Saturday | Aug. 22, 2015 @9:00pm
It’s been another very different day. The variations on this trip are greater than most. Today we went to see Battle Harbour, but there were a few logistics we had to clear up first. We had arranged for a guy to get us there on his boat, since the Battle Harbour Trust only does overnights. But we had to get cash to pay him, and ATM machines aren’t exactly common around here. We also wanted to secure a space in the Red Bay Cabins. We were pretty sure we had seen an atm there and it was on the way to Mary’s Harbour, so we made for Red Bay. The store was closed when we got there…so we moved on. The part of the road after Red Bay is gravel. It was freshly covered and not bad to drive on, although it was a bit drifty in the car. We stopped a number of times for pictures. There were quite a few places where you could see the road twisting through the scenery for a long way. It was kind of like prairies, but rockyer and a bit hillier too, with a very remote feeling. Although we did see a dozen or so cars so it’s not that remote. It was 85 km of gravel to drive and I wasn’t sure how long that would take, so we had left decently early. We arrived in Mary’s Harbour and asked about an ATM, then got the cash. We then went hunting for a grocery store to buy ice in. At this point we realized that we were much earlier than we needed to be, so we wound up sitting waiting for a while.
Once we got on the boat it took about 25 minutes to get there. There wasn’t much to note of the ride there. Once we arrived it felt a bit like going back in time. Old wooden buildings dotted the barren, rocky landscape, with lots of buildings built out over the water on wooden stilts. We started with lunch which was Fish Brewis, which was kind of traditional fish porridge, and was really good. Then we wandered around for a bit taking pictures and then joined the walking tour through the old buildings. The tour was interesting as it outlined the old life that the fishermen used to live. It was made better since the tour guide had grown up in Battle Harbour and had many stories to tell. After the tour we walked the trail around the island. In the distance we could see a thick fog bank. It was interesting to note that one side of the island was freezing cold while the other side was warm. Apparently that has something to do with the one side facing the ocean and the other side not. The scenery was spectacular and the skies were perfect and the sun was coming down at the just the right angle. Overall it was very enjoyable.
We set out on the boat ride back and then drove back to Red Bay. We managed to reserve the cabin for our last two nights here, which should be nice. And then we had a late supper, and now we are in the tent because it is raining.
The Narrow Twisty Road 