For those of you from Newfoundland, you may or may not know this new place that I've found myself in. For those who've never been to our lovely island, let me explain a little!
My uncle(/cousin?) Eddie has been embarking on grand sailboat excursions for as long as I can remember- as a pre-teen, he and my aunt(/cousin?), Mary Alice used to entertain their nieces and nephews (cousins?) during what they called "Camp Kelligrews". We would pile into the then 30ft sailboat and cruise around the east coast for a few days during the dog days of summer. Having theme days, group outings, and far too much junk food which caused sea-sickness for a few, they are days that I remember quite fondly. Though I'm no longer a pre-teen, and Ed's boat has graduated from 30 to 37ft, he still enjoys his summer long cruise along the coasts of Newfoundland and I have been trying to manage a meet up for the past several years. Since I am seemingly living the life of a retiree for the summer, I thought: what better time to travel somewhere new in my own province? So, off I went!
Hermitage, Newfoundland
Some people might be confused with the title of this post, while others will know exactly how it would sound coming from the mouth of a local.
Most people would drop the 'H' from the name of their town, as well as many other words used on a daily basis. It's strange, but totally a Newfie thing. This town is where the ferries from McCallum and Gaultois land to connect with roads from inner Newfoundland, so it seemed an appropriate place to meet with Ed as I was arriving by car from my city of Corner Brook on the west coast of the province.
I drove the 300+ kilometers from Corner Brook to Bishop's Falls, then another 200+ on the Bay D'Espoir highway which allowed me to drive 80 kilometers an hour (at best) due to the car-crushing pot holes all along the way. Relieved to have finally made it, I let loose of my death grip on the steering wheel and gave out a heavy sigh as I spotted my final destination- the wharf.
Hermitage is a small outport community tucked into the mountains with a population of around 400. There is a general convenience/grocery/liquor store/ place to buy a VR headset if you're really in a pinch. The one store here has very peculiar hours as the workers "shut 'er down" for their lunch and dinner hours, but hey, as my mother always says: "beggars can't be choosers".
I've read up a little bit since being there, so here are a few of the tidbits I've learned. Hermitage was an early outport of French fishing interests centered at St. Pierre and Placentia on the south coast in the 17th Century. It was reported to be occupied in 1687 by one family and a number of fishing servants, bringing the population up to a whopping thirty-one. Woah, right? The harbour, where we were calling home in the sailboat for a few days, is protected by barren-topped hills which reach to the sky on both sides. Though the population for the town has grown significantly since then, their reason for being there is still similar- the main income for the community is the local Aquaculture industry which includes a local salmon plant and fishing in the area.
When I arrived in Hermitage I first found Ed out on the wharf talking to local fisherman. He loves this aspect of his sailing life and always appreciates the stories he hears about days gone by in each new community. Eddie also takes interest in the catch of the day and makes his contribution by purchasing a fish or two to fry up for dinner. On the first day I got there, it was red fish! I will spare you the photo- it is certainly not the most attractive looking fish I have ever seen. Being a deep feeding fish, it's eyes had popped out by the time they pulled it out of the water and quite frankly, looked pretty gross. But, once we prepared it for dinner we could understand the local's desire to catch this beast of the sea- it was pretty tasty and they were apparently abundant in the surrounding waters.
Since we were on a sailboat and the weather was not sailor friendly with winds at a whopping 46 knots, everyone decided it was best to stay hunkered down tied on to the wharf for the next 2 nights instead of moving on to Gaultois like originally planned. Boy, I was happy with that decision. The boat was feeling like a roller-coaster, and we were tied on securely to a wharf. Can't imagine what the feeling would have been if we were just anchored off! We spent the next day hiding out in the galley reading books, drinking tea, and having an early afternoon happy-hour with our neighbors. Ed and I did manage to get out for a short walk to the store though, and we stopped in to the church to check it out.
I read a few of the plaques while in the church, and it was really interesting to learn that the original parish was built completely from materials that had been transported from England. I couldn't fathom how much labor was involved with the whole endeavor so I read up a little more and instead of paraphrasing I'll just provide you with a little link. http://anglicanhistory.org/canada/langtry_history1892/04.html
Also inside the parish were memorial signs for those who have been lost from the community and I found it really emotional how a death in a small place like this can really affect the entire population.
