September 4, 2018
This morning started with an overcast sky, a temperature at 16°C and a moderate wind. We had the usual wakeup call 30 minutes before breakfast. We managed to fit in a 25 minute walk after breakfast. Five people are staying in Clarenville today rather than take today’s tour.
Today we left the hotel at 8:10 to travel about 90 minutes on the Bonavista Peninsula to Cape Bonavista, on the south eastern side of Bonavista Bay. We followed route 230 called the Discovery Trail. There were a few short sprinkles of rain on the way. Just before we arrived at the town of Bonavista, the coach’s windshield wipers failed. Fortunately, none of the rain showers were bad enough that Pete, our driver, needed to pull over.
We drove through the historical town of Bonavista to the lighthouse on Cape Bonavista built in 1843. It was near here that it is believed that the Venetian explorer, John Cabot, sailing under an English flag made landfall in 1497, arriving from the Atlantic Ocean. Close to the lighthouse is a statue of John Cabot. At the lighthouse there were a few puffins, but they were far away and hard to see. Tomorrow we should be able to see many puffins within easy viewing distance.
The coach returned to the town of Bonavista to theRyan Premises National Historic Site which explains the 500 year fishing industry from the early 1500s to the present day including descriptions about the merchants who supplied the fleets. Newfoundland was a colony of Britain until 1949. The museum buildings are preserved from the mid 1850s and were owned by the Ryan family who were successful merchants and landowners. Exhibits explain the salt cod industry as well as the sealing and salmon fishery. One of the steps in the salt cod drying process was lying the fish out to dry. Wooden racks called “fishing flakes” were built beside the fishing stages - where the fish were gutted and salted. We had not noticed these drying racks at the Prime Berth yesterday. On another floor, the credit system of supplying the fishermen and buying their catches is explained. In winter the fishermen went into the woods to cut timber and hunt caribou or other animals. There is a marina nearby and on the opposite side of the marina is a museum housing a replica of John Cabot’s sailing ship, Matthew. Steps 7,264
We encountered a few light showers as we proceeded to the historic town of Trinity, on Trinity Bay, for lunch. As we neared Trinity, we passed a bay where there was a mussel farm. Dock Marina Restaurant is right on the water at the marina. The tour’s choices were fish cakes & salad, chicken burger & fries or seafood chowder. The food was delicious by all accounts. We had 30 minutes to walk around the quaint streets before taking a walking tour in a light drizzle to start. Across from the restaurant was Aunt Sarah’s Chocolate Shop. A cozy little boutique featuring homemade milk and dark chocolate confections. We bought some caramel filled dark chocolate and ginger jelly filled dark chocolate bonbons. They melted in your mouth.
At the start of the walking tour the temperature was about 21°C with a moderate wind. Before Randy from Parks Canada delivered a 45 minute walking history of the town of Trinity, Chris, our tour director, advised the group that a replacement coach would be arriving. It was equipped neither with seatbelts nor seat pouches for our maps, which we missed from the previous bus – but the windshield wipers work. Chris and Pete transferred everyone’s daypacks and chocolate purchases over to the new coach while we were taking the walking tour.
Trinity had a large sheltered defendable harbour which was a good site for the English fishermen who were wary of invasions from the French or Spanish. It is one of the oldest communities in North America. By 1579, some of the fishing merchants had seasonal personnel in Trinity, mainly drying the salt cod and making repairs. Several decades later, men overwintered to be able to repair winter damage to storehouses and docks before the fishing fleet arrived. Then the fishermen could start to fish immediately, rather than spend a month repairing the docks and storehouses. By 1612 a prominent resident wrote a book about the area referencing Trinity. The first permanent residents came in 1640. Then in 1729, the families of the merchants and their employees arrived. Until that time, the Maritime Law was harshly enforced by the Royal Navy Admiralty. With a permanent settlement, it was replaced by civil law.
Parks Canada and the Trinity Historical Societyhave teamed up to preserve many buildings. The current Court House, Gaol and General Building was built in 1903. It is a three storey white clapboard structure. It also housed the Customs House, the police constable and his family, the Magistrate’s Office and the Post & Telegraph Office. The Lester-Garland Premises is the site of the warehouses and residences of the prominent merchants in the 18thand 19thcenturies. The large barn like gray building was the warehouse and retail store. The three storey brick building was built in 1820, by the grandsons of Mr. Lester, to replace his wooden house using bricks from the old fireplaces and new brick for the same brickmaker. It was restored in the 1990s. The Visitor Center is in an 1890 Victorian house.
By 1869 the population was 800 people. The historic buildings were clustered near the marina. The buildings included St. Paul’s Anglican Church which was rebuilt, twice, when it became too small. The current church, built between 1892 & 1904, can hold 500 people. Its tower is over 30 meters high and has an original pump pipe organ that requires someone to operate the bellows for an organist to play the organ. The minister for the first church building was Reverend Doctor John Clinch who was a medical doctor. He arrived in Newfoundland in the late 1700s bringing with him the Jenner Vaccine that his friend Dr. Jenner had created. It was the first vaccine for smallpox and saved many lives. On the next street is the 1833 Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church, that is no longer used. There are no more Catholics in Trinity. Its bell tower was built in 1883.
In the harbour area any home built must represent the era in which the historic homes were constructed, so you need to look closely to recognize a 21stcentury house. The older homes have been converted to Bed & Breakfasts, Whale Tour offices, restaurants and cafés. Steps 10,793
After three hours in Trinity we drove back to Clarenville in about an hour. Tonight there is no planned dinner so the group members could make their own arrangements. Some made reservations to eat in the hotel restaurant, others taxied 10 minutes away to the fast food restaurants on Manitoba Street or walked five minutes to the Tim Hortons.
Steps 12,284
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