Just yesterday it occured to me that I had been back from vacation for about 10 days and had done nothing with the photos that V had downloaded from the camera. I had promised myself the next blog post would be about our 5 days on the west coast (of this island). It was a real treat for me as we were covering places that I had never been before.
It was mid-August and the weather on this Rock had finally warmed up a bit. As a result, both flora and fauna were well represented...
 |
| Pretty flowers near the bog |
 |
| The mighty bull moose |
 |
| The innocent calves |
 |
The elusive loon
|
 |
| The snaggle-toothed llama |
Well, yeah. So maybe llamas aren't the norm here, but we got to visit that character and his buddy alpacas at the
Alpacas of Newfoundland on the Port au Port Peninsula, west of Stephenville. The drive around that peninsula was very scenic and we got a feel for the French heritage of the area.
Part of the trip was taking in four plays over five nights. The highlight for me was
'God of Carnage' at the Stephenville Theatre Festival. It was done in a small square room with only 25 seats for the audience in each of the corners. We also saw an interesting play called
'Stones in His Pocket' at the Gros Morne Theatre Festival in Cow Head. The story is about two men working as extras in a Hollywood production being shot in a small, Irish village. The fascinating, and at times hilarious, thing about this is that all of the parts are played by only two men with a minimum of props about them. Well worth going to if it's playing near you.
 |
| A view from the hotel room in Cow Head |
While in
Gros Morne National Park, we took the boat tour in
Western Brook Pond. This should be a stop for all who visit the park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is a scenic 45 minute hike through woods and a bog to the marina and a
two hour boat trip down the pond (that is about 16km long). The water is over 500 ft deep in places and the rock walls on either side tower above at about 2000 ft. The weather thankfully cooperated and we had a wonderful time (though they really pack folks (capacity of 165) into the two boats. Note that this glacially created fjord is now fresh water and closed off from the ocean and the first tour boat had to be brought in overland through the woods.
Below are a few photos from the boat tour. I'll let the scenery speak for itself...
 |
| The walk through the bog (no rubber boots required) |
 |
| Exciting stuff, though the guy in the middle need a nap. |
 |
| Small water falls |
 |
| Pissing Mare Falls (seriously) is about 1140 ft. |
 |
| Are we there yet? I REALLY need to go... |
10 comments:
The photos are lovely. I love the ones of the moose - they're also a nice distance away, which is good. Don't want them too close while you're driving along. Looks like a great trip along Western Brook.
Beautiful photos! I like the llama and that other llama in the hat. :)
"Alan remembers he has a blog..." hahahahaha!
Terrific photos, Alan. My god that scenery is beautiful. Now I'm jealous we didn't go on that hike and boat tour. Next time, fer sure. Oh, and the snaggle tooth llama? Hilarious. That fella sure needs a dentist.
I'm so glad you remembered you had a blog!
LOVE this pictures - it's all so very beautiful!
Those are some incredible photos! I'd forget about my blog too.
Thanks for sharing, Alan.
thanks for remembering you have a blog so we can see these amazing photos! wow! love the moose, the sunset, the falls, the mountains, the passes... but no pics of food?
just back myself from west virginia and will have to get hubbers to download the pics.
welcome back! hope the rested relaxed look on your face stays on for a good long time. peace...
Someone should get that llama some braces.
Laurita- Western Brook is well worth the price of admission (kind of like a day at Canada's Wonderland).
KC- Thanks. Hey! Are you calling me woolly?
Cathy- Yeah, next time you'll have to camp your way out here on vacation. 'V' is looking into the dental business.
Gigi- Thank you kindly.
Erin- Thanks for checking them out. Life gets in the way at times and the blog falls to the back burners...
Linda- Glad you enjoyed the photos. Funny thing...there really wasn't any fancy food in the locations we were visiting (not like last summer's visit to the French island of St. Pierre just off our coast...food to die for...)
John- It's funny you should mention that, since my wife works in an orthodontic office.
"The elusive loon" - I believe I know a few of those :D
Sounds like a great holiday. I hope there was some writing inspiration to be found in your travels :)
Post a Comment