Friday, August 2nd – Western Brook Pond and Gros Morne

Today was a day to explore a bit. We rode and then walked about 3 kilometers to take an excursion boat on Western Brook Pond. It’s a fabulous place that almost nobody has heard of. Except Connie, who found it and booked it. (Connie says: No. It’s highly promoted by Newfoundland Tourism)

It didn’t look very promising when we set out

Western Brook Pond is a fresh water “fjord” carved out of the Long Range Mountains by a succession of 20 glacial ages over several million years. The Long Range is the northeastern extension of the Appalachian Mountain chain and covers most of western Newfoundland. When the glaciers were here, their weight compressed the land downward below sea level. After the last glacier receded over 9,000 years ago, the reduced weight allowed the earth to rebound. The lake is now totally above sea level and is one of the purest freshwater lakes in the world. With the exception of the excursion boats and a limited number of hikers, this area is untouched by humans and pristine. Connie got some great shots!

At the end of the tour we started talking with a young couple from Quebec, Jessica and Francois. We felt drawn to them and we were so thrilled to hear them echo our sentiments about the impact of travel on our lives. There are so many more nice people in this world than not. It makes us feel hopeful.

It was so great to meet you Jessica and Francois.

Our excursion took a large chunk of this afternoon. Our morning was spent inside because it was raining pretty hard. We devoted the early evening to laundry and lounging. Another good day off the road.

Our later evening’s entertainment will be fireworks presented by the town of Rocky Harbor in celebration of their summer festival. We can hear a band playing from our front door, and they’re quite good if you like Country.

An observation: food portions here are really big. Really big. Yesterday I ordered a burger and a small order of fries. The burger was at least 1/2-pound and the small fries weighed at least 1/2-pound. That’s the small portion.

A fish cakes supper comes with three hefty cakes, plus 2 toutons (fried bread) and baked beans, which I couldn’t finish for $16 Canadian. A lot of the food hereabouts is fried and could be called substantial. Come with an appetite.

Tomorrow some pleasure riding along the coast.