I love when our day starts bright and early. We have a three hour drive right off the boat today and when we get there, I can finally relax. 

The bells and PA announcements have guaranteed an early start and by 7:00 AM the bus tires are firmly in Newfoundland. We immediately can see what makes this island different and what gives it its almost mystical appeal. The mountains are covered in pines and birch making you feel like you just made it north of The Wall. 

I have so much planned for us on this island and everyone is excited to see what I scheduled, including me. Newfoundland is a geologists playground and I have tried to find every unique geological wonder to take my Sweet Love to. The end of the road here is L’anse aux Meadows, the original landing spot of the Vikings in North America and our midway point where we turn around and begin the long haul home. 

Today, I have taken us to Blow me Down Provincial Park. This entire area is covered in a National Park and international UNESCO geosite, this park on the edge was the scraps left over for the province to maintain a park of their own. If this is merely a taste of what’s to come, the next two weeks are going to be wild fun.  After an hour driving along a fjord we can’t stop staring out the windows and we also begin to realize how rural the area is. I apparently took a big swing in the other direction and we have not had electricity for a few nights and it doesn’t look like it’s coming any time soon. We really didn’t prepare for this at the hostel and currently even our water tank is empty. We pull up to a campground so far off the main road that only the most enthusiastic and interested hikers and geology nerds make it out this far. We continue our streak of perfect weather and the locals often remind us how lucky we’ve been in that regard, especially when they discuss last week’s weather. On the way, we find a lobster shack right on the water to get some lunch. Obviously, judging by all the lobster boats in the bay, I decide to try the lobster, the price is amazing so I’m sure it’s not fresh but at 25 dollars for an entire Lobster meal, it’s worth it.  The server returns shortly with some guy in work gloves, he explains that it’s time for me to pick my lobster… unexpected but too late now, we follow this duo down to the end of a dock where he pulls on a rope until a lobster trap emerges. Once up on the dock, he opens the trap and they start shuffling through giant lobsters. I get the feeling most people in this situation know what they are doing on this island but I stood there like a doofus until I muster up a “which one would you pick?” Conveniently he chose the one in his hand and took him in the back and buttered him up so good. Freshest meal of my life.

Once at our campground we are informed that the entire island has a fire ban as of last night. Almost all the meals we bought were designed to be cooked over the fire but we will adjust without fires for the next few weeks. To further complicate things, the campground water pump gave out right as we were starting laundry. So now we have no clean clothes, no fresh water or ability to get any, no showers, and nothing is charged. Luckily for us, this changes nothing, we are prepared and just pull the emergency water reserves out from under the seats. The reason we keep forgetting to charge up devices is because we aren’t using them so who cares. Laundry is gonna be a problem but don’t blame me for that, I planned correctly! 

This whole peninsula is known for interesting mineral combinations and the rocks down by the water are colorful and the crystal clear water makes them sparkle. We decide to explore the sea cave near our site before hiking up the top of the mountain that towers over our campground. The views are stunning and like I was hoping, the landscape is super unique compared to anything we’ve seen thus far on any trip. The forest here feels wild and comforting all at once. 

At night, as has become tradition, the kids stage a Junior Top Chef contest and ask us to judge. It’s funny watching them mimic their favorite show in playdoh form, plating their dishes just right as they race the imaginary clock. Night after night they wait for the verdict only to be disappointed by our decision that the choice is too hard and no one will be sent home this week.