I left the campsite after saying good bye with Loyde and Pam, and went to a small store/restaurant called "Me and the Mrs." It had great home made pancakes and sausage for a low price. I chatted with the old man of the business and they've been open there for 20 years now.

    I finished and drove to North Sydney to catch my ferry to Newfoundland. I had about 4 hours to kill first so I explored the little town with my bike. There was a good sized hill that looked like a 4x4 spot. I hiked the bike up and had fun with the bit of downhill.

    Then onto the ferry, the Caribou. It was massive. 3 levels for vehicles, cabins for people to rent, a bar with live Newfie music, a cafeteria, and lots of seating in view of TV's playing movies.

    Right from the beginning I met a guy named Bo. He's from near Montreal originally but now lives in Calgary. Every summer he travels around Canada. His way of travelling is with a small tent and sleeping bags, a few changes of clothes, a squeegee, and small busking acts... putting nails up his nose and blowing fire. Needless to say he was a bit of a strange dude. I was happy when the ferry landed. Haha. Naw, he was a nice guy, just way different than myself.

    I also met an older fellow from Newfoundland named Joe Emberly. He was pretty much identical to the image in my mind of what a Newfie would be like. Extremely nice, loved to talk, and all the other great things you hear about Newfies. He thought I was a good guy so finally said that if I go to a place called Bonavista, look for a coffee shop/bar and find the owner named Harv. Tell him Joe sent me and that he said I'm a good fellow. That's all he said so I think I'll go do that and see what happens. Haha.

    So the ferry landed and I found the first campsite along the road, J.T. Cheeseman's Provincial Park. It's facilities are the nicest I've seen yet, and it's the cheapest rate yet. Only $18. It's dark so I'm not to sure yet what the sites are like. I just set up the tent and went to bed.

    It rained last night and is still gloomy this morning, but not raining at the moment. I took a walk around to see the ground and it's pretty nice. All the sites are separated with trees and my site happens to be about 10 feet from a river with lots of rapids, and a small waterfall.

    I packed up and left by 11 AM. Then drove till I hit Stephenville and had lunch. My days destination was to get to Gros Morne National Park. This place is incredible. It's mountainous, very similar to the Okanagan, but the forests are more dense with shorter trees. There are a lot of cliffs dropping into the lakes and bays.

    Gros Morne actually has 5 provincial campsites within it, but Berry Hill was recommended. I set up and explored a bit, finding many trails. One of which winds around a small lake. The scenery is so great here, rivaling the parks in Ontario.

    I came back to my site to make supper and it started raining hard, so I'm currently waiting it out in the truck. I'd like to hike the lake trail though, so I'll wait a bit longer and hope the weather clears up a bit.

    After note: The rain wouldn't stop so I went to a small town close by called Rocky Harbor for a few drinks. The only bar in town was dead. Haha. Instead I went for a walk because it wasn't raining hard... yet. I was a good 2 km's from the truck and it started to pour. I was drenched by the time I got back to the truck. Haha. Ah well.

    The night last night continued to pour and wouldn't stop till in the morning. I eventually got fed up of waiting and packed up in the rain. Boo. My destination was Bonavista and it pretty much rained the whole time till I got there.

    The first stop was out at a light house where the terrain was very rugged. Lot's of sheet rock and moss everywhere, with steep cliffs dropping into the ocean. It was very scenic and not like anything I've seen before. Close by was also a large statue of John Cabot, the founder of Newfoundland.

    I then went into the town and found the coffee shop/bar Joe told me about. Harv was there and it was great to meet him, his wife Sharron, and bartender Steven. They're really great extremely friendly. Beside me, sitting at the bar, was a couple from England (Bob and Jo), and a friend of theirs from Newfoundland (Bert). We all chatted and had some beers. Eventually the 4 of us went and ordered pizza, and much to my surprise Bart picked up the bill. We all ended up drinking together the rest of the night.

    I also met a wonderful French girl named Andréanne. She's 21 and studying Anthropology, and doing well at it. She's here living and helping out at the coffee shop, and doing interviews with the locals for her school.

