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Trip Start Aug 20, 2008
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Trip End Sep 15, 2008


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Flag of Canada  , Newfoundland,
Friday, September 12, 2008

St. Anthony was followed by Corner Brook, Newfoundland.  As in Scrabster, Scotland and Greenland, the welcome in both towns was very warm.  Perched up on the top of the world with long dark winters and scant populations, the people welcome cruise ships and are delighted to share their scenery and heritage. Corner Brook's cruise ship count was down by 6 over the previous summer and this was clearly a cause for concern.  As in Scrabster, a band sent us on our way at the end of the day and everywhere the people went out of their way to be helpful and friendly.

Having read "Shipping News", with its bleak portrayal of desolation, we were pleasantly surprised by Newfoundland.  Recent years have brought a certain measure of prosperity.  Homes were attractive and well-kept.  Many were new. Both St. Anthony and Corner Brook had well equipped health facilities. Although the fishing industry has more or less collapsed, the Canadian government is keeping poverty in check. A paper mill provides an industrial base for Corner Brook. Some residents who have lost their livelihood with the decline in fishing, now commute to the Alberta oil fields for work.  Others (reluctantly) have moved out there.  House prices were not cheap as is often the case in a decaying or contracting community. People are paying good money to live in Newfoundland.  And one could see why.  We spent the day in Corner Brook hiking a lovely trail that followed a sparkling trout and salmon river with cascades, gorges, and waterfalls much of it passing through a pristine forest.  It was a setting that for most people in the world would involve many hours or days of travel to reach, but that for the folks in Corner Brook it was accessible by foot from downtown.  And in the winter, there were snowshoes, skis, and snowmobiles to enjoy it.

 

The cruise ended with a pleasant ride across the Gulf of St. Lawrence and then down the St. Lawrence River to Montreal with a stop in Quebec City.  It was nice to be back on the North American continent. Canada felt like home.  We are very much more similar than different. In Montreal we rented a car and drove back to New York.  The border crossing was quick and friendly.  We only had to give up two oranges and an apple and we were sent on our way. And thus our trip-of-a-lifetime came to a close.

 

 

 

 

 
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