Introduction

Newfoundlanders seem fascinated with outsiders.  When they spot one, they will approach and ask "D'you come from away?"  Then they will ask where you're from, is this your first visit to Newfoundland, and what do you t'ink of it?  They are the friendliest and kindest people on the planet.  If they have two of something, one is for you. With this blog I hope to share stories and photos of our first visit, an unforgettable five-week trip around "The Rock".

Some of the best literature coming out of Canada in the past decade or so has come from there.  Wayne Johnston's "The Colony of Unrequited Dreams" is a fascinating account of the trials and tribulations of Joey Smallwood, who would become the province's first Premier when Newfoundland joined Canada in 1949.  Michael Crummey's "Galore" paints a mystical picture of life in the fishing outports.  Even outsiders have come from away for literary inspiration - take E. Annie Proulx for example - she wrote "The Shipping News" while staying in a B&B near L'Anse Aux Meadows (more about that in a later post!).  For touching tales of the unwavering kindness and generosity of Newfoundlanders, read "The Day The World Came To Town - Gander 9/11" by Miami-based journalist Jim DeFede.

We had wanted to visit Newfoundland for quite some time. We had considered flying into St. John's for a quick holiday, but we really wanted to see Gros Morne National Park, some 800km away.  And L'Anse Aux Meadows which is another 400km north of that.  We needed to wait until we had a decent amount of time to do the island justice.  Finally, this summer we found ourselves in a position to do just that and set out by car from Toronto on July 25th.

We drove over 8,000km in total with about 4,000 of those on the island.  We were able to see almost the entire island - except for the south coast which is only accessible by boat.  The map below shows our route, starting at Channel-Port Aux Basques on the southwest coast to Argentia in the east where we took the 16 hour ferry back to the mainland.

It was an amazing trip with Nen (http://www.nenslens.blogspot.com/) taking over 4,000 photos, a tiny fraction of which appear in this blog.  I hope you enjoy it!!