Day Seventy Seven
Our first day of touring the central part of Newfoundland has taken us directly north to the town of Twillingate. Twillingate is the oldest port in Newfoundland and is the home of The town of 2100 people. Prior to the moratorium on the Northern cod fishery in 1992, over 7000 people lived in Twillingate. Once the moratorium was put in place the population shrunk by 5000 inhabitants over the course of the year. Today the remaining townsfolk make a living off of snow crab trapping and tourism.
As soon as we arrived, we set out to explore the town and get a feel for the lay of the land; so to speak. During our drive, we passed the Iceberg Quest Ocean Tours and immediately stopped. During our research of the area, this tour guide was supposed to be the best. The building served as a two fold purpose, it had a restaurant at the back and a booking booth in the front for the tours. We approached the counter and booked two tickets for the next tour at one o’clock. We inquired about the restaurant was informed they are unable to find people to work, so the regular menu is not available, muffins and grilled cheese sandwiches are the best they can do.
As we were handed our tickets, she informed us to be at the pier ten minutes before launch. We had a few hours to burn so we headed to the Auk Island winery for a wine tasting, then explored the local museum. After the museum we headed for a little lunch. By this time it was shortly after twelve, and the restaurant we chose was on the other side of the bay. Shorty after we placed our order we began to worry about making it back in time for the boat tour. The meal came soon enough allowing us to quickly eat and get to the pier with a few minutes to spare.
We were not sure what to expect on the tour, and really did not care. We were on an adventure and an ocean boat ride was a perfect fit. Aboard the boat the crew members gave us a light history of the area, our projected path for the next two hours and reminded us we may not see any whales on the tour, but will do their best to make it an entertaining trip regardless.
After we sailed from the bay, a school of dolphins were spotted in the distance. I moved towards the bow of the boat for a better view and stood beside the open door to the control room where the captain was driving. I asked if the dolphins will swim along the boat like you see on tv, or is that Hollywood creativity at its best? He briefly informed me that the past few trips the dolphins have been uncooperative, but they will swim along the bow when they are felling playful.
When the boat reached the area with the dolphins, they were indeed feeling playful today. About eight dolphins swam past, and in front of the boat for about fifteen minutes before they moved on. After the dolphins we moved over to the rocky shores for a little bird watching. As we moved towards the shore a crew member came out with a musical instrument she called ugly sticks.
These sticks were a four foot wooden pole with a rubber boot attached to one end. Just above the boot was a group of bottle caps loosely nailed to the pole, allowing for them to sound like a tambourine. At the top of the ugly stick was a jug with a wig and painted face on it. The crew member passed one of the sticks to a tourist and instructed her to thump the boot on the deck of the boat in unison with hers, producing a rhythmic beat. Along with the bottle caps adding to the beat, she began to hit the mid section of the ugly stick with a smaller stick and began to sing.
After a short time of entertaining us with the ugly sticks, she moved off the do the same with the guests on the lower deck. We travelled along the shores observing the local eagle, and osprey nests before turning back towards the pier. On the journey back a storm front had rolled in and the wind picked up. The crew requested we move to the cabin on the lower section of the boat as we made the journey back. On the lower deck I proceeded to stand outside of the cabin feeling the wind on my face and through my hair. After we left the boat, we had plans to visit a light house that was just a little north of Twillingate. We looked in the direction of the lighthouse to see that it was engulfed by the storm, we decided to call off the ABL and head home for the day.
