During the last week of March this year I came across some Air Canada flight deals to various destinations and it was then I was triggered again to visit Gros Morne. The closest airport to Gros Morne was Deer lake and there were some flight deals costing around 250$ less than the normal price or the price which I would have paid if I had gone there in Sep 2009. Well I was all happy to see the deal, but the problem is I need to find days to go there. I don’t have much vacation days left as I have already used them all, so the only option is to look out for long weekends and see if I can monetize them for my trip. A long weekend of 3 days is for sure not going to be sufficient to see all Newfoundland but at least I can cover this national park which was the main inspiration for me. Checking the holiday calendar, airfare deal calendar and the weather conditions and tourist attractions calendar I had 2 choice of dates to pick from and I decided to settle for July where I got a holiday on Thursday, so taking one day off on Friday I would get four days to spend. Well that seemed to be a good option and I Immediately booked my flight through air Canada from June 30th to July 5th, going on June 30th evening after office hours and returning back on July 5th morning before office hours with 4 full days to spend in Gros Morne and nearby areas.
The first major step of flight booking has been done; the next was to search for accommodation and transportation. After spending some time with google I was convinced that it is going to be a costly vacation as the prices for everything was way over my expected budget and it made me raise my budget for the vacation from around 800$ to 1200$, well this budget if for an economic bachelor backpacking vacation, double or triple this figure for a comfortable luxury vacation here. After learning the cost conditions there I had to spend another couple of weeks over internet to find something fitting my raised budget. The search paid off and I was able to find a hostel inside the park which was offering a 4 day stay and play package for around 300$ including the western brook pond boat tour, a half day sea kayaking and a full day biking, transportations between attractions and airport pickup and drop. Transportation too is a problem there as there seems to be no public transportation available and even the ones running are very scarce and not frequent. Considering all the facts I was well convinced to book it as I did not find any other better option as this package is going to take care of all my transportation needs as well along with the stay. Enquiring with them I was told to book as soon as possible as it was peak season and I did the same as I didn’t want to take any chances this time already missing once last year.
Now that the second major step of accommodation and transport was also booked, I am all set to go there and take the boat tour. But I have 4 days to spend there so I had to look out for more things that can be done there. Again it was the internet I went to find more fine details about the places to see and things to do in Gros Morne and I had a big list which no way will fit in to my 4 day schedule. After carefully going through each one of them and filtering them out to my taste, choice and importance of the place I ended up with a doable list. The list had the following 5 activities which will fill full 4 days
- Day hike to the Gros Morne Mountain overlooking 10 Mile pond
- Day hike to western Brook Pond overlooking the pond
- Visit to Gros Morne Tablelands (Which was once part of Earths Mantle)
- Western Brook pond Boat tour of the fjords
- Travel 400 Km north to St Anthony to take the Northland discovery boat tour to see the whales, icebergs and visit L’Asne aux meadows ( The only Vikings settlement historical site in NA)
On mailing my plan to the hostel guys I was told that they can arrange for all the other activities as well with an additional cost. They also informed me that my plan is cumbersome and too tight for 4 days. Well even worse is that when they confirmed me that I can not take the day hike to western Brook Pond overlooking the pond as that was a 4 day hike. Oops. Actually I wanted to take this hike to go to a location behind the western brook pond in to the fjord from where the opening of the fjord and the mountains can be seen with a mesmerizing view and this is the picture being featured in all Newfoundland ads related to Gros Morne and I have attached the same here. I wanted to go this point somehow and get that picture. In order to go to that point I need to take the Western brook pond boat tour and get off at the other end of the pond and hike up 6 km to reach that point and the hostel people confirmed that it needs special permit from the Park which was not a problem for me to get but the 6 km hike up to the pond itself it a 4 hour hike because of the landscape conditions there. After so much of thinking and after convincing myself I had to give up on the hike to that point. Though I was disappointed I was consoled that I can still hike up the Gros Morne Mountain to see the 10 Mile pond from its peak and get a nice picture of the scenery there. The rest of my plan remained in tack with no additions or removals. The hostel guys also agreed to arrange for my trip north to St. Anthony combining with a couple more people for around 150$ transportation alone so I was contended. The day of my flight on 30th June 2010, I had packed my backpack last night and took it along with me to office as I was going to go to airport directly from office. I checked for the weather forecast for the next 4 days in Gros Morne and was a bit let down as it showed rain for 2 days and cloudy the other two days with partial sunlight. Well nothing can be done now, I hoped for the best and left office at 4:30 PM, Caught the bus at 4:45 PM and reached airport at around 5:15 PM. My Flight was scheduled at 6 PM and I was there well before time.
