Puffins, Root Cellars, and Whales

Monday, July 15, 2013



Monday was Puffin Day! We left Paradise Farm and drove a short distance to the town of Elliston on the coast. Elliston is also known as the Root Cellar Capital of the World. There are hundreds of them in the area. They were used to store produce throughout the year, keeping produce and dairy cool in the summer, and kept from freezing in the winter. Some of the oldest are still in use. Newfoundlanders who were dependent on the fisheries needed to live a subsistence life in order to feed their families. The root cellars were an important tool to stretch food throughout the winter.

We drove along the coast to the area where there was supposed to be a puffin trail. The first area we stopped at overlooked rocks in the water with nesting bird colonies. We weren't sure if they were gulls, kittiwakes, terns or other birds. Along the way to the next coastal area were several root cellars. We couldn't fit in the parking lot so we drove a bit farther down the road. A pick-up truck pulled alongside and the driver asked if we were from Maryland. He was from West Virginia, just across the river from Cumberland. He's been coming up here in the summer for 27 years and runs a business in the next small coastal town. He told us we could camp overnight in the nearby look-off area. He also told us that we could boondock almost anywhere in Newfoundland. We may try it!

Shearwater nesting area

After finding a good spot to park we walked past the root cellars and over to the Puffin Trail. The local community maintains it. We hiked out onto a headland and watched various birds, and gulls, and saw a few puffins across the water on an island. Greg was walking ahead of me and backed up and whispered to me to move forward slowly. A half dozen puffins were standing on the edge of the cliff in front of us. Most of the other people didn't see them either. Everyone was focused on the island across the water and didn't expect to see them so close. That group of puffins flew off and every now and then a few more would land in front of us. One had a nest on the edge and flew over and walked within a few feet of a woman sitting near the edge, to get to its nest. I stood near the corner of the cliff and the puffins from the cliff across from us had a flight path very close to where I was standing. More puffins were nesting across the headland from us. Hundreds more were in the water below us, diving for fish. We stayed for a while and enjoyed watching them as they watched us.

Traditional  Newfoundland Saltbox House

Trail to the Puffin colony

Puffins

Nesting area

Puffin on a nest right at our feet

Walking back to the shore we looked down below us in the water and saw a big dark swirling in the shallow area. It was a school of Capelin fish moving in unison through the water. The shape changed, but the fish stayed in a tight bunch as they moved through the shallows. The seabirds began to dive in the midst of it. While we watched we had a nice talk with a couple from northern Ontario, who had spent the week in St Johns at an international choral festival. We exchanged ideas for good places to visit.

This patch of seaweed moved rapidly across the cove - it was a dense school of Capelin

Walking back to the car we stopped at a look-off and saw some whale spouts in the distance. Then we drove out to the end of the Bonavista Peninsula to the town of Bonavista. Here John Cabot (or Giovanni Cabotto, he was actually Italian!) discovered the “New Founde Land” in 1497. We were hoping to try some traditional Newfoundland food, so we parked and went into the Walkhams Gate Pub and Cafe. At this point the temperature was heading towards 90 degrees. None of the buildings in the area were air conditioned. This isn't normal for Newfoundland and records are being broken.

Greater Metropolitan Bonavista

The cafe was supposed to have wifi. Two men were sitting by the windows and using their computers, but we couldn't connect. We ordered our meals. Greg got fish cakes, and I ordered a panini. Hmmm...it wound up being two slices of square white bread, toasted with some melted mozzarella and a fried breaded chicken breast cut into pieces. Then the whole thing was cut into four wedges. While we were eating two men came in to deliver refrigeration equipment. They came and went a few times, talking, laughing and flirting with the waitresses. The last time they walked out, they loudly talked and laughed with each other and as they left we all burst out laughing! One of the men said he didn't understand a word and wondered if it was English? The other man said he was from Texas, and had been there seven years and still couldn't understand. It was more than just an accent, but was a dialect that developed over the years while the peninsula was isolated. There are different dialects all over the province. You never know what you'll hear and whether you'll understand whenever someone starts to speak!

Bonavista Harbor

Historic cod drying racks

Next winter's firewood

After lunch we walked back to the RV instead of walking around town. It was really hot and humid and being so far north, the sun is very intense. It starts to get light before 4 AM, and stays light until about 10 PM. We drove out to the end of the peninsula to see the lighthouse. On the way out we saw community pastures with sheep in them. We parked and walked over to the coastal cliffs. There was a steep drop off into crystal clear water. Below were guillimots, small black ducks with white patches on their wings, and red legs and feet. They dive below the surface for fish. The water was so clear that we could see them using their wings under the water. They looked like they were flying underwater!

Cove at Cape Bonavista where Guillemots were diving

Cape Bonavista Light

We spotted a few puffins, and then way out in the water we spotted a whale. It was probably a humpback whale. We could see its tail as it “fluked” when it dove. There were also little tiny blue butterflies fluttering about the wildflowers on the cliff top. We walked back to the car and drove back into town to visit Ryan Premises Historical Site. Five buildings were open on the waterfront and displayed the history of the fishing industry in Newfoundland, specifically the codfish and seal fisheries. The buildings were restored original buildings from a fish plantation, where the Ryan family, Irish immigrants lived and acted as fish brokers. In 1992 the Grand Banks cod fishery was closed due to hundreds of years of overfishing starting in the 1500's, and immediately 40,000 Newfoundlanders and other Atlantic Canadians lost their livelihoods. A small inshore cod fishery remains in Newfoundland for local consumption such as the ubiquitous fish and chips shops in St. Johns.

Harbor View

Cod fishery display

Ryan Premises owners residence

Ryan Premises cod warehouse, store, office

We needed a campsite for the night and drove back down the coast and then inland on the peninsula, eleven miles across a gravel road to Lockston Path Provincial Park. We found a campsite in the woods and I jumped around and ran my hands through my hair, non-stop, while I guided Greg into the site. The blackflies were fierce! Greg hiked up to the interpretation center for the wifi to check e-mail and Skype with his dad, but I never left the RV once I was back inside. We noticed a boil water order for the campground water, so we didn't hook up our water line and sparingly used what we already had in the tank. We didn't want to put possibly contaminated water in our tank! We had heard of possible problems with boil water orders n Newfoundland, but this is the first that we have encountered it.
Tomorrow we head for St Johns!

17 km dirt road to Lockston provincial park