2 July

Have arrived in Newfoundland – St johns. Really different place starting with the temperature going from a heatwave to 8c! Don’t be fooled into not bringing warm clothes jus because it’s summer. After all, this area is known for icebergs from Greenland passing by in summer.

Newfoundland didn’t become part of Canada until 1949 which I never knew. If you come here you must head to the town of Brigus. One of the original British settlements of 1610 it still has a real old village feel and is so pretty. You need to get here by car but really you need a car to get anywhere here I think. Public transport not really an option here.

My Laryngitis is still causing me grief and is frustrating as I so want to talk with Ron about all I see but need to ensure my voice gets better for my interviews with the doctors here.

Newfoundland in Canada is so pretty but also so interesting – a real blend of histories and cultures with its own accents – some sounding more Irish than Canadian. I love the accents here it’s so gorgeous. And buildings that look like something out of Norway or Iceland. ⠀ In 1798 two thirds of Newfoundland were Irish and half were from one part of Ireland by 1800’s. Mostly migrants who came here to work on the cod fishery but many stayed on and it shows in the culture and slang.

3 July

Drove up to Signal hill which used to be a fort and battery but now has wonderful views and is dotted with hiking trails.

You can just see Ron as a blue dot on the left.

We drove around the other side to the cute little village of Quidi Vidi and did the Ladies lookout walk which takes you to the highest point in the area. Wonderful views and lots of birds. Including a nesting bald eagle with a baby which we wouldn’t have seen except for a super friendly local sitting in his car pointing it out to us at the beginning and even lending us his binoculars. People are so lovely and friendly here.

The Rooms is a local museum well worth a stop. We imagined tiny ‘rooms’ but that is simply the term used for the designated areas each fishing crew had in the early cod fishing days to land their catch and process and salt and dry it. This was an abundant cod fishery for centuries until it was almost fished out in the 1980’s and the government imposed a moratorium that lost 30,000 jobs overnight but there is hope the stock may recover.

There is so much interesting information here on the history and cultures of Newfoundland- would highly recommend this early in the trip to help gain an understanding of this fascinating place.

Johnson geo centre is down the road from signal hill and while a lot of it is focused on local kids it was still pretty impressive with some interesting geology facts and displays. I didn’t realise that the beautiful blue labradorite is from nearby labrador- of course! Having been fascinated by the story of the Titanic as a child it was great to see a big display on that and learn that it was off the shore here in Newfoundland that it hit an iceberg.

Ron was a bit concerned he may need something warmer for our camping trip with the medical students latee but didn’t want to spend aot of money on something he may not carry around the whole trip- so course off to the Thrift store we went! The salvation army gave us a great find of two very nice polar fleece vests and a pair of great hiking pants for Ron.

Long days here in Summer mean you can fit lots in. So we headed off to Cape spears for a dinner picnic and to view the sunset. The site of a historical lighthouse and world war two embattlements- I was more interested in the views and the fact that you are at the most Eastern point of North America. Beautiful views to be had including spotting several whales blowing their spouts and a few even showed us their tails. What a great end to the day.

4 July

So in perfect timing ( pretty much like getting my worst ever laryngitis before two months of interviews) my camera decides to stop working before we hit some of the most beautiful sights in the world. The iPhone is doing a good job but not the same especially when you want to zoom in on a nesting bald eagle for example.. so while I prepared for my first meetings today Ron went to see if the camera can get fixed. Thankfully there is a good little camera repair shop here in St Johns called Phototec. Sadly it turned out to be a warranty job and I had to send it away. Eight weeks in beautiful Canada without a camera seemed too much to bear. So I forked out the dollars for a new camera from Newfoundland Imaging and just hope I get my money back on the other one. Ron got himself some binoculars too as we needed some anyway and will be great for wildlife spotting.

Ron looked the part in his thrift store outfit searching the woods with his binoculars.

I had some great meetings today with the doctors and researchers at Memorial University. They are doing some great things with rural doctor training and are interested in some collaboration. I’m particularly interested in a program they have that trains doctors to work for and care for ‘underserved populations’.

A couple of the doctors I met were from Newfoundland and I loved listening to their accents and more about the interesting culture here. One of them had very strong views about Newfoundland becoming part of Canada in 1949 – apparently a not too uncommon view. He also told me some parts are very Irish, some more British and some more French. The Irish parts are so Irish that someone came from Ireland to do a documentary on the ‘lost Irish’. They have multiple dialects here and lots of local slang words and their own terms.

After my meetings Ron and I headed off to Witless Bay and had something to eat at Captains Table a cute local restaurant with yummy fresh seafood at good prices. As always the staff and people were super friendly.

Then we went looking for vantage points to check ou the view and maybe spot whales. Some spots are sections of the East coast trail that goes for hundreds or kilometres but you can do sections.

At one spot we stopped and spoke to a local lad who was fishing and Ron asked him some tips- he’s hoping to have a fish too.