Newfoundland Ho!

Monday, August 5, 2019

Jane and I got up, ate breakfast and broke camp early today. On the way to the ferry, we topped off the diesel tank and added a little DEF (diesel exhaust fuel). We received our tickets at the check-in booth and queued up in lane 11 as instructed. Separate lanes were designated for trucks (2), RVs (2) and cars (4). A shuttle also took two loads of “walk-on” passengers. We had a little over an hour before the loading was to commence and so we walked around the ferry terminal and the main street of Sydney. We ended up at a Tim Horton’s for coffee and also got Beyond Sausage (plant-based) biscuits with egg and cheese. While back at the RV waiting for loading, we chatted with the couple behind us who were from the Niagara, NY, area and were heading to the same campground as us after disembarkation. Loading was a long and involved process with a large curved concrete ramp for trucks and a lower separate ramp for cars and RVs. Lanes were loaded in an alternating supervised pattern. We parked in our designated spot in the bowels of the ferry, gathered our bags of snacks, water, coats and electronics, and waddled up the crowded stairs from level 3 to level 7 with our co-passengers.

Loading Trucks on the Ferry to Newfoundland

Level 7 of the ferry was massive and full of reclining chairs with headphone jacks, television screens,  and a curved row of windows at the front (which actually was revealing the view from the rear of the ferry). There was also a coffee bistro and full restaurant. We settled in on the second row for the slow six-hour journey. I started reading my second ebook, Wolf Pack, by C.J. Box. (No association with the NCSU Wolfpack.) Occasionally, Jane or I, would get up to explore the ferry including going outside but we were forbidden to go back to our vehicles. Level 8 had nice reserved seating, reserved hotel-style rooms for sleeping and an ice cream parlor. Level 9 was for authorized personnel only.

Goodbye Cape Breton

The Nova Scotian coast eventually disappeared and we were in open seas until the last hour of the journey when the Newfoundland coast appeared and gradually became larger and larger. Our destination, Port aux Basques, had a circular harbor with small quaint buildings lining the hillside. The surrounding coastline spun before us as the massive ferry slowly made a 180 degree turn in the harbor in order to back into the dock.  When permitted, we all descended to our vehicles and eventually disembarked. This process was much faster than embarkation. We drove into a new province and a new time zone, St. Johns, and so, set our clocks forward one half an hour.

Level Seven

Hello Newfoundland

We emerged from the dark bowels of the ferry into bright sunshine and a maze of highways and traffic. After driving in circles bewildered and hungry for awhile, we found the correct highway to our campground. After smooth driving for about a half an hour, we exited the highway, then checked in and set up at the Grand Codroy RV/Tent Camping Park near Doyles. The RV sites here are huge and ours has a view of the water. We had a light dinner, enjoyed the sunset and a brief rain shower, and discussed plans for tomorrow before turning in.

Sunset at the Campground