Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Random NL photos

Newtown, Newfoundland (NL)

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also known as the "Venice of Newfoundland" . Built on 17 small islands connected by causeways, leaving canals for residents to moor their boats

The typical NL "Staging area", simply known as "The Stage"

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You see these short docks all over THE ROCK. Those are lobster traps stacked & ready to be used. Larger stages have (little) buildings at the end, usually over the water, as the red building in the background where they store smaller dingies, fishing nets and other fishing accessories. It is a staging area where you prepare your fishing boat in preparation of heading out to sea.

The Battery, St John's Harbour

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an historic neighbourhood on the slopes of Signal Hill overlooking the Harbour. There is a chain connected between 2 rocks 174 meters long which was strung across the water to stop German U-boats from entering the harbour during World War II

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There is some unusual architecture in St John's

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some parts of the City are very old but decorated in bright colours

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Typical rural scene. Small communities like this are scattered throughout the Province, usually found at the end of the peninsula where the fishboats had easier access to the sea, and to the fishing grounds. Since their fishing industry collapsed, there is not much industry happening these days. I can't remember where this was but I believe it was near Twillingate

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Twillingate is the "Iceberg Capital of the World", as is on the route of "Iceberg Alley"




16 comments:

  1. I just love the light in those pics. It reminds me of the like in the San Juan Islands. I'm not sure if SJI is always like that, but it was when we visited many moons ago.

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    1. ToadMama/Kathy:

      they don't get very good weather back there. Mostly cloudy. That first photo was nearly sunset, it was dark and we didn't have a place to stay and we were miles from anywhere.

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  2. Beautiful pictures Bob. They remind me of the harbor scenes in jigsaw puzzles.

    I've always wanted to go to Newfoundland and these pictures just make me want it more.

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    1. Trobairitz:

      I loved it there. Around every corner was a postcard view, so different than what we are used to. They don't have much, no industry, I don't know how they survive. We have tons of stories to tell, but all of my photos were with using film cameras and I have thousands of photos in boxes everywhere.

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  3. Visited Newfoundland a few years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. St. John's is a city with true character and the various outports and coastal scenery were spectacular. And I can't say enough about the great Newfoundlanders we met. So if your pictures encourage anyone to visit, I can only say go for it; you won't regret it for a moment.

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    1. Canajun:

      we spoke to many locals in the small towns and they are all very friendly and would give you the shirt off their back. They are sincere & honest people and so willing to accommodate when we asked questions. We spent most of our time in the far North, Fogo Island territory, and south in the Burin Peninsula, where we took the ferry to France. Yes, Pierre/Miquelon and had to go through French Customs. We always wanted to go back, but perhaps on a motorcycle, the roads are fantastic and empty, as you know, Newfoundlander's don't travel.

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  4. the houses on the steep hillside remind me of San Francisco....I wonder how they deal with issues when things "settle" over time.

    good pics Bob

    dom

    Redleg's Rides

    Colorado Motorcycle Travel Examiner

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    1. Dom:

      Newfoundland is known as "THE ROCK". All those houses on the side of Signal Hill are built on ROCK. I don't know how they get the plumbing in there, or where the pipes are. As we walked through we noticed a lot of houses are being refurbished/renovated. It would be a great place to live

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  5. Cool, Bob, I agree with Dom, nice pics. A northern version of Venice, huh? Well, the weather might not agree quite the same, but it looks like a hell of a neat place. And, the lobster traps make me think of how little seafood we get here in bavaria. Not terribly popular, maybe if they realized you could bake it into a bread. Or brew it into schnapps.

    Brady
    Behind Bars

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    1. Brady:

      As we drove through the small towns, we didn't see any industry and I wondered how people made a living. Hotels and motels are non existent,except in a couple of larger cities so we had to stay in B&Bs most of the time. We went the first week of September and many hotels and restaurants close after the Labour Day weekend. You have to go during June, July or August.

      Did I mention that it would be the perfect place to tour on a bike

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  6. Beautiful pics, Bob. Reminds me of our trip to the maritimes in September 2008. I would love to return, and do the trip on a bike, however the weather was pretty ghastly at times...

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    1. Sonja:

      Going there was like going back to a place buried in the 1950's. We liked the idea of the simple, uncomplicated life. The locals don't wander and we saw very few cars on our journey. Even when we entered smaller communities we seldom saw anyone walking, but they looked at us from out their windows. My favourite place was FOGO ISLAND, google it. It is known as the "Land that Time Forgot". It was on my "must" visit list. Fogo Rock was one of the 4 pillars of the earth, when the world was thought to be flat and held up on 4 corners. If you go, make sure to head south around the Burin Peninsula. It is just beautiful

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  7. I feel I have seen these...it's freakin' me out. Very nice picts brother. Thanks for the peep.

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    1. VD; Viking Dave:

      These are iconic photos, they have been published everywhere. I just happened to stumble across the scene when I was there. It is a great place to bring a bike, great roads and friendly people

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  8. I finally got to St. Johns in 2008. What a wonderful city. Thanks for the gorgeous photos.

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    1. David:

      We spent most of our time up North around Fogo Island, Twillingate area, Bonavista and Burin Peninsulas. Then we travelled over to those French Islands, St Pierre/Miquelon. We brought back lots of stories, and memories of a lifetime

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