Day 31--Port aux Basques

Day 31—Monday, July 12
Deer Lake to Port aux Basques
167 miles

It was thickly foggy and drizzly when we got to the Port aux Basques Welcome Center. In fact I nearly passed it because it was not visible in the fog. We used the bathroom there, called the Radio Station to tell them that we were on the way, and picked up a few pamphlets and maps. Then we made a beeline to our favorite B&B, the Radio Station Inn.

This time George, Jocelyn’s husband, checked us in. Alex had obviously told him of the two old dames who were going to ride their bikes up the west coast of Newfoundland, so George drew us out and we recounted our ride and talked for quite awhile. Each time we thought George had ended the conversation and was about to excuse himself, there would be a long pause, some throat clearing, and then he would reflect at length on another subject. This quirk made us both sigh and laugh when he finally did leave.

On the way down, we saw another semi being recovered at Wreckhouse. Traffic on the TCH was slowed to 30 kph and then stopped while they pulled it out of a ditch with a large crane. George told us that this semi had not been blown over but the driver was texting, I think, and had driven it off the road.

The road and rocks coming into Corner Brook 

We cooked dinner of scallops, corn on the cob, fruit salad, rice pudding, blueberry yogurt, and good coffee—all things we’d bought in Corner Brook on the way down. Yesss!

Shortly after dinner, Alex appeared. He greeted us again and learned about our cycling adventure. He’s a bundle of energy and very nice—gay as the day is long, I think. We discussed decidedly Newfoundland dishes such a poutine (French fries, topped with cheese curd, and smothered in gravy), cod tongues and cheeks (usually breaded), figgy duff (a raisin pudding boiled in a bag), fish & brewis (salt fish, hardtack, fatback pork), seal flipper pie (a pie crust filled with turnips, potatoes, seal meat, and gravy), bakeapples (cloudberries), and the cakey Newfoundland pies. Alex told us that the only way to eat NL berry pie was with thick canned cream, and then dashed off to get us each a can before joining George at their church for choir practice.

I spent some time on the computer catching up on this journal and then hit the sack.