Canada; Port Hood, Nova Scotia to Pasadena, Newfoundland
Week 4:
My favourite part... I got to see an iceberg!!!
My favourite part... I got to see an iceberg!!!
Miles... 1263
Day 19: Port Hood, Nova Scotia to Pleasant Bay, Nova Scotia
173 miles
Got up around 8 this morning, got all our gear packed up and got ready to head for the Cabot trail! We stopped off for breakfast at a restaurant in Whycocomagh (pronunciation, anyone?) and took a few minutes to clean off the windshields... gross! From there, we continued across to join up with the Cabot trail in Baddeck and followed the it all the way up the east side, making several stops along the way and taking in the sights. We took a detour 6.5kms down a gravel road to see Mary Ann waterfall, and stopped off for fish and chips. The roads were winding back and forth, up and down all day long which made for a fun and interesting ride along the coast. We got into the hostel in Pleasant Bay around 6, and a shower felt so good. I made toasted tomato sandwiches for dinner, and spent the rest of the evening relaxing, chatting and playing cards with the awesome group of people at the hostel.
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| Winding Roads |
Day 20: Pleasant Bay, Nova Scotia to Margaree Forks, Nova Scotia
57 miles
I woke up with a jolt, but once I was assured that my bike was indeed still upright, this morning got off to a lazy start drinking tea and listening to the wind howl. There were actually high wind warnings, gusting up to 120 kms/hr so we laid low and waited it out for a while. Around noon, we headed a couple minutes up the road to the Rusty Anchor for some lunch. While we ate, there was some great live country music courtesy of Jeremy Pike. After lunch, the winds were still howling but we headed half an hour down the Cabot trail to the skyline trail for a hike. I should have read the *ahem* very first line to see that it was a 10 km hike... but I didn't... so I went on my merry way without water and dressed in about as many layers as I could be. Needless to say, layers were shed and lips were parched, but it was a great hike anyways. Out on the furthest point, a boardwalk offered amazing panoramic views of the coastline and Cabot trail (although we nearly blew away), while the wooded path offered an up-close look at a couple of moose! So neat! I'm glad I got to see a moose... now I don't need to see any on the road! After the skyline trail, we headed towards Cheticamp, taking in the stunning views along the way. The west side where we were riding today is by far the most scenic stretch of the Cabot trail, in my opinion. Once in Cheticamp, we stopped to pick up some spare parts to have on hand and got some dinner at the same time at the hardware/grocery store. Dinner tonight was wraps with caesar dressing, salad (mixed greens, mandarin & strawberry), Black Forest ham, and cheddar cheese.. The strawberries were surprisingly delicious mixed in there! When we were done eating, it was starting to get a bit drizzly, so we hit the road right away to get down to Margaree Forks where we plan to stay tonight. The hotel is just off the Cabot trail, and we got in just in time to avoid most of the misty rain and grossness..
Day 21: Margaree Forks, NS to North Sydney, NS
119 miles
We got up around 8 this morning to the sun shining! I called to make our ferry reservation (which I should have done sooner) but the overnight ferry was full! We will take the 6pm ferry instead, but it means we will be getting into Port-aux-Basques at about 2am. We got our things packed up, then Dad made some adjustments to my box (again) so that it'll stay on a little better. It's definitely got a louder rattle now, but hopefully it will stay on for a few more miles. Once we were ready to roll, I started the day off with the most graceful mount you ever did see... Leg up, over, pant caught on foot peg, leg down, rest of me down, bike down... Me stuck. 'Erhm dad..?' Hahaha.. Once I was upright again, we left the motel around 9am and headed southeast towards Christmas Island. A few more scenic stops and a short ferry ride, then a stop for brunch in an old church basement-converted-restaurant. Kind of strange but it was delicious! From there, it was about an hour up to Sydney where we stopped off to top up the tires, then went to the mall so that I could find new shoes (l sadly have worn my boots out!). I settled on a pair of sneakers that will be much better for hiking..I feel like I'm walking on clouds now! Such a good purchase! From there, we topped up our gas and picked up some snacks before checking in at the ferry terminal. They say they begin boarding two hours prior to departure, so we got there 3 hours early. Lots of time but better than missing it! Once we had our tickets and had checked in, we were able to walk out to Timmies and call home before boarding. We didn't actually begin boarding until nearly 4:30, but the motorcycles were the first ones on (aside from the transport boxes). Once aboard, we set about strapping our bikes down for the trip with the provided straps and I managed to burn my finger on my exhaust in the process. Real smooth today. Real smooth. Once everyone else was on, we set sail a few minutes early, around 5:45. We walked around the decks for a while, had our dinner, tried not to be seasick, watched part of a Lego movie, watched a gorgeous sunset, and relaxed in the awesome air-chair room that we discovered! So comfy and nice to have a quiet place to sleep!
