bergie bits

I could write something clever or I could just post a million close ups of icebergs, taken from an informative boat tour today led by Twillingate Adventure Tours.

You should go with them. Chris and Kim will take good care of you. If the seas are rough, they won't go out. (Take Dramamine or a scopolamine patch if like me, you're susceptible.)

The green tail shows you ice under the water. It takes these icebergs two to three years to float over from Greenland.

They look completely different as you go around them.

A lot of them look like fishes or whales. If they're smooth, that's a sign they've rolled over a few times.

Icebergs are white because snow is caught in them. Ice itself is clear. Isn't this blue vein gorgeous? This iceberg was about 100 feet high.

 I loved this iceberg. It reminded me of a ship.

 We went completely around it. It had ice caves and a green tail.

 From this angle, it reminded me of the Sphinx.

 I see a man or woman in profile, reclining.

This was the most exciting moment of all. We heard a crack and the bottom of this iceberg collapsed into the sea. You can see the splash in the lower right corner,

 And foam and bits of iceberg, floating and fizzing around.

When you're done, stop in at Annie's for some cod tongues. I didn't ask if they're tongues or not. Sometimes it's better not to know.

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.