Day 9 (July 17, 2021): Fog is… for the birds!

Based on the weather forecast before leaving Halifax last week, we expected most of the trip to be shrouded in fog.  Up to last evening, sunshine -- not fog -- ruled our time in Newfoundland.  But by the time we arrived in Branch, the fog was as thick as pea soup, a situation that hadn't dissipated when we awoke this morning.

We had a wonderful breakfast in our AirBnB, enjoying several complimentary items from our host.  It was a relaxing and slow morning, as we hoped a delayed start might usher in an end to the fog.  But by the time we left Branch at 10:30AM, it was still as thick as ever.  We headed to nearby Point Lance to do a beach walk there, and then drove to Cape St. Mary's Ecological Reserve, the most accessible seabird colony in North America.  Accessible, perhaps, but the guide told us that on average 26 days in June and 25 in July each year see the site blanketed in fog!  Which took some of the sting away of our fog-bound experience there.

One good thing about the fog is that we had the place mostly to ourselves, apart from a small group of photographers and a videographer from Destination St. John's, who sported bigger camera lenses than we have ever seen!

After the Cape, we stopped in nearby St. Bride's for some incredibly fresh cod at The Bird's Eye Restaurant.  Then it was onward, up the western coast of the Avalon Peninsula, chasing the end of the fog bank or Placentia, whichever came first.  As it turned out, Placentia and the fog-end came hand in hand.

Historic Castle Hill and a well-done museum in Placentia filled our afternoon, before checking into another AirBnB.  We bought take-out food for dinner and just relaxed the last evening of our tour away.

While the fog was an unwelcome guest today, we did make the best of it and squeezed as much out of this section of the Avalon as we could.

Our AirBnB host left us freshly baked bread, eggs from her chickens, and bakeapple and partridgeberry jam -- two Newfoundland delicacies.  

The fishing fleet at Branch.  

We saw two herds of sheep in Branch.

The fog-bound beach at Point Lance, south of Branch.  Disney is going to start filming "Peter and Wendy" in Newfoundland next month, and rumour has it, six Persian horses will be flown in from Italy and will be filmed on this beach.

For now, however, the crabs have the place almost to themselves...

...although they have to share the sand with capelin.  Capelin are small, silver fish that roll onto Newfoundland beaches in late June and early July every year, like clockwork, to spawn.  They lay their eggs in the sand and then die.  These poor capelin clearly went through that cycle of life last evening.

This very bold Port Lance duck was walking right up the main road as we drove into the village, quacking up a storm, and quite oblivious to our presence.

In Newfoundland's past, a tilt was a temporary house made of logs and containing a rough stove that usually filled the place with smoke.  A heavy smoker was (is) often described as "smoking like a tilt".  In any event, it was fun to see a road in Port Lance named for this.

When you walk the 1KM distance from the visitor centre to Bird Rock at Cape St. Mary's, nothing prepares you for the number of birds, the smell and the sound you encounter when you arrive at the viewing cliff.  Most of these birds are gannets - estimated at up to 15,000 pairs.  They have had their young and will start leaving Cape St. Mary's by the end of July.  So even though it was foggy, it was a treat to be able to see them before they leave.

Cape St. Mary's Ecological Reserve protects the largest colony of the Northern Gannet in Newfoundland, which is also the third largest colony in North America  and the southernmost colony in the world.


Northern Gannets. Notice all the baby gannets!


Gannets to the left, kittiwakes on the ledges in grey. In addition to the major colonies of nesting seabirds (Northern gannet, black-legged kittiwake, common murre (also called tur), and thick-billed murre), you can see razorbill, black guillemot, double-crested and great cormorant, and Northern fulmar at Cape St. Mary’s.

Razorbill

The 1KM walk to Bird Rock at Cape St. Mary's in the thick fog.

The beach at Gooseberry Cove, on the western coast of the Avalon Peninsula.

Castle Hill contains the remains of both French and British fortifications, overlooking the town of present-day Placentia (known as Plaisance when the Frech dominated controlled the area). The site was established in 1662 to protect the lucrative French fishery in Newfoundland and the approaches to the French colony of Canada.  Long story short, the British and French went at each other until it was all resolved by the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, giving the British control of Newfoundland.  The last time we were at Castle Hill was in the 1970s!

Cannons at Castle Hill, overlooking the town of Placentia.

French fishermen at Placentia in the 1600s, drying their cod.  Part of the Parks Canada interpretive display at Castle Hill.

View of the Placentia Lift Bridge from Castle Hill.

The Placentia Lift Bridge spans the Placentia Gut, connecting the communities of Placentia and Jerseyside.  It was constructed in 2013-2014 and opened in 2016.  Some residents we spoke with complained that it had cost $50 million and doesn't work well -- it is infamous for getting 'stuck' and stranding people on one side or the other for hours.

Fishing boats and pleasure craft in the Placentia Gut.


Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Placentia.  Since it was built in 1886, it has been a distinguishing feature in the vista of what is known as the “Great Beach” of Placentia.

The young tour guides of O'Reilly House Museum seemed happy to have us come in at 4:55PM for an in-depth tour, even though they closed at 5PM!  Built in 1902, it was initially home to a magistrate and his family.


Rose Cottage, next to the Placentia Lift Bridge, is our AirBnB accommodation for the night.