It Never Snows in Newfoundland

There !!! I have your attention…

Lefty and I got out of Newfoundland 18 hours before 30 cm of snow fell on much of the island. That was just one piece of luck in a long string of lucky events.

I’ve chased the Northern Lights from Iceland to the Yukon with NO sightings. Maybe having Lefty with me this time made a difference. Seeing icebergs (for our first time) was the lucky highlight of the trip. Mind you, we saw just the early few. As we were flying out of St. John’s for home, there had been sightings farther north of dozens of ‘bergs heading south.

A grounded iceberg at Bonavista, NFLD.

Three important things you need to know about Newfoundland: first, the wind is relentless. The people of Newfoundland have containers at the end of their driveways to hold household garbage for pick up. They are made of wood, fixed into the ground and have a hinge cover on them. Foolishly, we thought it was to keep wildlife out, but no. It’s to keep them from blowing away!

Next, potholes. No… craters. It’s still legal for cars to have studded tires and they take their toll on the roads. Caution Pothole signs were frequent and plentiful. Montreal has nothing on Newfoundland. Watch the driver ahead of you, if he swerves, you swerve, lest you be swallowed up in one of them.

Lastly, directional road signs. They are optional. We would miss exits because they weren’t marked. Many signs are hidden behind vegetation, some say ‘turn now’ when they really mean, turn in about a half a mile! Some had just blown away.

All of these became standing jokes as we merrily gasped, backtracked and swerved our way up the beautiful eastern most coast.

I could easily live in Newfoundland. The scenery is varied and spectacular, the winters are long, but not all THAT cold, and the music and culture is as wonderful as the Newfoundlanders’ accents. I became used to being called “my love” by Newfoundlanders everywhere I went, from restaurants to hardware stores. And about the hardware stores. Home Hardware is in every single town in Newfoundland no matter how small.

Enjoy the photos below, and if you want to know “Whaddya at?” – Dis is it.