no room left on the Monday sailing from Argentia to North Sydney. Oookay, that leaves us driving all the way back to Port aux Basque (890 km) or staying here until Thursday. Hey aren’t there three sailings a week? That’s right, the third sailing is tomorrow, Saturday. Anyway you are probably tiring of hearing this story, so I’ll cut to the chase. Space is available on the Saturday sailing so that is deemed our best of the available options. That leaves us with just four or five hours to see the things we want to see in St. John’s. It also meant a big change in our schedule but that is all part of traveling.
First stop is Cape Spear, the most easterly point in not only Canada, but also North America! En route we become hopelessly lost and are bailed out by a very kind hearted resident who, on seeing Lynn buying a St. John’s map, orders us to follow him. He takes us directly to the Cape Spear road, or we would still be looking. This is our first really unexpected act of kindness and we are very grateful. Cape Spear provides us with a magnificent vista of the entrance way to St. John’s Harbour, a little chunk of eastern coastline and of the Atlantic Ocean. Cape Spear marks our turn around point from east to west. Next land fall is Ireland, a paltry 3,000 or so kilometers away. Heck we’ve come about seven times as far just getting across Canada. Just like John Cabot we didn’t much know where we were going either! There is a lighthouse here, well two really. One is the modern, automated type and the other is the original. It is really neat inside this lighthouse because they built the lighthouse keepers quarters around the tower. So inside you have the outside square walls, while the inside walls are round. Lynn wishes this building was for sale … it has a great view and would be so cool to decorate! Confused, come on out here and take a look!
Okay next stop is Signal Hill. The interpreters at Cape Spear tell us take a right at the first set of lights, through the next set, left at the next set, up a block and turn right onto Duckworth Ave. Stay on Duckworth all the way to the hill. Hey, they were right! Well what can we say about Signal Hill? Other than it is extraordinarily windy? Originally known as the Lookout, it has been used for signaling since 1704. Whether by flag, radio or cannon blast, messages from Signal Hill have been sent to the city below, out to sea, and around the world. There are great exhibits and videos that bring the communications, military and medical history to life. In 1897, Cabot Tower, St. John’s most visible landmark, was constructed in honour of Queen Victoria?s Diamond Jubilee, and the 400th anniversary of John Cabot’s ‘Voyage of Discovery.’ The Tower was used for signaling until 1960, and today houses exhibits describing the tower, Marconi’s historic wireless reception, the history of signaling on the Hill and a gift shop.
While not a big harbour, St. John’s is certainly an enclosed harbour! It really is a good place to have a very detailed map of. The information centre isn’t in a particularly handy place either, so best advice is get a good map before you get there, and the tourist map you get for Newfoundland and Labrador is great for the rest of the province but not for getting around in the cities. Having said that we managed to find our way back to the trailer and spend the rest of the evening getting ready to make an extremely early start for Argentia, about 131 km away where the ferry to Nova Scotia is located.