Little Passage & Goblin Bay
We set out once the weather decided to cooperate and headed towards Little Passage for a cruise before landing for the night in Goblin Bay. After heading out of Hermitage harbour, we came across many coves where we saw the nets and structures for the local aquaculture. We also saw some really beautiful waterfalls! I love looking around at the spectacular mountains when driving on the Trans Canada Highway through Newfoundland, but seeing the grand peaks from the water was even more amazing. Eddie and I were quick to grab our cameras, and snap some pictures- we even played around with the slo-mo feature when we happened across the waterfalls. We didn't "do" too much over this 24 hours, so I'll just share my photos!
We had the cove totally to ourselves for the night so we all enjoyed an arrival drink, delicious dinner, and some music together before turning in for the evening after a full day of exploring, and in order to prepare for another one!
We woke up early since the weather finally decided to play nice and the sun was out! After enjoying a slow coffee and bowl of hearty oats, Eddie took his drone for a ride around the beautiful cove. Having drained his battery and filling his camera roll with aerial shots, the men then went to haul up the anchors that kept us safe all night. We were ready to head off and to the next destination!
Great Jervis & Push-Through
The sky might have looked lovely, and the air a little less frigid, but the waves made up for all of the day's previous mini successes. Relaxing inside the galley with the captain (Ed), I decided to have a nap to relieve myself of my hard day of work which included: reading 30 pages of a book, washing 7 dishes, drinking coffee, and changing out of my pyjamas. I know. Life is tough as a retiree on a sailboat. Much to my disappointment though, I was rudely woken from what I can only imagine was a sweet sleep by the rolling of the boat over the waves. I jolted upright and I was seriously scared when I almost fell off the couch. Ed, however, thought this was hilarious and after I got over my shock I opted for sitting up and taking in the surrounding scenes instead of trying to rest.
We were headed to final destination of Push-Through, but we stopped in Great Jervis for an afternoon stroll. We happened across a stage and wharf, a few ancient tombstones, an old abandoned house, and some bear poo. Yay! Again, not a whole lot of info here, so allow me to present you with a few photos from our excursion.
It was really strange, and slightly eerie to really realize that people used to have their full life here but have since abandoned it. The tombstones were mostly for children, and I remember taking special notice of one for Henry A. who was born on November 10th, 1884 but died shortly after on August 11th, 1889. While walking around the barren piece of land, I couldn't help but imagine how hard it must have been for families to survive there, especially over 100 years ago, on such an isolated peninsula.
We walked along the coast to the old house, Kathy and I still spooked by seeing the bear poop, and we were surprised by a squirrel on the trail who seemingly wanted to make some new human friends. God love en. Probably lonely. Or scared of the bear. Hard to tell. We became more and more timid walking around, and decided, after checking out the house and taking some photos, that it was time to head back to the boats.
All packed up and back on the water, we moved slowly over to the wharf which was one of the last things remaining in the community of Push-Through. This was the first time I really had to help with tying off the boat on the wharf and lemme tell you I was not confident in my skills; Ed was moving fast coming up to land, using jargon that I certainly didn't know, and then he jumped off the boat on to the wharf and continued to tell me what to do. We got 'er done, and I was so relieved that I needed the customary arrival drink asap. It was a beautiful evening so we got off the boats once again to go for a short walk around.
Day 5 of the trip along the south coast of Newfoundland came to a close for me the next day when we went to the community of McCallum- a beautiful, no road, one store, fishing town just a few hours ferry ride along the coast away from our original starting point. As we walked along the boardwalk serving as a road through the town, we met a lady who was out walking her tiny dog. She informed us that though the town has a good few houses, it only has 50 residents year round. She moved to the outport "30-odd years ago" when she and her husband got married, and she said that her dog was their best companion during the long winter months. These people live in some of the most wonderful locations on our island, and they endure, year after year, the 6-7 months of difficult winter. Though my time was short in exploring their lands I could sense how full of life they once were and the people who still reside in these small communities carry the pride of their families with them even today.
I finally got to spend some quality time on Siboney, with Ed and the sea. I couldn't have asked for a nicer time, but I'm sure a bit of sunshine would have been welcomed by all. The coves, harbours, and outports of Newfoundland have always enchanted Eddie and now that I've seen a few from his point of view I can totally understand their charm.
Thank you so much to Deja Vu, and Siboney. May you encounter only fair wind and calm seas for the rest of your travels.
I hope you enjoyed reading!
안녕!
-Sasha