We were up and showered early this morning so we could do the drive to Cape St. Mary’s. We left the house before 9:00 a.m. so did not see our hostess, Judy. We drove through lots of fog and were optimistic it would clear as the day progressed.
We arrived in Placentia about 11:30. Placentia is situated on a large beach near a coastal forest area and in the early days of the seventeenth century was the French capital of Newfoundland. In 1662, the Colonial French fortified this strategic position, on a summit overlooking the ocean arms of “Plaisance”, as the French called it. The commanding site is now at Castle Hill National Historic Park. The following year Fort Royal was begun as the main defence against the English attacks by sea, and a starting-out point for French attacks on the English capital of St. John’s (3 times). After the Treaty of Utrecht was signed in 1713, the British moved into Placentia, upgraded the defences, and re-took St. John. Once British supremacy was assured, St. John’s became the capital of the colony. The fort no longer exists, but visitors can see its foundations clearly on the site’s rocks and much can be learned at the Visitor Centre.
We ate our picnic lunch as we continued our drive to the Cape St. Mary’s Ecological Reserve. We arrived at our destination shortly after 1 p.m. It was so foggy, we could barely see the Visitor Centre from the parking lot. We stopped a number of people (returning to their vehicles) and asked if we would be able to see anything if we walked out to see the birds. Everyone told us that although it was still very foggy out there, we would definitely see birds. We entered the Visitor Centre, toured the exhibits and read up on what we were about to see. We were surprised to learn an adult Gannet has a wing span of just under 6 feet.
The trail to the bird nesting ground is 1.4 km long and lined with fields of wild miniature blue iris. With all the wet weather we have been experiencing lately, it was quite muddy, slippery and at times treacherous to navigate. Lucky for me, it was so foggy, I could not appreciate how high above the ocean we were, so wasn’t afraid and simply stayed on the path. The unfortunate part of that is, I am sure it would have made for some awesome views.
As we neared Bird Rock, the sounds of the hundred of birds and the smells of their eating and pooping told us we were headed in the right direction. The sight of these lovely white birds, soaring over the ocean; nesting, feeding and protecting their young; and adult males sword fighting with their beaks, was truly a sight to behold. I looked at them through binoculars, Marcel got as close as he could and took photos. It was about 2:45 when we returned to our vehicle and began our trek back to Paradise.
As it is our last night in the Avalon area we decided to go out for dinner. We arrived at the Gypsy Tea Room about 20 minutes later than our reservation time, and it was not a problem - our table was waiting. We had planned on sharing appetizers, unfortunately, the one Judy ordered (the duck pate), did not arrive. We did get a large order of some very delicious mussels that we all shared. Judy and I had a fresh cod fillet on a mound of rice with 8 or 10 mussels piled on our plates as well. Marcel ordered the seafood alfredo and Mike ordered the cod special which came on a salt cod cake. All of our food was delicious. The cod was fresh, perfectly done and truly delicious.
After dinner, we walked to George St. We had been told, we absolutely had to visit this very popular street while here. George Street is two blocks of bars, pubs and restaurants and nothing else. It is the centre of the entertainment district and its unique reputation has spread far and wide. We stopped for a beer at O’Reilly’s (cover $5), and to listen to some of the local music. It didn’t live up to our expectations.
It was sometime around 11 p.m. when we drove to Signal Hill to view the city at night. I am so glad we did this as it was a beautiful warm summer evening with very little wind and was absolutely gorgeous.
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