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| Strapped down and ready for ferry |
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| Leaving Nova Scotia behind for now |
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| A beautiful way to end the day. |
Day 22: Port-aux-Basques, Newfoundland to Pasadena, Newfoundland
264 miles
We ended up getting into Port-aux-Basques ahead of schedule, around midnight, so a hotel could have and would have been a good idea. Instead, we found a few seats in the ferry terminal and got a few hours sleep there. Well, I did anyway... I don't think Dad got much. We were up and ready to hit the road around 7. About an hour north of the ferry, we stopped off for some breakfast; pancakes again for me, and Dad had coffee (this being monumental in it being the first time I've witnessed in my lifetime) with his breakfast special. After breakfast, we continued north turning off a Stephensville Crossing to go out to Cape Saint George. We did the loop around that cape, stopping off for a short hike and a few scenic outlooks. Once we got back to Stephenville, we topped up the gas and headed north again past Corner Brook to Pasedena. We got to my friend K's place around 5, and spent the evening with her and her family. We had delicious homemade pizza for dinner, went to church, then back again for some dessert and chatting before bed.
Day 23: Pasadena, NL to St. Barbe, NL
289 miles
Got up to pancakes and bacon with K and the kids before getting ready to head out this morning. From Pasedena, we headed into Deer Lake to gas up, and then north to Gros Morne National Park. We took the scenic route, heading out to the discovery center and Trout River, stopping several times to just take in the view! From Trout River, we went back to Bonne Bay where we stopped at a cafe on the bay for lunch. It was a bit windy on the patio, but nice to sit outside and enjoy the view. I had managed to burn my leg on my exhaust during one of our stops (really on a roll this week..) so getting some ice on that while we ate felt great. After lunch, we headed back to Wiltondale and then around the north side of the bay. From there we continued north, past Gros Morne mountain, stopping off to look around and get gas whenever we saw it (which was not often). Around River of Ponds my butt was getting rather numb, so we stopped for a wiggle and a snack before hitting the road northward again. We finally found a spot to get some dinner in Plum Point, and I was not disappointed with the chicken alfredo... actually the best ever. We still didn't have anything pegged down for a place to stay, but the (only) hotel in town was going to be rather pricey, so we looked around and found a campground twenty minutes up the road and headed there. It's not the prettiest location, but the facilities are awesome! Clean hot shower, lots of sitting room, laundry, and power for the heater! Once we got things set up - fighting with the wind the whole time - I took advantage of a comfortable chair and got caught up with my journal and all that jazz. Feels like I'm forever catching up, but maybe I'll get the hang of it soon. It's tough to take everything in and keep everything organized at the same time! Fell asleep to the tinkering of falling rain.
Day 24: St. Barbe, NL to St. Anthony, NL
78 miles
...and woke up to the tinkering of rain. Which is code for: I woke up, and I went back to sleep. We headed out around 10:30 hoping that it would clear up more, but we got about 20 miles down the road and I was soaked and nearly frozen. I pulled off to get some dry boots and a few more layers (making a total of 6 layers). A little further down the road, we drove into a warm spot of air which instantly fogged up my helmet and windshield! Unfortunately the heat didn't last long, and it was another foggy and cool hour or so into St. Anthony, where we got some gas and found a spot for lunch with the hope of getting thawed out. We decided that it wasn't going to be enjoyable to keep going and we wouldn't be able to see much, so we would find a hotel and try again tomorrow. We spent the afternoon doing some laundry at the local laundromat/gas bar/car wash/liquor store/restaurant and wandering the local mall (which is actually just a grocery store, pharmacy, and bargain shop). After some dinner I was feeling rather lazy, so I decided to walk up the road to the community pool for an aqua-fit class at 8. There were 9 other ladies there for the class and the instructor didn't show up, so myself and one of the other ladies taught the class! Turned out to be a blast, and everyone was soo friendly! Even got invited over for a traditional Sunday dinner, but unfortunately we hope to be headed south again by then..
Day 25: St. Anthony, NL to Pasadena, NL
283 miles
We got up a bit earlier this morning and headed out to the end of the road, Fishers Point, to see what was out there and we were not disappointed with a giant iceberg!! Sooo cool! From there, we headed back into St Anthony and then north to L'anse aux Meadows. We arrived around 10:30 and checked out the visitors centre and the Viking settlement. When the Vikings arrived around 1000 AD, they were significant in marking the completion of humankind encircling the globe. It was very neat to see! We then headed south again, stopping off at Northern Delight for fish and chips and deep fried ice cream with partridgeberry sauce. The recommendation from the ladies at aqua-fit did not disappoint! After lunch, we hightailed it south, stopping a couple hours later for some gas and another snack. Thankfully, it warmed up a little so it no longer felt like you were going to get frostbite. Once my butt had begun the unnumbing process, we continued south for another hour or so until we made a quick stop to check out a salmon sanctuary. It was another straight shot south before it was time for another gas stop/warm up/bum stretch, then on to Pasadena, arriving shortly before 9. It was nice to have a visit with K again and a quiet evening..
J.
Design life. Create originality. Inspire wonder.
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