{"id":873,"date":"2023-08-23T12:28:20","date_gmt":"2023-08-23T16:28:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nadeo.ca\/daniel\/blog\/?p=873"},"modified":"2023-08-24T03:46:59","modified_gmt":"2023-08-24T07:46:59","slug":"turning-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nadeo.ca\/daniel\/blog\/2023\/08\/23\/turning-back\/","title":{"rendered":"Turning back"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Man, there are a lot of black flies at this campsite! I have to dress up to protect against them. My site is next to a beach, so the sound of the waves is relaxing as I fall asleep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I can see the sun rising from my camp. Oh good, I can use it to dry up my tent, as I pack up in the morning. I look forward to riding in sunny conditions after the past two days of rain. it doesn\u2019t take long for the tent to dry in the sun, so I\u2019m back on the road pretty soon after.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s still foggy in parts as I ride down toward the ferry, but it soon dissipates the farther I go. As I suspected, the landscapes are beautiful; I take the opportunity to take a few pictures on the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
Capstan Island<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Coastal
L\u2019Anse au Loup<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Coastal
L\u2019Anse au Clair<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As I arrive in Blanc-Sablon, I see the ferry arriving in the harbour, about to dock; I\u2019m just in time. I buy my ticket, and wait to board, chatting with other motorcyclists in line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Transport
Ferry to St. Barbe, Newfoundland<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The sea was much calmer than yesterday\u2019s. I have breakfast and watch a show on my iPad. It doesn\u2019t seem long before we reach St. Barbe. As I watch the ship enter the dock and start unloading trucks, I think of Steve who lives nearby and his stories; it warms my heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
Arriving at St. Barbe<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As I have some time, I decide to turn into Port au Choix to check out the National Historic Site. It\u2019s located on a rocky Peninsula, not too far from the 430.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I meet David at the Interpretation Centre, who speaks French\u2014he\u2019s from Blanc Sablon\u2014 and tells me the stories and significance of this place: two Inuit people, a First Nations tribe as well as Europeans lived here over the past 5,000 years. They found archeological evidence and artifacts of their passage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
David from Blanc-Sablon<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Museum
Exhibit at the interpretation centre<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Only 2 kilometres away, to the point of the peninsula is a lighthouse, where I watch a small heard of caribou, chilling and munching on the local flora.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
Pointe Riche Lighthouse<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Caribou
Caribou chilling<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Caribou
Caribou munching<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In the village, I stop at the Anchor Caf\u00e9: A cosy restaurant with style. As I walk in, I immediately smell the wonderful aroma of prepared seafood. Yum! I try their seafood chowder: it\u2019s delicious! It\u2019s certainly some of the best I\u2019ve had so far. I also had a dish of cod and halibut: just as scrumptious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
Anchor Caf\u00e9<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"A
Seafood Chowder at the Anchor Caf\u00e9 in Port au Choix<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I kiddingly give my waitress a hard time because she told me she doesn\u2019t like seafood, and couldn\u2019t recommend something based on experience. Ben l\u00e0! She works at a seafood restaurant! She was great nonetheless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m back on the road, well-satiated from the meal and my experience here. I\u2019m glad I took the detour. I set out on the long trip South, on the coastline Viking Trail to Gros Morne Park. This time, however, I seem to enjoy the view even more. The coastline road seems less boring this time around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Looking
The Viking Trail (Route 430)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Mountain
Landscape along the Viking Trail<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In the distance, on the left, I see a flat mountain range, broken up once in a while, like it was cut. These are the Fjords. I\u2019d love to see them up close one day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Mountain
Fjords<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Mountain
More fjords<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As I turn a corner, I was awed by one particular striking cut in the landscape. the picture doesn\u2019t do it justice: I was flabbergasted! I had trouble maintaining focus on the road: I couldn\u2019t keep my eyes off it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Breathtaking view around a bend<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I finally arrive in Gros Morne National Park. The longest part of the 430 is behind me, and I look forward to riding in the mountains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most beautiful route on my trip is the road from Rocky Harbour to the entrance of the park, in Wiltondale, specially with the late afternoon sun at my back: it\u2019s so awe-inspiring, I let it all in; I have goosebumps the whole way down. The road surface is pristine, the views\u2026 Oh, what views! I have no words. On the bike, it\u2019s absolutely exhilarating to ride; I get so absorbed in the experience, I forget to take pictures. I would do them no justice anyway, you\u2019ll just have to experience it for yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I make a pit stop in Corner Brook, then go a little farther South to the Barachois Pond Provincial Park to camp for the night. I reflect on the wonderful,<\/span> dynamic,<\/u><\/span> <\/span>peaceful, or captivating rides of the day. Man! I love this <\/span>place!<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
Barachois Pond Campground<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Map
Day 8: Pinware River to Barachois Pond<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Riding distance: 518km<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Man, there are a lot of black flies at this campsite! I have to dress up to protect against them. My site is next to a beach, so the sound of the waves is relaxing as I fall asleep. I can see the sun rising from my camp. Oh good, I can use it to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":896,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-873","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nadeo.ca\/daniel\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/img_2840-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1533&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nadeo.ca\/daniel\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/873","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nadeo.ca\/daniel\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nadeo.ca\/daniel\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nadeo.ca\/daniel\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nadeo.ca\/daniel\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=873"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.nadeo.ca\/daniel\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/873\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":971,"href":"https:\/\/www.nadeo.ca\/daniel\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/873\/revisions\/971"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nadeo.ca\/daniel\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/896"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nadeo.ca\/daniel\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=873"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nadeo.ca\/daniel\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=873"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nadeo.ca\/daniel\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=873"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}