Well, after months of planning, my travel date finally arrived! I was lucky to get a window seat on both legs of my trip from Vancouver to Toronto and then on to St. John’s. I love looking at the earth from above, identifying features, places, geological processes…What a massive and beautiful country we have!
I arrived in St. John’s late last Wednesday night to biting wind, rain, and a temperature of 7 degrees Celcius! I quickly organized my rental car, and found my way to Memorial University to stay in their residence accommodation for my first night. So fun to have my own residence room! It takes me back to being 18 and having my first home-away-from home.
The next morning, after a quick continental breakfast. I headed off to Cape Spear, the most easterly point on mainland North America. It’s the closest I can get to Ireland without crossing the ocean. When I am in Ireland, I will also visit the most westerly point of Europe. When I left St. John’s, it was still overcast and windy, with some rain it the air. When I got to Cape Spear, the wind had picked up and it was difficult to open the car door! After I managed to push my way out, the wind ripped right through my fleece and stole all of my body heat in about two seconds so I hustled back in the car and put on another shirt and my rain coat and my rain pants. I put on a hat and tied up my hood, grabbed my camera, pushed my way out again, and tried my best to to stay upright! I headed towards the water and balls of sea foam were flying past me like large windblown snowflakes. It was exhilirating! I love the formidable and impressive and mighty North Atlantic!
Cape Spear lighthouses from a distance. The lighthouse on the left is operational, and fully automated. The lighthouse on the right has been decomissioned and is now a very interesting museum set up to show how the early lighthouse keepers and their families lived and worked in such isolation and hard conditions.
My photos do not do justice to the size of the waves!
