Halloween Mardi Gras - George Street

Last night St. John's held its annual Halloween Mardi Gras in George Street. The street of pubs.

The street was blocked off and we had to pay CA$10.00 entry fee. No exit from the street without having to pay entry again, so we were "stuck". :)

We arrived early at about 18H30 and everything was very very quiet. Andre, Mike (another Cougar pilot) and I had a beer at one of the pubs as we waited for things to happen. It wasn't long before people in costumes started passing and entering the pub we were in. Time had come to brave the cold in the street and see what was happening.

Most people were dressed in their Halloween costumes. The best costume competition of the nights prize was CA$5000.00 so the serious competitors had gone all out creating theirs. There were some incredible ones the work and time put into them was obvious.

As the night progressed it got colder, the main attraction other than the costumes was a band set up mid street, one just had to dance to keep warm which contributed to the festive atmosphere. All the pubs had "speed bars" set up outside with plastic cups as glasses were not allowed out of the pubs. We still went into the pub for a beer occasionally to warm up in the central heating.

The band started at 20H00 as the entrants had their costumes judged and photographed nearby.

The prize giving at 22H30 was a bit of a disappointment. We had seen some incredible costumes that didn't feature in the finals at all. We are not sure of the judging criteria but it obviously was not on looks!

The winner was a "Cod" costume made up of 4 people in the cod costume and a fisherman. I admit it was very good. We believe the creator has won the competition each year for the past 3!

Second was called "Lego mania" and was also  people each dressed as a Lego person. I do not remember what 3rd to 5th positions were supposed to be; which probably speaks loudly for their costumes. :)

Our favourites that did not feature were: "Robot man" an incredible costume made of cut up garbage bins! A 8 foot tall monster couple. A very beautiful Phantom of the opera couple (I don't know if that's what they called themselves its my name for them) An 8 foot "British" Grim reaper.

I can't think of them all the photos will speak for themselves.

By the time we left, after midnight, it was freezing. How the people in those costumes like Fairies in short strapless open tutu's; Muscle men in small shorts only and a few others could stand the cold. When we left the que to get in was right around the block. Obviously the party was just starting.

Breast Surgeon

Ninja turtles and Chopper pilot 

Vampire Waitress

Emma from Harry Potter

Check my udders? 

Cod fish

Fisherman catching Cod

Plastic soldier!

Robot Man

Ski Waitress clever in the cold

Horror Nurse

Pippi Langkous

Capt Jack Sparrow

This young lady was simply beautiful!

Have you seen my sheep?

Awesome Masks

How they don't freeze to death??

Mike and Ali

Trinity

6^th – 11^th October 2011

After nearly 6 weeks of working every day André finally was given some time off.

We decided to explore “the rock” (Newfoundland) and settled on the area of Trinity.  Trinity is about 3 hours drive from St. John’s. It is one of the oldest towns in Newfoundland. Its defensible harbour with plenty of room for ships and shores suited for development.

Merchants from Poole in England made Trinity the base for a new-world fishery. In the 1720’s Trinity was home to 30 permanent families and host to 200 – 300 seasonal fishermen a year! The population peaked in 1869 at more than 800 people.

Preservation of the buildings and cultural heritage has made Trinity one of, if not the, most notable heritage community in the province.

After weeks of glorious weather we left St. John’s in overcast rainy weather. One thing about this area, they say if you don’t like the weather wait half an hour and it will change. Well true to reputation the weather cleared as we drove and we experienced the beauty of “the rock” It seems to literally consist of Rock, tree groves and water. As we drove into Trinity it started snowing!! It wasn’t enough to form a layer on the ground but was nice to see.

We had booked our accommodation online and spotted the Reception office as we turned onto the road into Trinity. We were shown a little “hut” up the hill on the opposite side of the road misleadingly named “Super”. We drove across and walked in carrying our bags. To say it was “basic” was a compliment, I was sure I could hear the theme song of “deliverance “playing in the distance.   Due to the size of the room we had to go outside again to change our mind about staying there.  We then set off to find another Bed and Breakfast.

"Our" cottage on the left!

Our enquiries lead us to “Artisan Inn” in the heart of Trinity. We were given a room in “Lighthouse view” in a 2 bedroomed house 2 mins walk from the restaurant and office in Twine loft. The Twine Loft is part of the Artisan Inn and it is on premises once owned by Captin Stanely Barbour. It was here that Captain Barbour had his fishing room used to store gear for the fishery. 

