Merry Puffins!



The sun was bright and promised to be a beautiful day.  We packed up the cooler with lunch supplies and headed off to end of the world:  Cape Spear.  I was delighted to be going here.  I had asked the lady sitting beside me if St John's was the most Easternly point in Canada, and she correctly identified Cape Spear as such.  I had hoped to go there as a bit of a symbol for our trip.  Little did I know the military significance behind Fort Cape Spear, or for Eastern Newfoundland for that matter.

As we turned up onto Cape Spear Road, I was impressed by the murals that had been painted to reflect the area's heritage.  I was also bemoaning the fact that Kim was in the other car with the camera, and probably wouldn't be noticing the artwork as much.  Note the lack of mural photos.

Fort Cape Spear was a military post during World War II.  There were canons and bunkers remaining, some of which were still open for the public.  WWII truly was a world war.  As far off and remote Newfoundland seemed from Europe, St John's harbour was an important port.  Situated along an allied convoy route, enemy ships lurked in the waters waiting to attack.  The Battle of Atlantic was waging and allied ships were being sunk at an alarming rate.  Halifax, which had been the main dispatch for convoy escorts, still left 2000 kms of unguarded waters for the allied ships.  Establishing a base in St John's widdled 900 kms off the danger zone for ships.  St John's became an strategic stronghold for the front that was too important to lose.  Cape Spear towered over the harbour protecting the ships and souls below. 

                                                                            

Theo hanging off a canon

                                                                              

                                                                                                       Mark sees the light!!!

The lighthouse at Cape Spear predates the war.  Built in the 1800's, this lighthouse was one of only a few lighthouses along coastal Newfoundland.    We were able to tour the inside, which had been restored and furnished appropriately for the time.  The family that resided in the lighthouse would have been fairly affluent, and the comfortableness of the position could be felt throughout the home.  Still, Cape Spear was remote, and the winters would not have been pleasant.

                                                                               

                                                                                                  Photographer Levi again!

                                                    Phew!  Those were a lot of stairs!

                                              

The Flags

                                                              

                                                                                    

Of course Mark would spot this barrel



We had a picnic overlooking the cliffs, the winds sheltering us from the heat of the day.  This would be recorded as the hottest day in 17 years for Newfoundland.  We must have brought the good weather with us!!  I kept the camera for the ride back.  Although we didn't drive past the murals again, I did capture a shot of the windswept trees.

We continued on to Bay Bulls, where we had reservations for a whale and puffin sighting tour.    I had been anticipating spotting puffins since the day we left Kelowna.  Along the route we stopped for ice cream and drinks in Petty Harbour.  I would have renamed it pretty; a much more accurate description.

It was hot.  We arrived early and each sourced out some shade or water.  If there had been worries about being cold on the boat, we were all assured of warmth while waiting to board.    Once out on the open water, though, the sea breeze was lovely and cool.  We were treated with an interaction with a humpback mother and calf.    The two stayed beside our boat for a long time, blowing water, waving flippers, and flapping tails.  Theo and Levi were taught a "whale call" and practise incessantly until they had the call perfected.  I'm not too sure what the other passengers thought of this.  As a mother, it's nice to see happy smiles on children.  Theo especially loved the whales.  I was stingy on photographs at this point, though, as the battery light was flickering and I wanted my puffin photo!  The boat did not disappoint.  As were neared the ecological parks, the sky became filled with birds, or maggoty with birds, as Mark liked to say.  The small size of the puffin surprised me.  I was expecting something the size of a penguin.  These puffins were much smaller than seagulls.  I was also missing my super zoom from my lost camera.  Look close at the last shot, though, and you'll see their signature orange bills!

 







                                                                       

                                                                  A picture of picture, in case there were none

The boys were very impressed with the pirate caves!

The boys loved their pirate cave
The shack that the biologists get to live in while studying the birds, precarious at best
T                                     Bird S.....

                                     

PUFFINS!!

We ended the day at Quidi Vidi, a traditional fishing village with a brewery that makes beer from icebergs!   What a day!  We arrived back home and enjoyed a late supper, and a blog to recapture all of the day's events took hours to do!