Newfoundland - Part 11

To finish out our 2017 Newfoundland visit, this post is mostly a random collection of memories of the island.

A popular drink for tourists is Quidi Vidi Brewing's Iceberg beer, made with water from icebergs from Greenland that have drifted to Newfoundland.

Newfoundland lobster research being conducted

The locals call the island "The Rock" for good reason.  There is very little topsoil and very few sandy (or even gravel) beaches.

The residents were pretty creative in dealing with the rocky shoreline.

One of the few sandy beach areas we saw

We found some light four-wheeling on Burnt Cape.

A view of the fishing village of Raleigh from the top of Burnt Cape.

There isn't normally much usable topsoil, but past road construction often left deeper piles of rich soil right next to the roadside.  These areas are used by local folks who plant gardens there during the summer months.

The island's early history included French fishermen.  They often built outdoor bread ovens along the shore.  This is a reproduction of a traditional bread oven from which we sampled fresh baked French bread rolls.

A reproduction of a Chalupa fishing boat used by the French

Moose are not indigenous to Newfoundland, but have prospered since being introduced in 1904.  There are many moose hazard warning signs.

While there is now a huge population, we only spotted about four moose.

A very frequent sight near the coast were piles of lobster and crab traps stacked near the roadways.

We were intrigued by these doorways which have a nickname of "mother-in-law doors".
As part of Newfoundland joining the Confederation, building codes required front and back doors for fire safety, but did not specify that steps were required.  Since the traditional entrance is via a mud-room next to the kitchen, the mandated doors are often left as pictured.

Newfoundland has a huge number of both salt and fresh water bodies of all sizes.  This makes for many picturesque islands.

During our visit we saw lots of different wildflowers, including Fireweed.

Aboard the ferry for our return trip to Nova Scotia
We are amazed at the number of vehicles that these ferries can accommodate!