Thursday July 18 – St John’s Canada

Bill and I had booked a private tour to go whale watching today but when we rose this morning to rain and fog we decided to cancel.  Visibility was almost non existent.  Our ticket said we could cancel up to one hour before pick up so the guy accepted our decision.  We had a leisurely breakfast and rugged ourselves up in rain gear and went for a walk.  The first thing we saw on the pier was a giant Newfoundland dog that had come to greet us.  When Bill went to pat him the dog lay down and just wanted his tummy rubbed.

After an hours walk around the town the weather changed, the sun came out, the wind died down and the sky turned blue.  We just came upon a hop on hop off bus and decided to take it.  It was the best.  It was not your typical hop on hop off bus but rather like a school bus holding about twenty people.  We had three different drivers throughout the day and two of them were ex school teachers who had the gift of the gab, were extremely knowledgeable and most entertaining and friendly. 

Our first stop was Signal Hill where we saw numerous whales all blowing like geysers and breaching, just showing off their glorious tails.  Signal Hill was where the French fought and surrendered to the British in 1762.  It was also where Marconi sent his first signal across the Atlantic to Britain. We saw rows of hundred year old colourful houses lining hilly streets.  The story goes that the fishermen used to paint their boats different colours to identify them and used the left over paint on their houses.  I am sure the colour helps the locals on grey, bleak winter days.

The island is very hilly with coastal walkways that were being used by the locals.  I would have loved to have had time to do some of these walks with  the Atlantic crashing against the black rock faces.  Maybe another time!

We saw the Romanesque Basilica of St John the Baptist and the colonial buildings of Government House and St Thomas old garrison church. St Johns played a major part in the second world war as a location for ships escorting convoys across the Atlantic. July 1 is Canada Day but also Memorial Day in Newfoundland (pronounced newfndLAND) and there was a wreath still at the war memorial from the Commonwealth of Australia.

St. John’s Newfoundland began as a fishing location and we stopped at the quaint fishing village called Quidi Vidi.  It was like stepping back in time.  We found a little caravan that was selling fish and chips.  The fish had just been caught that morning and was the best.  My only problem was that when I sat down with my lunch on the bench seat, the seat was narrower than I thought and I fell backwards.  Now I have a sore left shoulder.  We then walked up to the brewery for some sampling of their different beers. Bill here: On return to the ship and dinner I went out to a great show featuring a group called Uptown. Excellent singing and dancing with high energy.