September 5, 2018

    The sky was sunny this morning with a few wispy clouds that increased during the day. There was a light breeze and the starting temperature was 10°C.  We had the usual wakeup call 30 minutes before the luggage needed to be placed in the hall to be transferred to the replacement coach. We managed to fit in a 25 minute walk after breakfast. Today’s departure was at 7:50 a.m. for the two-hour drive to Bay Bull for a tour boat cruise.  

    Our coach seat rotation found us at the middle of the coach on the right-hand side. We travelled on the Trans-Canada most of the way, passing the town of Come by Chance and its oil refinery, which serves the off-shore oil fields. There was a stop at a gas station with a Subway, Tim Hortons and Circle K convenience store for people to buy a snack or something for a post cruise lunch. Before the turn off to route 13, the Irish Loop, we crossed the narrowest piece of land in Newfoundland between Placentia Bay and Trinity Bay. During the drive, Chris circulated a brochure about whales that could be seen in Newfoundland water. The most likely are the Humpback which can be 15 meters long; the largest – Finback at 20 meters long and the Minke at 8 meters long.  There are not many of the 13 to 16 meter long Right whales which used to be abundant about 200 years ago. Not seen near Newfoundland is the world’s largest mammal, the Blue Whale.  We did not see any whales today.

   We arrived at Gatheralls Puffin and Whale Tours for the 10:30 a.m. tour which also had a Senior Discovery bus tour booked.  The boat, Gaffer 6, with its crew of five left the wharf where there were several small supply ships contracted to the oil rigs were also berthed.  We saw people hiking on the East Coast Tail up on the cliff tops that surround Witless Bay.

     The 90 minute cruise left Witless Bay for the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve of four small off-shore islands that are protected bird reserves.  The reserve is only a few kilometers from the mainland. Just as we could see the dots of birds flying near Gull Island, a flock of gulls were screeching and a pod of dolphins were crowding the water surface obviously following a food source that we could not see.  The boat slowed and we watched as more than a dozen dolphin arched out of the water singly, in pairs or groups of four or five.  The dolphins kept the whole boat glued to the scene for more than 15 minutes. Then we moved closer to the shore of Gull Island and watched the gulls, eagles and puffins fly. The hundreds of puffins were flying back and forth. Landing on the cliffs to feed their chicks which were safely hidden in the burrows from the gulls and eagles.  Sometimes groups of puffins would land on the water but fly away just as your camera focused for a picture.  They were too fast to catch them in flight.  I did get a nice photo of a painting of a puffin.

    The puffin is a migratory bird and some puffins have already gone to the open sea for the fall and winter. It is the official bird of Newfoundland Labrador. They belong to the Auk family. Their colourful bill is only bright during the mating season, the coloured layer is shred after breeding season and then it is gray.  The puffin is awkward in lifting off to fly and sometimes crash lands, but is most at home in the water, fishing for food to feed its young and itself.  They are excellent underwater swimmers. They can catch dozens of small fish in their bill. The puffin’s wings beat at 320 to 400 times per minute and they cannot glide like the gulls. Puffins are about 20 cm tall, with orange webbed feet and can live up to 20 years. They can dive to depths of 50 meters, but can only stay underwater for 25 seconds.

On the return to Witless Bay we passed the Bowhead Lighthouse.  The crew sang several Newfoundland songs on the way back to the wharf and one of them played a few tunes on his accordion.  

    The Senior Discovery group boarded their coach and left, while our group sat at shaded tables to eat their snacks or lunches. We walked back down the road to see the white painted wooden Saints Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Church with its iron gates.  The entrance was originally bordered with capture French cannons then statues of the saints were added to the posts given them the name "Cannonized Saints of Bay Bulls".  The way back to the wharf was uphill.  Our walk was about 30 minutes.    Steps 8,227

      Next, it was a half hour drive to Cape Spear National Historic Site where there is a great view of St. John’s harbour entrance.  Cape Spear is the most easterly point in North America. On the way we passed Bay Bulls Big Pond which is the source of the St. John’s water supply and where the water treatment plant is located. 

    We had an hour to explore Cape Spear, there was a bit of cloud and the temperature was a nice 19°C.  Once off the coach, there were 146 stairs up to gift shop, and path to Fort Cape Spear, then 23 stairs to the locked new lighthouse door and 100 meters over 56 stairs to the fenced off site of the old lighthouse.  The old 1836 lighthouse is under renovation to return it to its original building. It is just a tower, while the original lighthouse was a combined house with a light tower on top. It is the oldest surviving lighthouse in Newfoundland staying service until 1955. There was a model of all the buildings in the interpretive center. The current lighthouse is automated is closed to the public. 

    It was on these cliffs in June 1941 that the Britain allowed the Canadian Army and some American soldiers to erect and man two 10-inch guns and anti-aircraft guns in a coastal defence battery to protect St. John’s Harbour from enemy ships and submarines. Newfoundland was then the oldest British Colony. Newfoundland joined Canada in 1949. The army base was known as Fort Cape Spear and in operation until May 1945.  It was an interesting wander around the site, which still contains the old 10-inch guns and old underground rooms.       Steps 11,153

    The drive to the Delta Hotel in the middle of St. John’s was about 15 minutes. The Globus coach group entered the main lobby and were greeted by a staff member who offered us a choice of two juices and a jam-jam cookie, similar to the greeting we received on our first day at the Clarenville Inn.  Chris dispersed the room key cards and another Delta staff member distributed maps of the downtown area of St. John’s.  The city’s population is about 220,000.  St. John’s latitude is about the same as Seattle, Washington.

   After a rest we went to explore the downtown area and find a restaurant for dinner.  We passed about half of the Globus group out walking and searching for a restaurant. After walking 11 streets north along Water Street we climbed the street to Duckworth and returned south and back down to Water Street by one of the many staircase lanes to eat at Mussels on the Corner.  There were seven other members of the Globus group already seated.  We chose either mussel tacos or pan-fried cod & fries. Both were delicious.  Our tour director, Chris gave us a good recommendation.      Total steps 16,168