Should We Stay or Should We Go - Our Travel Journal

Photo by Krista Kankula on Unsplash There were a few experiences in Newfoundland that we knew we didn’t want to miss, and a boat tour through Western Brook Pond was one of them. We had been watching the weather forecast carefully, especially after our last boat tour,  hoping to book our tour on one of the sunnier days. Unfortunately, by the time we were ready to make our reservation, there was only one sailing with space available. We booked it and hoped for the best. That meant an early start. We arrived at the Western Brook Pond parking lot around 8:00 a.m. so we could catch the shuttle golf cart to the dock. Although many people enjoy the three-kilometre walk, we knew it would have been challenging for my sister, so the shuttle was the perfect option. We arrived with plenty of time to spare, which gave us the chance to relax with a hot cup of tea and a warm pastry before boarding the boat. It was a nice, quiet start to the morning. Despite its name, Western Brook Pond isn...

Located on Newfoundland's west coast, Gros Morne National Park covers nearly 1,800 square kilometres, making it the second-largest national park in Atlantic Canada. The name Gros Morne comes from French and means "large, solitary mountain," a fitting description of one of the park's most recognizable peaks. The park was established in 1973 and, in 1987, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. While the scenery alone is enough to leave a lasting impression, it was the park's remarkable geology that earned it international recognition. Millions of years ago, massive tectonic forces pushed part of the Earth's mantle to the surface here, creating one of the few places in the world where scientists can study rocks that normally lie deep beneath the Earth's crust. Photo by Timothy Holmes on Unsplash You don't need to understand geology to appreciate Gros Morne, though. Everywhere you look the landscape is changing. Rugged mountains, dense forests, q...

I'd been to L'Anse aux Meadows once before, but I was just as excited to go back as I was the first time.   I remembered bits and pieces, but it had been long enough that it almost felt like seeing it for the first time again. L'Anse aux Meadows is the only confirmed Viking settlement in North America and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Archaeologists believe Norse explorers arrived here around the year 1000, making it the earliest known European settlement in North America - nearly 500 years before Columbus. It's believed the Vikings used this as a temporary base while exploring farther south. They built a small settlement where they repaired their ships, gathered timber, and prepared for future voyages. Although they only stayed for a relatively short time, 10 years,  their visit forever changed what we know about the history of North America. This boggy, barren land is what the Vikings would have seen when they landed Our first stop was the visitor centre. We spen...

  St. Anthony sits near the northern tip of Newfoundland’s Northern Peninsula. To get there we knew that it would be a long drive day, but we were motivated. The plan was to just take our time, and enjoy the journey. During the first part of the drive, we slowed to enjoy each small fishing village we passed through. But the farther north we drove up the peninsula, the quieter things became. The villages became farther apart, stretches of wilderness seemed to go on forever, and there were times when it felt like we had the road entirely to ourselves. We began to realize just how remote this part of Newfoundland is. . St. Anthony is the largest community in the Northern Peninsula but "largest" is definitely relative. It's still a quiet fishing town, surrounded by rugged coastline and endless ocean. It also serves as the gateway to L'Anse aux Meadows, the only confirmed Viking settlement in North America. And as it was the reason for making the trip that far north, I...