By Barry Zander, Edited by Monique Zander, the Never-Bored RVers
The red building at right is a "stage." What we call piers are "flakes" up here. Fishing villages are quaint to tourists, but it's the way of life that has been going on for 400 years for the locals.
I wrote this at least a week ago, but haven’t been able to post it because of weak or non-existing Internet. If the Maritimes weren’t relatively remote, I don’t think it would provide the charm and sense of adventure we are experiencing. But because of that remoteness, we are subject to the whims of the territory, which means having to endure intermittent availability of communications, the erratic level of electrical services in RV campgrounds and inconveniences of not always being able to shop for essentials. It’s all part of the experience of being somewhat off the grid.
Now, to pick up where I left off.
I’ll begin with a comment from Terry Reed: “Labrador was sort of on my bucket list too, but I can see now that I’ve read your description, that I should lower my expectations and maybe just do more exploring in Nova Scotia.”
We have visited enumerable lighthouses during this trip, but each one has its own fascination for us. When we can't get to one, we feel like we've missed something.
My response: As for Labrador, Monique and I can understand why, from my write-up, that you may want to avoid Labrador. We only saw a small section as part of our caravan. We checked our map and see that the route beyond Red Bay, our most northern stop, is gravel for 338 kilometers (about 200 miles) to Cartwright, and from there it seems to be blacktop. Maybe that’s the challenge of Labrador travel. You might want to do more research before scratching it off your bucket list.
Terry’s comment brought up an interesting question — Why come to the Canadian Maritimes? For us and most of our Fantasy RV caravan troop taking this 48-day tour of the Atlantic Provinces, it was basically because it’s here, or really beyond everywhere else. I asked our group for other reasons they joined this tour and got several responses.
Three said they were here to research their family heritage. Tim is aboard because he went as far as Halifax, Nova Scotia, on an earlier trip and was interested in seeing more. Perhaps my favorite was from Chet, who explained that he had spent his working life within four walls and he wanted to see more of the world, which he and wife Ann have done, traveling recently to Tibet. He likes the idea that they are in a land where there are wide-open spaces, where he can see new things and meet new people.
A young bull moose poses for us.
I like that. Why spend the time and money just to say, “I’ve been there.” Maritimes inhabitants, from what we’ve experienced, are calm. They fish and have a highly developed sense of community. It’s comforting to find a civilization that is willing to fight the elements and put up with a lack of shopping centers nearby to maintain their traditional lifestyle.
They know from television that there is an outside world that is different; but, at least in the coastal areas where we have been, they cling to a life that revolves around maritime occupations – oh, and, of course, tourism. There is unmatched beauty in the blue-green waters that send powerful waves to lap upon the rocky shores. The villages tucked along remote coves have changed little since their settlement 200 or more years ago. Come to the Maritimes to observe, to learn, to breathe. It’s worth the visit.
Over the past couple of weeks, the appreciation Monique and I have of the Island Province of Newfoundland has grown immeasurably. I want to devote the next blog to some of the unforgettable highlights of our recent Atlantic Provinces travels. Since it’s part of my somewhat offbeat writing style to enlighten blog readers with information not readily available elsewhere, I want to talk about water. One tour guide told us you can’t be anywhere in Newfoundland further than 50-miles from saltwater. We crossed the province a few days ago and realized that he is right. With that in mind, I’ll inform you of where to find that saltwater. Visitors see coves, inlets, bays, fiords, harbours, tickles, arms, bights, reaches and sounds, and they all seem to be the same thing. And that’s not including straights, and freshwater ponds and lakes that seem to make up half of the landmass here.
I’m eager to talk about some of the sights and activities we have unexpectedly enjoyed, like the fishing heritage museum and Spillar’s Cove. We are certainly not bored these
Moon Jellies are common this time of year.
days, From the “Never-Bored RVers,” We’ll see you on down the road.
© All photos by Barry Zander. All rights reserved
COMMENTS FROM PREVIOUS BLOGS:
From George and Marilyn Swisher. We enjoyed so much your trip in Newfoundland and Labrador. In 1999, we traveled with a caravan called Yankee RV tours out of Maine. Many of things you experienced we also experienced on our caravan, such as moose stew and becoming Newfies. We drove personal cars in Labrador, and had a time element to be there since the ferry from Labrador to Newfoundland would not be available for us if we missed it for 3 days. Thanks so much for your writings.
From Ann Crume: Barry, We will be traveling a few weeks behind you into New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. What are you using for Internet and cell phone service? … Thanks for all the information on your blog. I’m not very good at keeping mine up-to-date.
My response: If I haven’t mentioned this before, I will say that you need to talk with your phone service carrier about their international plan, and, believe me, it can be confusing. I have a temporary phone plan through AT&T, but had originally set up Internet service also. I cancelled that because I didn’t want to figure out the system and I could get Internet in most Maritime towns and, at least to some degree, in campgrounds.
From Ray: I like your work in keeping us (old rvers) up to date. Thanks.
Because of the numerous Spam comments on this site, the comments section has been deactivated. Please email us at neverboredrvers@gmail.com and I will pass along your comments. Learn about Alaska and see travel photos at ontopoftheworld.bz (and much more to come when time allows).