Where can you see the first sunrise in North America, visit the largest Atlantic puffin colony in North America, and wander around quaint fishing villages? Newfoundland, of course! Today I took a drive along part of Newfoundland’s Irish Loop (named for the many Irish immigrants to Newfoundland) from St. John’s to Ferryland and back.
As the most easterly point in North America, Cape Spear sees the first rays of sunlight on the continent each day, and I was among the first to witness it this morning. Cape Spear Lighthouse National Historic Site is about a 20-25 minute drive south of St. John’s. I was not alone but managed to find some space to myself on the lower viewpoint as the sky turned pink and then filled with light. After the main event I walked around the lighthouse and took some pictures of the surrounding cliffs in the early morning light.
The largest colony of puffins in the world is located on Gull Island, part of the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve. Boat tours leave from nearby Bay Bulls and circle the island for a close up view of the hundreds of thousands of birds on the island. I took a 90-minute tour this morning and the puffins were quite a sight! We didn’t see any whales, but did encounter a bluefin tuna and sunfish on the way back to shore.
After all the puffin sightings, I needed a snack. The Tetley Tea Room in Ferryland overlooks the water and I enjoyed a British style blueberry tea biscuit with mixed berry jam and whipped cream. It was delicious, despite the whipped cream tasting suspiciously like Cool Whip.
Ferryland ended up being my favorite stop of the day. Besides my tea biscuit “lunch”, I found a tiny little harbor with some very picturesque boats tied up. Then it was on to the Ferryland Lighthouse. You can park part way up to the lighthouse and then walk the last 15 minutes or so. The lighthouse is perched at the edge of a cliff with the waves crashing below.
On the way back to St. John’s, I stopped at Chafe’s Landing in Petty Harbour for dinner. The codfish tacos and No Boats on Sunday cider hit the spot. The little fishing village of Petty Harbour provided lots of photo opportunities while I walked off my dinner, and a scoop of cinnamon bun ice cream capped off the night.
Traveling with Laura 