The views,

 As they didn’t manage to rent out the second room we had the whole house to ourselves the whole weekend. The charmingly simple interiors are cosy and comfortable and spotlessly clean. The view across the bay to the lighthouse was stunning.

Dinner at their restaurant that evening was delicious. We had a wonderful evening laughing and chatting with staff and fellow guests. Being the start of their Winter most of the tourist attractions have already closed for the season like the renowned Trinity Theatre. We were sorry to miss it but will be back J

Saturday dawned with the sun trying its best to peep through the clouds but the biting wind was determined it was not going to be a warm day. We had plotted all the local Geocaches and set out to find them. It is a wonderful way to see areas you may not have thought to visit. The sun continued to peep in and out but as we found our last cache the wind chill factor was reducing the temp by at least 10 deg.

It was COLD!!

Geocaching sights!

The boat tour "Office"

 We had been told about a boat tour run by Bruce Miller who was born here and comes from a long line of Trinity settlers. The Rugged Beauty boat tour was hence booked for Sunday. Once again a cold day but at least the skies were clear. We were expecting some sort of cabin cruiser with it being so cold and had a good giggle at the open boat we were led to by Bruce. One of the other couples commented it wasn’t a boat but a canoe. J

The boat leaves from New Bonaventure harbour to the long abandoned communities of Kerley’s Harbour and Ireland’s Eye. The next stop it at British Harbour where Bruce has a house and we were treated to tea before setting off back to New Bonaventure. Despite the cold out on the water the tour lived up to its reputation! It was excellent. Bruce told us stories of his growing up in the area; his life as a fisherman and scallop diver. He talks of the times when the families were “forced” from the villages with deep emotion. His love of the area and the people is obvious and you “live” the stories as he tells them. 

Cold day on Rugged Beauty Boat Tour.

Ghost town!

Port Rexton

Bruce told us the Old Fishmen used to say
this harbour was so safe it was as if
God picked you up and put you in his pocket!

This is a reconstructed village for the TV series
"Random Passage"
after book of same name!

Fellow travelers

In addition to the fascinating history of the area the coastline and islands are simply beautiful. The areas where there used to be settlements and been reclaimed by nature. With the buildings having been wood they have simply returned to nature leaving little or no sign of them ever having been there.

It was Thanksgiving weekend and we had booked for a Traditional “Jiggs” dinner at “Erikson Restaurant”. This 18^th century has been beautifully restored. Most of the furniture is authentic period pieces. Its quaint and pretty. 

Our Jiggs dinner dining room

“Jiggs” dinner differs from the traditional dinner in that added to your plate is boiled corned beef and cabbage. Delicious!

So we experienced out first “Thanksgiving” without really knowing its origin. I have since “googled” it. It celebrates and gives thanks for the close of the harvest season. Its an American tradition dating back to 1623 after the harvest crops were gathered in Nov 1623 the Governor William Bradford proclaimed “All ye Pilgrims with your wives and little ones, do gather at the Meeting House, on the hill, there to listen to the Pastor and render thanksgiving to the Almighty God for all his blessings”. So that was the origin and it was passed by the US Congress to be a National Day in Nov 1777. It was legislated to fall on the third Thursday of December. Then on 1 January 1795 George Washington changed the date to February 19^th. IN October 1863 Abraham Lincoln changed the date again to the last Thursday of November.

In Canada they made it the second Monday in October, which is what we celebrated.

Monday was time to leave Trinity and we woke to find the weather had cleared. Murphy’s Law! We were very keen to walk the “Skerwink Trail”, so set off to take advantage of the good weather before heading back to St. John’s.

 

It is named after a local seabird from the Shearwater family. It starts in Trinity East and is a 5.3km loop. The terrain is very hilly and allows spectacular views of the coast, sea stacks and the surrounding towns of Port Rexton, English Harbour, Champney’s and Trinity. We also found all the geocaches hidden on the trail. The trail is supposed to take 2 hours but with geocaching and taking our time enjoying the views we took about 3 hours.

We stopped for coffee at the “Two Whales Coffee Shop”, and from there the long road back to St. John’s.