    As the night passed a man named Karl came into the bar dressed in fishing gear. Myself, and about 8 others, were about to be "screeched in" and become honorary Newfoundlanders. Basically what happened was after Karl went through a big speech and asked us if we were Newfoundlanders we all had to recite a phrase ("Yes I is me ol' cock. Long may your big jib draw."), followed by a shot of spiced rum called Screech, and then kiss a large cod fish. Haha! Everyone who participated received a certificate.

    We all wound down and Bert once again picked up the tab for the beers. What a guy! We exchanged email's and said good bye. I now have a place to stay in England if I ever get over there.

    I was just planning on sleeping in the truck tonight, but Andréanne was extremely sweet by offering to let me use a spare bedroom at her house. No way I could pass that up after the last few nights in the rain. Andréanne and I walked back to her place and chatted most of the night. She is a sweet heart for sure!

    In closing, thanks Joe for pointing me to this little town. It's been good times and great memories.

    I was late getting up today. A comfy bed is a great thing. Andréanne and I went to get a coffee (her treat) which was much needed, and then in return for her hospitality I bought lunch at a little restaurant near the Bonavista light house. Food and drink here is really cheap. I was in no mood to travel to St. John's today and Andréanne's company has been a lot of fun. She said I could stay another night so that's what I'll do, and be able to get some laundry done.

    After lunch we walked along the coast for a bit and were able to watch some whales surfacing. Binoculars would have been god but all is well.

    The rest of the day so far has just been hanging out and relaxing. I think we'll go back to the bar tonight and hang around there.

    Things have changed a bit. Andréanne has to catch a ferry on the 11th so I cancelled my ferry for tomorrow and re-booked it for the 11th as well. I'm having such a wicked time here.

    Not a lot went on today. The highlite of the day would be putting my feet in the ocean. Andréanne took me to a rocky beach that she likes. It's neat because the waves were big and crashing on the rock cliffs around us. When the waves go out they drag polished rocks with them and it makes a weird sound. We didn't go swimming but at least I can say I've walked in the Atlantic Ocean.

    Today I went to St. John's to explore and stand out as far east as I possibly can in Canada. Wow! What an incredible feeling, almost surreal. It's weird to think that Europe is closer to me from here than home.

    I walked around St. John's and checked out a lot of little shops, got gifts and post cards. Then I went to the famous George Street to see the many, many bars that make it so famous. I honestly thought it would be bigger but I wasn't disappointed. I went to the Green Sleeves Rock Pub and Eatery for some drinks and dinner. They have a wicked grilled chicken burger, possibly the best burger I've had at a pub. While I was eating, a guy playing guitar and singing entertained the people. He was really good.

    I also went to Signal Hill, which was a huge stone tower looking out over the ocean. The view of the city and surrounding area was breath taking, and the wind was intense.

    St. John's is such a cool place, and today was the first sunny day I've seen in Newfoundland. I'm glad I didn't take the ferry back today.

    I drove back to Bonavista and met up with Andréanne at a festival for the "5 coves" (Basically 5 small towns close together). We didn't stay to long cause we were both tired and it was late. But before I left I tried a moose burger. Damn it was tasty! Haha.

    Another lazy morning getting up late... I like this life style. Andréanne took me to a local beach at Sandy Cove so I could swim in the Atlantic for the first time. It was crazy there with the biggest waves I've seen in person, about 8-10 feet. We waded into the freezing water and jumped the breaking waves till at last we fell in. It was a lot of fun and the water was cold!

    We dried off in the sun and went back to Bonavista to "White rock". "White rock" is the highest point in Bonavista with a painted water tower on top. It was an incredible view of the whole town.

    Andréanne and I went to the coffee shop for supper, before heading back to the festival. It was on all weekend. The main feature for the night was a beauty pageant. This wasn't your average pageant though. The women were men dressed up as women. What can I say, Newfies are great. It was fun and completely hilarious.

    To finnish off the night we went back to the pub in Bonavista. Karl, the man who screeched me in, is leaving for Ontario tomorrow for work. Good, consistent work is difficult to find in Newfoundland from what I hear. He didn't want to leave, but needed the money so had no choice. Poor guy. It was obvious he was sad, but none the less we all had a good time and wished him luck. Karl's a genuine guy. I hope to see him again one day.