June, 2018
Saying goodbye to the tickle, Captain Dave and Christine we headed off to St. John’s, the Capitol of Newfoundland and home to over 500,000 people. We couldn’t help but notice that the terrain was so much different on this side of The Rock. The west coast was rocky with sheer cliffs overlooking the Labrador Bay and occasional rock strewn beaches but forest prevailed. It was lush, thick and green (except The Tablelands!). This side of the island features rolling hills and rocky cliffs down to the ocean, but it is more brown than green and not lush.
The drive went quickly, and it soon became apparent that we were approaching a large metropolitan area. Three-lane, divided highways at rush hour looks the same world-wide! We dropped our bags and headed to downtown Saint John’s and the famous George Street. We had a pint and dinner at the Duke of Duckworth’s (on Duckworth Street – what’d ya expect?). The pub looks so much older; low ceilings, lots of dark wood and exposed stone, tables almost on top of one another and a unique bar with a wide variety of ales and beers on tap. The place was boisterous and filled with people of all ages: working stiffs, locals and tourists like us. No fancy-dressed staff; just delightfully attentive young people who made our experience very enjoyable. Even the washroom didn’t disappoint. On the wall were these words: “There are 2 things I like Graffiti and Irony.”
After dinner, we wandered the streets, looking for Christian’s Bar where we were headed the next evening to be “Screetched In” (patience, patience my dear reader – more about this later). We booked out time for the next day, and with a full belly, excited thinking about becoming honorary Newfoundlanders and just a bit road weary we called it a night.
After breakfast, we headed out to O’Brien’s Whale and Bird Tour for a two-hour cruise (there’s that damn 2 hour-tour again – might not be a 3-hour tour, but you’re humming that tune. Admit it!) to the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve, home to Puffins and “millions of other seabirds,” according to their website. And there, by the side of the road, we spotted a young moose enjoying his breakfast. Finally another moose to add to the count!
The O’Brien’s tour lived up to all of its hype, and the Witless Islands Ecological Reserve is incredible! But first and along the way out to the Reserve we were able to see yet another Bald Eagle standing guard over its nest.
For anyone who was terrorized by the Alfred Hitchcock movie “The Birds”, this may not be the tour for you. We were astounded and amazed by all the thousands of birds we saw. Thick-billed Murre, Yellow-legged Gulls, and a half-million Puffins delighted all of us. The birds were fascinating and mesmerizing to watch, and the tour ended much too quickly. We could have stayed all day.
AND, on the way back to the harbor, we sighted the back and fluke of two Humpback whales as they rose to the surface of the ocean to spout and take a quick breath before diving back down to continue their meal.
After lunch we decided to finish our outdoor activities with a trip to Cape Spear Lighthouse – the eastern most point North America. It was a cold blustery, bone-chilling day but we ventured out to the point, and then hiked to the old lighthouse only to be disappointed to learn that it was not open to the public. Quickly we hurried back to the car to warm ourselves before we headed to downtown St John’s for our Screetch In.
Christian’s Bar is the place to be Screetched In. But it is a cozy bar first – a great place to hang out, have a pint and, today, to watch the world cup. The place filled quickly with lots of tourists waiting for the ceremony, which by the way couldn’t begin until the match was over. The Portugal vs. Spain match ended in a tie, a great kick off for the events to come that evening.
Chef Loopie prepared his famous moose bologna for us by sauteing it in a large skillet with screetch rum (screetched in-get it?), some Cajun seasoning, and then he burned off all the alcohol, used a little port and finished it off with some saffron. Seriously – it is moose bologna afterall! He bragged that he had prepared this bologna for a Food Network chef, and once she had tasted his meat…aw yes, bawdy indeed…she declared Loopie to be a chef. Once cut up into bite-sized pieces we all had the glory of a bite.
Chef Loopie then shared his (unsubstantiated?) version of the history of Newfoundland, beginning with John Cabot who sailed from Bristol, England to Bonavista Bay on the NE coast of the island. One day Cabpt observed some activity in the water, lowered his bucket into the sea, and when he pulled it out, the bucket was filled with cod fish. Word got out about how plentiful the fish were, and people traveled from all over to settle in Newfoundland and to catch, sell and trade the fish. One place of trade was Jamaica (let’s see Newfoundland to Jamaica is how far, and the date in history was?). In Jamaica they make rum, and the fishermen loved the rum so much they would kiss a cod goodbye, knowing it was coming back to them as their now beloved beverage (you buying this yet?). Sooooo in keeping with that time-honored tradition, Chef Loopie introduced us to his “little buddy,” a real (albeit frozen) cod fish. Had it not been caught, Chef Loopie says the cod in his hands would have grown to a height of six feet and weighed 130 pounds (a fish story?). He claimed his daughter caught it last summer, and she decided her fish should become the most loved fish to come out of the waters of Saint John’s. Since Chef Loopie has used it ever since his daughter’s wish is fulfilled. We were directed to pucker up and to give this fish a kiss. He then went through the bar and with roars of laughter, we all became subjects of youtube legend .
Shot glasses of screetch rum were then passed out, and once everyone had a glass, Chef Loopie said he would like to make a special toast. He said he had had the honor of meeting Anthony Bourdain who completed this ceremony here at Christian’s. He wanted to honor Bourdain with a toast in his memory: “here’s to health and your company, and one for the lasses. Let’s drink and be merry and drink with our glasses, let’s drink and be merry all thoughts to refrain, for we may or may not ever be all here again. ” We then tossed back our shot glasses and tasted what had to be the foulest, nastiest tasting alcohol we had ever experienced.
He still had a phrase he had to teach us. It was “aye bye.” It means “the weather is nice today…I agree.” He said it was a phrase we could use in any situation when speaking to anyone from Newfoundland. It’s easier than asking them to repeat whatever it was they had just said because repeating it wouldn’t help us understand what had been said anyway! Just say “aye bye.” He had us practice, and a lot of people said “aye boy.” He gently corrected us by reminding us when we shop in America for electronics it’s at Best Buy, not at Best Boy.
We then moved on to what Chef Loopie called “the graduate level phrase” of being an honorary Newfounlander. We were told that when asked if we were ready to complete our Screetch In, the proper response is “Deed I is me old cock, and long may your big jib draw.” Of course this brought loud uproarious laughter followed by a scolding that this wasn’t sixth grade health class! Deed I is me old cock comes from cockney English and means yes I am my old friend. The last half means may your big sails be filled with wind which is a wish for good luck. We parroted the phrase one more time and Chef Loopie declared us all honorary Newfoundlanders. Rowdy shouts of joy followed, and we each received a certificate, suitable for mounting. Stop by Christian’s if you’re in the neighborhood!
Saturday morning took us on a bumpy road to Argentia for our ferry ride back to Nova Scotia. Along the way we couldn’t help but to stop to admire the view in Placentia.
The car ride to the ferry was bittersweet. We recalled all the places, people and experiences that filled eight days spent on this beautiful island. We had heard that the people of Newfoundland were different from other people we might encounter in our travels, and we would heartily agree. You are treated like family when you’re here.
Barbara and Brian
Aimless Wanderings 