st. john’s

Dates traveled: August 19-20; August 31-September 3, 2018

St. John’s was our last (& first, briefly) stop on a Newfoundland adventure. The first night we stayed near the airport & went to a poetry event at the Ship before heading out on the rest of a two-week journey.

The last weekend there, we went on a quest to see puffins. I didn’t get any good pictures cuz the damn things fly away so fast, but they’re very short birds with big bellies that fly kind of awkwardly. The tour guide said they’re like potatoes with wings. Their coloured beaks are strictly for attraction purposes, & they return to the exact same spot for half the year with the same mate. I’m thinking of writing a children’s book about this.

We hiked a small stretch of the east coast trail where a hiker actually died a couple weeks prior. There were lots of signs warning about the cliffs – not sure if they were there before or recently added.

The memory of a military presence imbibes much of the far east coast, and St. John’s is an excellent example of it. At Cape Spear, there is a famous lighthouse, but what I found more interesting was a small museum-like place where presumably troops were stationed during a war to protect the coastline. If I’d read more of the plaques I’d probably have a more exact explanation, but it felt a bit like a jail with armory just outside of it.

Now I’ve hiked parts of both the east coast & west coast trails & been at (practically) the most eastern, western, & southern points of the country. Not sure I’ll ever make it to the north pole, but I’m open to it.

We got screeched in on our last night there & even kissed a real (frozen) cod. I got a certificate with my Newfoundland name, ‘Adron’, reminded that my handwriting doesn’t cause me too many problems in my day to day life but that still doesn’t mean it’s legible.

On our last day we did the mandatory miniature hike up Signal Hill overlooking downtown. I was mildly surprised by the number of now-relic weapons, but over the course of the east coast trip I was growing accustomed to these things being highlighted. The view wasn’t as nice as Cape Spear by any means but it’d be a nice place to sit with a hot chocolate on a Sunday night decompressing before the week begins.

One of the most noticeable things about downtown is the small colourful houses. Although there are a few theories about the origins of jellybean row, I think the most factual one is that it was instituted by the city to boost tourist about 50 years ago. One of the more fun theories is that the colours helped people find their way back from sea when it was dark.

The rest of the city was more or less what I expected. It felt more energetic than a city of its size, & aside from the west coast, it’s probably up there in terms of places I’d consider relocating. You can be downtown yet so close to trails & tiny towns to embrace the quiet & the ocean & all those things that remind you to breathe.

It’s too bad Newfoundland is so far & hard to get to, or else I’m sure I’d go back. As it stands now I’m not opposed to it, but there are just so many places to go. And of course if it weren’t so far it wouldn’t be the same.