The only way to begin summarizing this trip is that was the perfect vacation. My sister and I experienced the perfect balance of nature, culture, relaxation and activity.
After several summers of not really taking a break - but still managing to travel a lot - I wanted a summer with to recuperate and do nothing as much as possible. But when the opportunity to redeem points for a short-haul flight presented itself, I took the chance to visit my friend Danielle (who I met in France) in her new digs. I planned it so that it would happen immediately following the end of my two online courses. At the last minute, my sister decided to join me.
We had a 7 hour layover in Montreal - one of my favourite cities - and took a cab to the downtown where we spent some time in the Museum of Fine Arts, particularly enjoying the First Nations and Inuit Art on the upper level. This was only after we had searched up and down Rue Crescent looking for a suitable (and not outrageously priced) place to eat. We walked into one pub and sat down at a table, and after at least 5 minutes still no one appeared to work there. There were several other patrons - we couldn't tell if they had been served something to drink - but they were all intent on their phones. It was one of the strangest experiences. We left perplexed. Later in the day, we saw that they had opened and dried off their patio and were serving people. Bizarre! We "settled" for a beautiful cafe, where the waitress had trouble remembering if we spoke English or French (both!) and we split a bowl of Alfredo pasta with chicken. I can't imagine having eaten an entire serving by myself.
We walked around a bit longer, admiring the parks, and then we caught a cab back to the airport only to have our flight delayed by a few hours.
When we arrived in St. John's, we made our way in the dark to MUN, where we would be staying in the residences. They were extremely nice, and significantly cheaper than a hotel. Danielle was working there for the summer, so she was staying in the room next to us. We had the whole floor to ourselves. The next morning we set out on our first adventure to The Rooms which overlook the city, and where we stopped for a delicious brunch. I ordered toutons (pronounced more like "towt'ns" than "two-tons", as I learned the hard way) which turned out to be delicious fried dough. Apparently, these are not even the best examples of the traditional dish in the city! The view was spectacular, and on a Wednesday morning, we got prime seats next to the window. Unfortunately, it had been a slow year for icebergs, and it was the wrong time of year to see them, so none were visible. I made a mental note to make another trip.
Stomachs satisfied, we walked the rising and falling hills down to the waterfront and had a look through the boutiques on Water Street, including some bohemian fare, and a wonderful shop called Johnny Ruth & Living Planet which offered anti-Conservative propaganda and other amusing and practical odds and ends.
It began to sprinkle rain as we walked onto a dock at the harbour and took in the splendor of The Narrows and the bay.
We took it easy the next morning, recovering from 1.5 hour time difference, and our exhaustion from all the walking we had done the previous day. Danielle's boyfriend Ashton picked us up to drive out to Flat Rock that afternoon. We hiked from the road out to the swimming hole, and I didn't realize it would be as far as it was, so when we came to some mud, I took off my shoes and continued bare foot. Maybe it wasn't that far after all, but it certainly felt that way with no shoes on. While others jumped into the pit below a waterfall when we arrived, I told myself that I had proven myself fearless enough in my life that I could jump into the water from a less dangerous point. The water was warm and wonderful, even when the sun wouldn't come out to shine. The bitumen in the water turned it the colour of root beer, and we enjoyed resting in the pools just above some rapids, imagining we were in a hot tub with the jets pulsing water against our bodies.
The next part of our adventure involved discovering why it was called "Flat Rock". The river we had been swimming in met the salt water in a place where the rocks had been worn so flat you could lay on them as the river trickled past you toward the Atlantic. We did just that. I was offered a challenge I didn't want to refuse, and so I walked along the cliff face, climbing over rocks and through short stretches where icy water pulled in and out, wearing away the rock face, up to a point where I took three steps and jumping into the ocean. My whole body buzzed from the adrenaline as I fought my shocked nerve endings to swim back to the river mouth. By the time I made it there, the wash of fresh water felt like a bath, and my blue limbs warmed themselves again. I basked there despite the lack of sunlight. The second time was more taxing, but just as rewarding. Apparently, I had narrowly missed a jellyfish when I jumped. For all my desire to take careful risks, it had never occurred to me that there might be something dangerous waiting in the ocean, besides the freezing temperatures!
