Let me preface this post by saying: I’m outsidey, not outdoorsy (important to know).
The plan had been to take the ferry from North Sydney to Port Aux Basques (the shorter 8-hour ferry), work my way up to Gros Morne, across the island through Gander, east to the Avalon Peninsula, then back from Argentia to North Sydney on the longer 15-hour ferry. It was to be a 12-day trip. I’ve been to St John’s several times (and loved it), and toured the Avalon Peninsula a few years ago, but the rest would all be new to me.
In New Brunswick I started digging into the campground bookings and overall plans for Nfld. Okay, I ask this question (and I am being neither sarcastic, nor facetious): what is there to do in Newfoundland? I don’t mean in St John’s, which I do hope to visit again some day. I mean, what does a single woman travelling across Newfoundland do with herself each day?
I like going for a walk, but I wouldn’t say I’m much of a hiker. So after I’ve watched the sunset at Wreckhouse Brook, hiked the trails in Gros Morne, and visited the Aviation Museum in Gander (which I really had been looking forward to), what else would I do other than drive from point A to point B each day? (Oh, and L’Anse Aux Meadows, while that would be extremely interesting, is a 5 hour (one-way) detour off the Trans Can. And remember, I lived on Orkney for 2 years – I visited Viking settlements several times a month while walking Scout.)
I know there are those who consider this blasphemous, but I really didn’t see the point in spending 23 hours (8 + 15) on choppy water (I couldn’t get a berth on the ferry either way), then driving through repetitious (albeit beautiful, I grant you) countryside with nothing to do but go for walks.
So I cancelled. I called up the ferry and got my money back, added 3 days to my stay in PEI, and an extra week in Halifax (I like towns and cities, so sue me), and slept much better that night.
Steps before 9am: 7,111. Chips: 1/2 a small bag of Covered Bridge Dill Pickle