We arrived in Argentia, Newfoundland in the afternoon on Thursday July 21 (Day 42). A short ride to our hotel in Placentia for a rest. While Lori and Mark went for a ride, the rest of us took a walk to the shore then wandered through the town to the Three Sisters pub. Live music greeted us – and Lori and Mark who had stopped in for some refreshement. Small town pub, great live music, friendly locals – we closed the place down and walked back to the hotel to get some sleep.
Day 43 and we were going to St. John’s. All the bikes were scheduled for service and we had a radio station visit planned. VOCM in St. John’s had been promoting our tour for weeks. We had phone interviews in the two weeks leading up to our arrival and the staff wanted to meet our team. Then the hotel. That evening we went up to Signal Hill for the Ghost Tour. A great way to get some of the history of the area.
Saturday was mostly a day off and a chance to explore the area. We had a photo shoot with the St. John’s Telegram up at Signal Hill and then all went in different directions – out to Cape Spear, the easternmost point in North America, or wandering through town.
That night we headed to Jason’s cousin Daniela’s home for a barbeque – our first home-cooked meal in 7 weeks! A great evening meeting new friends and relaxing. Then back to the hotel and down to George Street where we were going to get screeched in. For the uninitiated, this was a ritual to be granted honourary Newfoundlander status. Susan met us for the big event. Over 30 were participating – all crammed into a small upstairs pub space. Screeching in consists of eating bologna, kissing a cod and drinking a shot of Screech (Newfoundland rum). You also have to learn the customary response to “Is ye an honourary Newfoundlander?” “Indeed I is, me ol’ cock, and long may your big jib draw”.
That night we headed to Jason’s cousin Daniela’s home for a barbeque – our first home-cooked meal in 7 weeks! A great evening meeting new friends and relaxing. Then back to the hotel and down to George Street where we were going to get screeched in. For the uninitiated, this was a ritual to be granted honourary Newfoundlander status. Susan met us for the big event. Over 30 were participating – all crammed into a small upstairs pub space. Screeching in consists of eating bologna, kissing a cod and drinking a shot of Screech (Newfoundland rum). You also have to learn the customary response to “Is ye an honourary Newfoundlander?” “Indeed I is, me ol’ cock, and long may your big jib draw”.
Sunday arrived and in looking ahead to the schedule for the next couple of days we decided to change our route plans and, instead of overnighting in Gander, we wanted to find a place closer to the Port-aux-Basques ferry since we needed to be at the terminal no later than 1pm on Monday. So we headed to Corner Brook 700km away. We did stop in Gander where we met Tanya with the local KRock radio station – another huge supporter of the tour. She led us into town and to a great place for lunch and warming soup.
Then back on the road. The one hotel in town that had rooms for us was more than a little sketchy and none of us were comfortable with staying there – even less so when the RCMP down the road recommended against it. We retraced our route about 10miles and managed to find the last condo at the Marblehead Village Ski Resort. Barbequed some burgers, heated up some pizzas (pickings were slim in this area) and called it a night.
Then back on the road. The one hotel in town that had rooms for us was more than a little sketchy and none of us were comfortable with staying there – even less so when the RCMP down the road recommended against it. We retraced our route about 10miles and managed to find the last condo at the Marblehead Village Ski Resort. Barbequed some burgers, heated up some pizzas (pickings were slim in this area) and called it a night.
Day 46 and it was time to head to the ferry in Port-aux-Basques and leave Newfoundland. The people, the history, and the land itself all beautiful. We all agreed that we would return to spend more time on The Rock. The ride back to Sydney was much shorter from this side and we made it back to our hotel before sunset.
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