Thursday, May 29, 2008

Ridin' the Cabot Trail




After Peggys Cove we drove the Cabot Trail in the late afternoon. This drive was just..wow. It reminded me so much of Ireland of Scotland. Beautiful rolling hills, and mountains on one side, and endless ocean on the other. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get many great pictures what with the driving and all, but we plan on taking the same trail back next week on our way back to Halifax.





By the time we were halfway done the trail it was starting to get dark and I was definitely nervous. The trail was full of tight pinturns, moose warning signs and no road lights at all. I really haven't had much experience highway driving so it was a bit tough to get used to.

Finally we reached the ferry in North Sydney around 11:00pm but discovered that it was already full, so we were put on the waiting list. The next ferry was at 11:00am the next day, which would completely screw us over because we'd have to get a motel room for the night in Sydney, and another motel in Newfieland after the 8 hour ferry ride.

Fortunately the God of Cheese shone his love down on us and we were the very last car allowed on the ferry. Thank Jebus for the subcompact Yaris.

I was sure I wouldn't be getting any sleep on the ferry what with my insomnia, but I literally passed on the floor and didn't wake up until it was almost time to dock. Poor Tyler wasn't as lucky, he was kept awake by Newfie snores. After a long night on the ferry we pulled into the Port Aux Basque harbor at 8:00am and started the epic drive up to Gros Morne National Park. At this point we were both ridiculously tired, so we stopped to fuel up on some wretched coffee, expired cookies and cigarettes.

After 6 or so hours on the TransCanada we finally reached the beautiful Gros Morne. Newfoundland is truly one big rock and I've never seen scenery like it before. We drive through the first half of Gros Morne looking for a place to stay and discovered Rocky Harbor, a small village literally inside the park. So far we've spent two nights here and certainly don't plan on leaving anytime soon. I have never ever been treated so well by strangers before. Every stereotype you've heard about the kindness of people in Eastern Canada is no lie. They will absolutely go out of their way to make sure you're comfortable.

Drivin'


The beloved Yaris



Gros Morne before the evil darkness decended





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