Day 162: Corner Brook, Newfoundland … Canada

Saturday, 17 June 2017
At Sea — Gulf of St Lawrence

Stats @ Ship’s Time 9:15p (NDT) … UTC 11:45p (17 June)
Temp: 47.8F (8.8C)
Position: 49.02.93N / 59.15.57W

Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go.
~ T.S Eliot ~

Welcome to Canada!  Up at 6:00a, we found the sky was overcast, but the sea was flat … and there was no rain in the forecast.  We had a relaxing morning since we were not due to berth in Corner Brook, Newfoundland until 10:00a today because of a one hour delay resulting from the adverse conditions we encountered crossing the Atlantic.

We were ready for the day ahead when Insignia entered the Bay of Islands, the protected body of water on which Corner Brook, the largest community in western Newfoundland, is nestled against the Long Range Mountains … a continuation of the Appalachians.  The scenery was beautiful … the hills clad in shades of green, with small settlements the only break in the trees.  I imagine on a sunny day the scenery is fabulous.

As we approached Corner Brook, the local pulp and paper mill that is the lifeblood of the area’s economy was puffing out thick, white, billowing smoke from its smokestacks.  On the pier, a Welcome to Corner Brook sign was customized for Insignia.  A big black Newfie — Newfoundland — was waiting to greet us.  This is a special dog breed found in this part of Canada … and true to its character, he was sweet-natured as he gave us a welcoming sniff later on.

We were amongst the first to disembark the ship after it was secured.  Our first stop was at the kiosk on the pier to pick up a map.  The guy manning the kiosk was using a selection of photos to make up laminated luggage tags.  We picked out the photos we liked and two minutes later we were walking out with the tags attached to our daypacks

We could have easily walked into town, but we wanted to see where the shuttle drop-off point was in case we needed to use the shuttle later to return to the ship.  So we hopped on for the two-minute ride to Remembrance Square.  Turns out we walked back to the ship at the end of the day, but the trailhead we wanted was near the shuttle stop, so that worked out nicely for us.

Remembrance Square … The statues of the two soldiers were added in 2012. The one on the right represents WWI and the other one represents a Canadian soldier fighting in Afghanistan.

We were to have driven with friends to Gros Morne today — a national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site that illustrates the process of continental drift … where the deep ocean crust and rocks from the earth’s mantle have been exposed.  But those plans fell apart weeks ago.  We could have rented a car and gone on our own … and we probably would have on a longer day in port or if we had better weather.  A 2-hour drive each way just didn’t hold any appeal today.  So we went for a walk instead … and that worked out nicely.

At the Corner Brook Stream Trailhead we ran into the Sweets and set off together for our nature walk … I really can’t describe what we did as a hike even if there were slight ups and downs in elevation along the way.  There were others from the ship at the trailhead, but the only people we encountered once we made our way onto the trail were some locals who helped us get our bearings when we got a bit turned around.  Everyone was friendly, willing to chat, and provide assistance.  The trail itself was not very exciting, but it was quite serene … a narrow path through marshlands and woodlands to the Glynmill Inn … quaint but in need of some TLC.

Panorama of the wetlands at the head of the Corner Brook Stream Trail.

Charming but needs some TLC … especially inside.

When we reached the inn, we found construction blocking access to the return loop of the trail.  We didn’t want to go back the way we came, so we followed West Valley Road to O’Connell Road and connected to the trail further down.  A bridge across a small dam allowed us to access the trail on the other side of the stream.  The crossing was near an area set up for swimming.  There were lounge chairs and diving boards, but the water didn’t look very deep.  We figured that when the weather is warm, the sluice gates are closed to create a swim hole for the locals.  The water was freezing, but I guess when there is no other swimming option available, the locals don’t mind the water temperature.

The swim hole … the water is very cold.

The trail we followed took us uphill, but leveled off a bit after a while before heading down again.  When we reached the long term care facility — the turnaround point — we crossed the highway and were able to get back on the trail and follow the stream back into town.

Harbingers of spring … even if it is chilly today.

a unique tree trunk and a waterfall add to our pleasure as we walk through the woodlands.

By the time we arrived in town it was 1:00p — time for a bite to eat.  We were near two malls, but didn’t see an eatery other than Tim Hortons.  Since we’d all heard about the ‘good’ coffee at Tim’s, we decided to go there.  If nothing else, hot beverages would take some of the chill out of our bones.  The chicken wraps we ordered were actually quite good.  I had a hot chocolate, so I can’t speak to the coffee, but Bill and Star said it was good; and Mui enjoyed his iced coffee.

Afterwards, we wandered further into town to check out the Newfoundland Emporium mentioned in the ship’s daily for this port.  We weren’t looking for anything in particular … which was a good thing as there was nothing we wanted to take back with us.  The place had a lot of stuff for sure, though … most of it local … most of it second-hand.  It felt more like an indoor flea market than anything else.  After browsing for a bit, we headed back out, taking a different road that looked like it was the main drag through town.  Along the way we ran into some firefighters playing ball at their station.  Seeing us, one of them walked up to see if we needed help and stayed to chat.  She was full of praise for the beauty of the landscape of Newfoundland, but said she always goes on a cruise in the winter to seek out sunshine and warm temps.  She also told us that the bergs have arrived — in St Anthony and Twillingate.  Until the bergs move off down the Atlantic they expect the skies to remain overcast and the temperatures to be cold.  The high today was around 60F … which we didn’t mind in the least, but I imagine that can get tiresome for the locals.

Following the road back into town, we passed by the pulp and paper mill and took a shortcut to the port.  We were back on the ship right around 3:00p.  Admittedly, this was not an exciting port call.  But it felt good to stretch our legs after five days at sea.  And we enjoyed meeting some of the locals.  Everyone we encountered was very friendly and chatting with some of them was a delight.

I thought about going up to Horizons for afternoon tea … but didn’t need to be tempted by the scones that were bound to be on the ‘goody cart’ ;-)  Dinner was at the Terrace Café with our usual group of friends.  We must have all been quite hungry as we scarfed down our food and were done with the meal quite early.

Tonight we add another 30 minutes to the 3 hours we gained during the crossing.  This will put us in a new time zone — Atlantic Daylight Time … but only for our cruise on the St Lawrence River tomorrow.  Another hour’s gain tomorrow night will put us on Eastern Daylight Time.  These gains are temporary, however, as we will have to give back some of this time when we head south and then out to Bermuda.

Oddly, as I was browsing the time zone abbreviations chart, I noticed that we are in the same time zone as Rothera Station in Antarctica now.  But I digress … time to turn out the light and get a good night’s rest.

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