Today was a day of boat tours and pleasant weather surprises. We woke up to gray skies and a forecast for thunderstorms. I called to confirm if our 10am Western Brook Pond tour was still on this morning and was told “of course!” (I guess one can’t be easily deterred by the weather in Newfoundland). We drove north in the park and could barely make out the Long Range Mountains in the clouds/fog. The hike up to the Western Brook Pond (it’s a 3km hike across boardwalks through the bogs) was gray and rainy and I had my doubts about the point in going on the boat tour in such weather.
After boarding the boat and making our way further into the glacially carved fjord, the sun came out and created the picture perfect scenes that had been promised in the tourism brochures.
https://gfycat.com/ViciousSpeedyIndigowingedparrot
I’m not sure if we just got lucky or if it’s common for the valley to be protected from the weather by the 1,000 ft. plus high cliffs, but either way, we were grateful for the unexpectedly pleasant change in the weather. There was a senior tour group aboard the boat and it was as if Autumn had 40 adopted grandparents aboard the boat.
After the amazing Western Brook Pond tour we had to hustle back to the car for the 2pm Bonne Bay tour. The focus of this tour was more on the wildlife, geology and history of the area. The guides we very knowledgeable and humorous. We spotted several bald eagles, a multi million dollar yacht and some historical fishing cottages.
The more relaxed pace was much needed and Autumn napped the entire tour (poor tired baby!) Afterwards, we grabbed a bite to eat (seafood chowder) and an iceberg beer at the little café at the dock then made our way back to the B&B.
After freshening up, I headed out to the local grocer to pick up a few breakfast provisions and the little gift shop for some Bakeapple jam (local speciality – like a mild orangish raspberry). We decided to go checkout the Coastal Trail and watch the sun set while the waves came crashing in on the rocks on the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Watching the sun drop steadily behind the horizon was so wonderful. The fresh, crisp air has us longing for autumn back home.
Tomorrow we’ll go check out the Northern portions of the park.
