Gros Morne

I had been looking forward to this day for some time. The pictures of the park are amazing, awe-inspiring. And I wanted what those pictures showed. But the day was grey and rainy, so it wasn't to be, not like that at least.

We had steamed through the night, so by the time we were at breakfast, we were into the fiords of the park. We entered into the main one, then took a turn to the right (the south), into a smaller area. We were going to Rocky Point, a small town known for its cultural activities. This was a "dry landing", which means that we were ferried into a dock, not a beach, so didn't get our feet wet.



We were met at the dock by a group of local people, giving out information, pins, and candy kisses. They were wonderful: friendly, open, and accepting of our quirks as we came in. And they had a little friendly dog which helped us to feel at home.

After getting our boxed lunches, we were bussed to the Information Centre, and then from there began our hikes. Darlene had chosen to go onto the Tablelands (an area of the Park which had begun life as the bottom of the ancient Atlantic Ocean, so was ancient rock), and I had chosen to walk to the Lookout, an upward hike of about 500 metres over a kilometre and a half.

It's hard to say who got the better deal. I got less rain, but was wet from the sweat of walking up this steep incline. Plus I got beautiful views from the top of the walk. Darlene got more rain, but an easier walk overall, and had the advantage of a geologist to explain the old rocks they were walking on.



But we were both glad to get back to dry and warm conditions. When we met up back in the town, we were excited to know that there was actually wireless internet at the local cafe. A hasty consultation, and we managed a quick trip back to the ship for our computers, and we had a pleasant hour receiving emIl for the first time in most of a week. It was slow enough that we couldn't, for instance, post these blogs. But it allowed us to know a bit about what was going on in our outside world.

After a very pleasant visit, we hosted on board some of the staff of the town for supper, then we went in to town for a night of music and dance at their historic theatre hall. It was wonderful, tiring, and a fitting end to a good day.



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Location:Gros Morne National Park