July 23-24, 2024 – Avalon Peninsula, Eastern Newfoundland Coast

Tuesday, we took the Jeep to Hickman Crysler Dodge Jeep in St. John’s to have them check the transmission and fix the driver’s seat.  The transmission is okay, and it would take 2 weeks to get the part for the seat so we will wait to get that fixed when we get back to Arizona.



Wednesday, we drove the southeastern part of the Avalon Peninsula called The Irish Loop because of its strong Irish heritage.   We stopped at St. Vincent’s where we were hoping to be able to see whales from the beach.  The underwater cliffs drop down very suddenly enabling whales to come close to shore.  Usually, a great place to see whales but it was too foggy to see anything today.



We next stopped at the Cape Race Lighthouse, but it was so foggy we could hardly see it.  Cape Race lies along one of the busiest shipping lanes between Europe and North America.  The original cast iron tower was built in 1856 and was replaced in 1907 with a taller concrete tower and a more powerful lantern.  Cape Race Lighthouse is still operational and was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1974.

The nearby Myrick Wireless Station received the wireless distress call of the sinking R.M.S. Titanic on the night of April 14, 1912.






                The cliffs by the lighthouse were beautiful.






On our way to Mistaken Point, we passed this small pond that had model ships on it.  These are just a few of the many ships.  We think these boats are a wintertime hobby for the people who live in the house by the pond.






We drove through the Mistaken Point UNESCO Ecological Reserve and stopped to take a short hike on the Rookery Trail to get a view of the sea birds.  Unfortunately, the fog was so dense when we got to the cliff edge that we could not see any birds.






We did find this beautiful little waterfall beside the road.








We stopped at Ferryland, one of the oldest European settlements in North America.  The Colony of Avalon, as it was named, was founded in the 1620s by Lord Baltimore, whose family later founded the American colony of Maryland.







The rock formations in the bay were beautiful.






The lighthouse on the hill was built in 1870.  It was a 25-minute hike to the lighthouse in the rain, so we opted not to see it.

We continued our drive along the coast and at Witless Bay we decided to book a puffin and whale watching boat excursion for tomorrow morning.  Hopefully, we will ge to see whales this time!

Another wonderful day in Newfoundland - we had a great time even in the fog.







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