Twillingate Isles June 26/16

We were once again, caught in my own trap! Lured by pictures posted on my Newfoundland Iceberg Reports page.

Several people were sharing amazing shots of the arch in Twillingate. Captain Cecil Stockley saw it coming and shared pictures from his Iceberg Man Tours.

Here are his pictures from June 15 to June 26.Each morning I was holding my breath to see the next post.

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Our Twillingate run was planned for Saturday but a call from a carpenter meant we did it as a detour on our way back from Fogo Island on Sunday.

At breakfast on Fogo Island,  I was showing off our Newfoundland Iceberg Reports Facebook page, I got a private message saying the arch had just collapsed. Oh no!

We still had to go to see what might be left so took the early afternoon boat from Fogo Island.

Initially as we crossed the causeway to Twillingate Island there was no sign of ice. As we approached the Prime Berth end of the causeway, all was revealed as our angle showed icebergs behind the point and the islands.

As driver, Leo opted to leave Purcell’s Harbour for the return drive and we headed right for Durrell.

Icebergs are so big they can not only be seen from many vantage points, but sometimes from different, neighbouring communities.

We’d met up with Eric Abbott, visiting from Bonavista to his wife’s home of Virgin Arm. He gave us three great tips. Ice cream at the snack shop at Dildo Run, take Ochre Pit Road to see the iceberg above and try the food at the snack shop across from the school. The boy knows his stuff!

With breakfast at 9  at Chesters on Fogo Island and ice cream as lunch, supper was a need before we went much further. With a great recommendation from friends at the next table, I opted for the lobster burger. Soooooo good. A new favorite spot! Don’t let the empty chairs fool you, I was shooting strategically to avoid people.

The meal and service was great and thank you to the William’s family for treating us for my retirement! Some sweet!

This is what was left of the arch when we got to the Wild Cove area. Two lovely pinnacles!

From there we went to Crow Head.

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We were starting to fade and started working our way back towards home. Fine folks at Crow Head suggested Little Harbour so we checked that out too and met a travel writer camped out looking at this majestic view.

They had just kayaked all around the berg and had driven from Quebec via the Labrador highway on an iceberg assignment. How do I get a job like that?

Our last stop was the beautiful Purcell’s Harbour. Note, we didn’t make it to Long Point lighthouse In Twillingate as, often, we don’t catch anything there and Sleepy Cove and Back Harbour were empty too.

 

With thanks again to Captain Stockley and his daughter Cecily who got these great shots of the arch foundering on Sunday, June 26, 2016. It happened so suddenly, we haven’t found anyone with a video yet. Thanks for allowing us to share Iceberg Man Tours.

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Deep Bay, Fogo Island June 25-26/16

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We bought a view last year with a house on it. It’s a little spot that’s going to need some time and money thrown at it. Folks might say “As long as you have a roof over your head”. They haven’t seen our roof….

Roofer phoned at 8:30 the morning after my retirement party and wondered if we could meet him at the house in Deep Bay.

Um, sure?

We made it to the house around 4 pm and it was hard to focus on the task at hand with this on the horizon.

We saw some of the same icebergs from Fogo too.

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We stopped at The Old Salt Box Houses and the rock park next to them and saw this view.

The same berg could be seen from the RV park at the Lion’s Club next to Brimstone Head. Campers said they went to bed with a beautiful view and work up with an iceberg in the middle of their  beautiful view!

An early rise still had 3 icebergs visible from the kitchen window this morning. I need to get this view protected with a roof!

 

Deep Bay has lots of great angles! Just need a good zoom if you don’t have a speed boat.

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Triton Trifecta-Nicole, Michael, Wanda and Icebergs

Brighton

It all started with a Facebook post from Karen Pinsent.  This amazing iceberg in Brighton.  Brighton? We’ve never been to Brighton!

Leo got home Friday night and was willing to not only do a Saturday drive but thought an overnight might be a good idea. Woohoo! Brighton, here we come.

I made a request for tips on my Newfoundland Iceberg Reports fb page and Fudge’s Restaurant and Motel were recommended as well as the Blue Water Inn.

Breakfast at the Gander Breadbox had us on the road by 9:30 with a bit more than a half tank of gas. We try, when possible, to do our gassing up “out around” to help the smaller dealers in communities we visit. One tank of gas won’t make or break them but if 6 people from my iceberg page happened to gas up at the same station on a Saturday or Sunday, I’m sure it would be noticeable at the end of the day.

Our gas stop was fortunate because we met Nicole at the Causeway Express and she knows how to answers a question or two. We filled up with gas and used the (very clean) facilities. I gave her some business cards with the Facebook page and my blog address and she told us about their iceberg ice cream treat they make. Of course, we needed one!

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She was very eager to tell us about the area and when I told her our mission was icebergs she directed us to Spencer’s Dock, a road we certainly would not have found without her help. As a result, this is what we saw.

From there, we headed to Fudge’s Restaurant in Triton for lunch. Although it was almost 1 pm,  it was very busy and very good. Fish Combo was delicious as was Leo’s soup and grilled cheese. Wifi check in was a nice feature too.

When we finishing lunch I had a message from my buddy Michael Roberts who posts on our group.

Would I like to go out in his speedboat and see and iceberg? Um, yeah!

There aren’t words so I’ll let the pictures do the talking.

Mike is a fisherman and runs a small tour company using his open speed boat. His plan is to eventually use his longliner for tours but it’s a long and very expensive process to get the boat approved although it is approved for crab and other fishing purposes. Badger Bay Boat Tours is another growing business in Triton.

After a couple of hours on the water, we were decided that we’d be spending the night in Brighton. We called Wanda Bridger and she had one room left in her Parker’s Blue Water Inn property but the room wasn’t ready to rent. She offered to meet us there to show us the room. We waited at the property and admired the view of the neighbour’s swing across the road.

 

Wanda is a dynamo! She quickly arrived and showed us a lovely room but told us she wouldn’t let us have it unless she could have an hour to do the cleaning. Then, after a great visit she took us sight seeing!

From Freddy’s LookOut we saw a gorgeous iceberg that we surely would have missed without her guidance (and SUV). P1030805

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She even took us to her house and showed us the view and we had a great visit. In addition to the Parker’s property, she rents the downstairs floor of her beautiful house! the view from her windows and the guest deck is spectacular!

She dropped us back to the Inn after because she “had people coming and needed to make up a room”!

We finally found out way to Brighton and it was all we had hoped for.

We stopped at Crystal’s for dinner with the local coffee boys and picked up a few baked treats for a snack later. Again, the food and service were outstanding and the local men and Leo found lots of common connections in people they knew from either Fogo Island or Gander.

At Bayside, we picked up some beverages and the selection of ready to go was excellent. We picked up some dinner rolls and breakfast snacks and found the most beautiful place to relax and enjoy them when we got back to room number 4.

Just a taste of our adventure! We revisited all of the bergs again on Sunday before leaving and have plans for at least two nights the next time we come to Triton and area because we missed so many communities by being rushed.

Thank you again to Nichole, Mike and Wanda and the amazing hospitality of Triton. We’ve never experienced anything quite like the welcome and hospitality. Sincerely, Diane

 

 

PS. As I was getting ready to post, this popped up from Karen Pinsent. That Brighton berg foundered!

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