Out and About in St. John's

Distance travelled over last 5 days: 74 km
Total distance: 8331 km

The shortcut from Colinet to St. John's put me ahead of my flight to Vancouver by a few days. I had some great hosts in the area - Chad and Sarah - who I met through warmshowers, and they were patient enough to keep me around for the length of my stay in St. John's. Predictably, the days were spent on sightseeing and packing preparations, but somewhat less predictably, the evenings were enjoyed around games of Settlers of Catan and Settlers of America! Oh, that and cheese fondue.

What is there to see and do in and around St. John's? Quite a lot, actually!

I took a short bike ride out to Cape Spear - the most easterly point in Canada. As I approached the Cape, I could see the fog rolling in from the south. In the next hour, the cape would slowly be engulfed in fog!

Approaching Cape Spear

On the cape are two lighthouses. The first is an original from 1836, the second is a modern replacement from 1955. The old lighthouse underwent many technological changes as new and better methods were developed for projecting the candlelight. It also underwent expansions to accommodate the family tending to the operation and maintenance of the lighthouse. Recently, it has been restored to its original size.

The new lighthouse. Notice the high-pressure ridge in the background keeping the fog at bay!

The old lighthouse

 

Cape Spear was a strategic point during the Second World War, thus a barracks and gun battery were constructed to defend the area. An underground tunnel - which you can still walk through to this day - linked them together.

The battery and tunnel

 A quick walk and I reached the lookout on the most easterly point in Canada!

I'm not great in front of a camera... hopefully this clip isn't too creepy sounding! :)

St. John's is famous for its colourful houses, and I found them everywhere! Maybe it's some kind of municipal bylaw not to paint houses in earth tones...

You can listen to local music! (Chad makes a cameo midway through)

 

...or you can relax and watch ships go in and out of the harbour

In addition to all the tourist sights in and around St. John's, there is also the Newfoundland culinary experience. My first stop was at Ches's Fish & Chips, to get some authentic, fresh, Atlantic cod.  Newfoundlanders have a lot more than just fish and chips, however, and it doesn't make it off the island... I can't say for sure whether that's good or bad news for the taste! (I didn't get to try it all)

At the urging of my dad, I took the opportunity to enjoy a plate of cod tongues with Chad and Sarah. It sounded gross, and the reaction I got from locals when I told them I was going to try cod tongues didn't exactly get me all excited! But to be honest, after trying them, they didn't taste like anything at all... mostly just a chewy, mushy deep-fried-something taste.

I also had fish and brewis, which was fine, but pretty bland tasting. I couldn't figure out how to compliment it... tartar sauce? Ketchup? Molasses? Pepper? Hot sauce?! Too bad they didn't have hot sauce, that might have worked, actually!