That evening, we went to Danielle's friend Darren's house for dinner and met his roommate, Jean-Robert or "Robbie". We made shish-kebabs on the barbecue, had great conversations, played charades, pre-gamed, and then said our goodbyes. We were off to Christian's Pub to get "screeched in" and become honorary Newfoundlanders. What a blast!
I embarrassed myself by being the only one to remember what to say when asked if I was a Newfoundlander: "Indeed I is, me ol' cock, and long may your big jib draw". Everyone else mumbled their way through part of it, and the actor/fisherman screeching us in was ready to move on, but I pushed through and managed the whole thing. No one was impressed.
I also had my first kiss in years... with a dead cod fish. All I can say is that it was salty.
We caught some live music at The Levee, enjoying the great company, and finished our night at Smoke's Poutinerie.
It rained on and off all day the next day, and we were tired out. A summer of doing nothing but coursework online doesn't make you very fit. Danielle had to work that day, so we made ourselves some brunch in the common room and binge-watched Love It or List It Vancouver and The Property Brothers on TLC. We finally guilted ourselves into going downtown and doing some of our souvenir shopping sometime in the afternoon, and we picked up some great stuff for friends and family. We had dinner at Ashton's, taking it easy and heading back to the residences to rest for our impending adventure to La Manche.
Apart from the little rain we had had the day before and on our first day, it had been sunny the rest of our trip. Considering the non-existent summer prior to our arrival, we had impeccable timing. The day we went to La Manche was particularly beautiful. Ashton gave us a ride up, and we hiked out to a more remote swimming area in the National Park to enjoy the sunshine. People jumped from a much higher point than they had at Flat Rock, but it didn't seem as dangerous, apart from the climb up. At Flat Rock, there were rocks below, near the face of the rock wall, that you had to clear in order to be safe, and the rock that you jumped from was a tripping hazard. At La Manche, the most dangerous part appeared to be the climb up. I opted out once again, but Andrea tried this one. We swam for nearly five hours, swimming against the current to the base of the water fall and then jumping and being whisked back to calmer water, exploring the gentle rapids further away. A real champ decided to pour an entire bottle of dish-washing detergent into the falls, foaming up the surface of the water, and potentially damaging the environment. Aside from that the day was glorious. My fingers pruned up and by the time the sun started to disappear behind the rocks, we were shivering and ready to go.
We satiated our enormous appetites that night at Ashton's. Everyone that had come to La Manche with us brought their own meat and we grilled it up on a charcoal barbecue. We let the pulse of Run the Jewels, to which we had been exposed for the first time in the car, create the rhythm of our evening. Sufficiently revived, we returned to The Levee to see The Long Distance Runners, Kujo, The Cartridge Family, and Georgie & JoMo (who were my favourite).
On our final day, Andrea and I were on our own once again, and we decided to explore the history of St. John's and Newfoundland at The Rooms. The museum had a great variety of historical and artistic exhibitions, and the focus on First Nations in Newfoundland was excellent.
We had lunch at the restaurant again, but this time it was packed, and one patron couldn't seem to understand that he had to wait in line. He tried to convince the woman at the door that he should get a special seat because it was his wedding anniversary. His wife and two friends were with him, all dressed to the nines. It's a wonder they didn't book a reservation somewhere. After he couldn't get his way, he tried to convince two patrons sitting next to the window to let him sit there. I am proud of them for refusing. It boiled our blood to watch his behaviour as we ate. We simmered down again on the cab ride up Signal Hill. We made a deal with ourselves to walk down. The view was spectacular and the weather was perfect. It was the perfect finish to our trip, and we marveled at the beauty of this place that sits next to the ocean, making our way slowly down the trails leading back to Water Street.
Around dinner time, we met up with Danielle at Nautical Nellie's and
Ashton joined us. A quiet evening on the town was just what we needed,
and we stopped at a pub for a drink before heading home to pack up and get some rest before the flight home.
All said, it was the perfect remedy for a summer sitting at my computer.
