iceberg alley

The east coast of Newfoundland and Labrador is known as Iceberg Alley, with 90% of the icebergs that float by in May, June, and July coming from glaciers in western Greenland.

This is an annual phenomenon, not the result of climate change. 

You can track and report them with the Iceberg Finder website. It's true that 90% of an iceberg is beneath the surface of the sea.

This map will give you a good idea. 

 The tiny town of Crow's Next, just northeast of Twillingate. Pull up a Muskoka chair.

Joelle makes these exquisite bowls from knotted rope.

 I've seen glaciers before but never seen anything quite like this.

It was sunnier last night when I arrived. I'd hoped to go out on a boat today, but the weather blew in, so they didn't go out.

 This looks like a modern house, just floating by.

This is an unusually good year. The ice pack was so thick late in the season, it damaged the big ferry to Fogo Island. 

 I mean, really.

Tonight I'm off to hear The Split Peas, 7 local women who sing and perform traditional music. With tea and tontons.

mixed signals

Today I headed up to Signal Hill and Cabot Tower, which overlooks St. John's and the entrance to the harbor. Thick fog had rolled in, so there wasn't much of a view.

The taxi driver explained the area had included several US military bases and of course the airports, which came about during World War II as part of a land–equipment exchange between FDR and Churchill after the Germans occupied France and the US was officially neutral. 

Roosevelt was running for reelection in 1940, and America, still remembering World War I, was in denial. 

Britain alone was fighting Germany, with boats stationed at British territories including Newfoundland, Bermuda, and the Bahamas when they were desperately needed in Europe at places like Dunkirk.

The tower was built in 1897 under Queen Victoria to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Cabot's sighting of Newfoundland.

It also played an important technological role because 27-year-old Guillermo Marconi received the first trans-Atlantic radio signal here, coming 2100 miles from Poldhu, Cornwall.

The hilltop was known as the Lookout, since you could wait for returning ships there.

Later I followed the Ladies' Lookout trail, where Newfoundland women awaited sons and lovers returning from the sea. At the base of the hill, it connected to Cuckold's Cove. I'll let you draw your own conclusions.

This is Quidi Vidi Lake, which empties into the ocean. There were nesting eagles, but all I saw was seagulls. 

Lots of dogs in St. John's, but so far I have not seen any Newfies. I did see this picture of Shallow.

Civilization! 

Unfortunately Mallard's Cottage was booked, so I couldn't stay for music and a warm Sunday supper. 

So I took a taxi back to town (about 3 km—not a bad walk, but it was chilly) and had a mug of warm tea and a tasty lobster tail and toast with blueberry jam. Tomorrow I'll pick up a car and head west to Gander and Twillingate in hopes of seeing icebergs and puffins. Listening to the radio and thinking of FDR and Marconi.

Somme day

It was raining, so I skipped the 6 am Canada Day ceremony in favor of the 101st memorial of the loss of soldiers at Beaumont Hamel the first day of the battle of the Somme. The hundreds of Newfoundlanders represented an entire generation. 

The service was deeply felt with a military parade, a choir, government officials, a band, and a piper.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: 

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. 

At the going down of the sun and in the morning 

We will remember them. 

Newfoundlanders, who did not join the Canadian confederation until 1949, adopted the blue forget me not to honor World War I dead, as other countries later adopted the red poppy.

Canadians wear red and white on this day. 

This statue honors the UN and NATO peacekeeping missions. 

The emphasis on the Great War reminded me of immersive The Great War centennial exhibition I visited in Wellington, New Zealand, with exhibits by Peter Jackson's Weta workshop.  

 Like Australian and New Zealand troops, Newfoundlanders suffered huge losses at Gallipoli and then at Beaumont Hamel, beginning July 1, 1916 and better known in the US as the Battle of the Somme.

After lunch, I walked up to the Rooms, a local museum and cultural center. The exhibits provided background on Newfoundland and Labrador's natural history as well as the history of native people who have lived here nearly 7000 years.

This photo was one of my favorites, a cross-stitch of The Lord's Prayer in Micmac.

It's cloudy so I'm not sure if I'll be able to see fireworks tonight. We loved today's Google doodle, though we weren't completely sure about all the other desserts. (Why are churros and eclairs wishing Canada a happy birthday?)

I'll close with the Ode to Newfoundland, which we sang at the service, right before God Save the Queen: We love this smiling land. 

***

Tip: Newfoundland is pronounced New-found-LAND and Labrador is pronounced Lab-ra-DOOR.

Newfoundland time

My first glimpse of Newfoundland

The first I heard of Newfoundland was when my book group read The Shipping News by Annie Proulx. I imagined it like Maine but colder, with lots of rope to tie knots. I had only been to Maine once, with my mother and grandmother, on a trip I had planned long before Google Earth, flying to Boothbay Harbor and then taking the ferry to Nova Scotia. It rained, and there were 6-foot waves, so my mother decided she wanted to go home the second day. I found a flight from Bangor to my uncle and aunt’s house, and we were back in NY in hours. I still haven’t made it to Nova Scotia.

Of course the second time was when all the international flights coming from Europe were stranded in Gander on September 11. I heard about it the following week, moved that a small fishing community adopted so many out of town visitors, setting up camp in churches, internet access in the schools and libraries, and taking a few lucky folks out fishing. 

I was so inspired I wrote a script for a TV movie. I’m not usually sentimental, but it seemed like the kind of story we really needed in 2001 when the world felt startlingly cruel to sheltered Americans. It never occurred to me the story should be a musical. My mistake.

This is Signal Hill, where the festivities will be tomorrow, from the busy port in downtown St. John's. The tower is named after John Cabot.

St. John's was the first place spotted in what is now Canada, having been noticed by Cabot, representing Henry VII, in 1497. It was new found land, hence the name.

It's still a working port, and was an important supply spot during both World Wars, as well as a target.

St John's is famous for brightly colored row houses, nicknamed Jellybean Row. The downtown harbor area burned nearly to the ground in the late 19th century, so much of it was rebuilt shortly after. It was bright and sunny today, so everyone was out painting their houses.

Some of the hills are quite steep. I felt right at home.

I've done a ton of research for this trip, as I do for all of my trips when I have time to savor the anticipation. Middle of the night web searches took me to iceberg alley and Viking sites and the earth’s mantle at the Tablelands. And the Titanic!

Did you know Newfoundland has its own time zone, and it’s a half hour off? This page is clear as mud. Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are in the Atlantic timezone, but we're just 30 minutes ahead of that.

Timezones were invented by Sandford Fleming, a Canadian who emigrated from Scotland. Because, of course they were.

I will be very disappointed if there aren’t Newfie puppies running all over. Just in case there aren’t:

***

So a few things I’ve learned in my first hours here, 3 flights and 19 hours of traveling later: Newfoundland is the island, but the province is Newfoundland and Labrador. And get this. There are two dogs named after it. Because Labrador retrievers are a variant of Newfie!

Tomorrow is Canada's 150th birthday. Events start at dawn on Signal Hill and proceed to a celebratory town breakfast, dancing, a memorial to the Newfoundlanders who died 101 years ago fighting in Flanders, music, and eventually fireworks. Nearby Cape Spear (from the Portuguese, espero) is the easternmost point in North America, so it's where the sun will rise on Canada Day.

centennial celebration

Headed north and east—far east. 

While I'm flying, and flying, here's the song from Expo 67 to get you in the mood. Try not to sing along.

a modest celebration

I loved this essay on Canada Day. Especially the idea that I'm more excited about celebrating it than many Canadians.