Atlantic Bastion

We admit it. We never thought of Newfoundland as having international strategic importance. However, after a day of touring St. John's historical sites (as well as taking a thrilling speedboat ride to find whales and puffins), we've changed our minds.

During WWI and WWII, St. John's overflowed with American and British/Canadian soldiers. It was the refueling spot for convoys of naval ships to Europe. German U-boats prolwed up and down its coasts and even slipped inside St. John's harbor. Two huge cannons remain at Cape Spear, pointing out to sea. Cape Spear is also the easternmost spot in North America.

Signal Hill towers over and protects St. John's. The first international telegraph lines linked St. John's and Europe, and Signal Hill was where the telegraph operator sent the telegrams. Signal Hill was hotly contested by the French and English throughout the 1600s and 1700s, and was the scene of the last battle of the French and Indian War, won by the English in 1762. That war was the military training ground for many future Yankee Revolutionaries, including George Washington.

St. John's also claims the longest continuously occupied settlement in North America--Avalon Colony (What about Plymouth?). Avalon was settled in 1621. We toured the herb garden, the archeological dig, and we checked out, in the gift store, pottery items patterned after those found in the dig. We learned that the colonists used apple mint to soothe their stomachs after their frequent bouts with spoiled food.

The clerk was dressed like a 1621 settler.

Avalon town had its own stark charm.

To help digest all that history, we took a thrill ride in a zodiac to see whales, puffins, sea, and cliffs. Bull's Bay was as pristine and perfect as other Newfoundland towns. Our skipper was a wizened, colorful guy who spoke with a thick, "Newfie" accent.

"What's the main industry of Newfoundland?" I asked. "Ile," he replied (that's "oil"). He was a wild and crazy driver, though, and after suiting up...

...we dashed into the harbor, saw some whales feeding, and then barrelled across the bay to an island with a puffin colony.

The wind was strong, we hit every 8 ft. wave, and soon only our noses poked out of our suits.

There were thousands of puffins flying around and nesting on the island. Unfortunately, our cameras and we were so wet and cold and the boat was bobbing so hard that we couldn't get decent pictures.

On the ride home we captured the colors and shapes of ocean and rocks in our photos.

For those of you who don't know what a puffin is, here's a picture! As I think of the "symbols" for Newfoundland, they would include ships, brightly painted wood houses, Irish pubs and singing, blue sea, whales, and puffins.

St. John's is a friendly, colorful city that we liked better and better. The downtown hugs the waterfront, with ships right outside our hotel window. For hundreds of years, it has been a fishing town. Now, the cod are gone, but they still catch crab here and they work the offshore oil fields.

One distinctive characteristic of St. John's is the brightly colored houses, in all sections of the city.

We finished our day with "Traditional Nfld. Food" at Velma's--pan-fried cod, potatoes, and blueberry pudding for dessert.