1st July 2010:
The flight took off on time and with a short transit in Halifax I reached Deer lake airport at around 00:30 AM midnight. My pickup from Airport to hostel was at 7 Am in the morning and I had already planned to stay at the Airport for the night. It was a pretty small airport where we had to walk down the plane to the open airport grounds and in to the airport. If I remember correctly, that was the only flight that was in the airport that time and after landing the airport was almost empty in the next half hour but with a few people waiting for next flight. I wandered around looking for a lounge which did not exist and ended up on a chair browsing through some tourism booklets which were seen all around and there were few racks of them besides where I walked up to see if there is anything interesting to do apart from my planned activities. I was soon feeling sleepy, sat on one of the chair in the row of waiting chair and was soon asleep with some difficulty sleeping while seated. I tried to turn, bend, twist, and maneuver myself in to a position where I can sleep comfortably but could not find one. Somehow I lied down occupying 3 chairs and with my backpack supporting my head I went to sleep soon. Sometime around 3 AM my uncomforting bedding woke me up and I put some newspapers down and tried to sleep on the floor which was too cold and I dropped the plan in seconds. I was back to my original bedding position and went to sleep soon again for the second time. I woke up at around 5:30 AM in the morning and to my surprise I felt fresh with proper sleep. Well that does not happen often for me after sleeping on a chair, I was glad it did that day.
By that time I could see some crowd inside the airport which was empty till then. The only washroom in the airport helped me freshen up for the day and by around 6:15 I started to wait for my pickup. With nothing else to do I started wandering around the only gift shop which was seen inside the airport. Soon within minutes the airport was empty again and I was wondering why.. oh ya all the people who were there have already boarded and their flight was on the runway ready to take off, and as usual that was the only flight which was there in the airport that time, I watched it take off gently and disappear in the fog shortly. The time was around 6:30 and I started taking some pictures of what interested me around. At around 6:45 someone entered the airport and he was heading directly towards me as I was the only person waiting there and I could easily guess it was the hostel owner daine from the Gros Morne hostel picking me up to the hostel. We were out of the airport and after short introduction to his girl friend (I believe) we were in his car. He handed over to me a printout with the quotation of price list for activities which I wanted to do which read like
- Day hike to Gros Morne - $120
- Day Trip to Table Lands - $120
- Trip to St Anthony - $400
Oops, that’s shocking to see how much I have to spend again. After thinking for a while I decided to take only day hike to Gros Morne with them and do the rest myself somehow. After negotiating he agreed for $100 for the hike and the hike was happening the same day at around 9 AM. So I was mentally prepared for the hike which was a 16 Km loop of 6 to 8 hours.
We were on the way driving and in 15 to 20 minutes after leaving the Deer lake airport we entered the Gros Morne Park. The Sun started to come out and it was a beautiful weather and I was so pleased that it is a good day for hiking. The hiking trail usually officially opens for the year on July 1st every year and I was there on the very first day to hike the mountain. The scenery around the road started changing soon after we entered Gros Morne. The never ending stack of Pine trees started to accompany us along the side of the roads, the never ending chain of the Gros Morne Mountains started accompanying the Pine trees, then came the beautiful landscape of the lakes with the background of the tall green mountains, the mesmerizing reflections of the green mountains, blue sky, white clouds, pine trees on the crystal clear pure waters of the pond, the winding road going up and down this beautiful landscape with each bend and turn giving a different view of the never ending beauty of nature, I was all lost at first sight of Gros Morne, I now believe in love at first sight. My hands were searching for my camera while my eyes were busy admiring and lost in the nature’s beauty, I decided to leave the camera alone. I anyways have 4 days to capture the beauty I see there that day. I did end up taking a lot many pictures of the pristine nature in my 4 days but the first view what I saw was captured only by the lens of my eyes and not my camera. I feel confined as I could not post that scene what I saw that day here, it still lingers in my eyes, may be I need to pick up my painting brushes which I had dropped off years ago and try to recreate that image which nature has produced that day. But for now it is just the description I have got. I have got a picture taken later during my stay there which is 25% close to what I described here and I am posting it here just to help with the imagination of the actual view ( Please add virtually sunshine, clouds, blue sky, reflections in the water :) )
After another hour of driving along the amazingly painted artwork of nature we reached the hostel which was located in a small community of 17 people which I learnt later with a few houses. Each community is almost that small inside Gros Morne and is separated by at least 20 km. Glad it is that way that we are able to still see the pure nature untouched by humans. It was around 8 AM in the morning I reached the hostel where I will be staying for the rest of my 4 days in Gros Morne. It was a small hostel with the owner, and the guide staying there with a couple of guests. The Owners kid was there that day and they had a nice dog Sierra. As told by the hostel owner Daine it came and recorded my scent at the first encounter and from then on it never barked at me and considered me as a well known person for the rest of the 4 days. Sierra was my first interaction with a Dog in my entire life apart from a small puppy which I had for a couple of weeks in my childhood and lost it later. I was bit scared of its size(doesn’t look so in the picture because of the angle but it was big enough to scare me ) in the beginning, added to it I was told that it was half coyote, but later got used to it as it was a very friendly nice dog. At around 8:30 the hostel owner Daine and his girl friend were packed Lunch for all the hikers that day and handed over to the guide Dave and at around 8:45 AM I was out with Dave in their car with my hiking backpack (just for name sake, it just had a water bottle and an umbrella and a t-shirt, nothing more). It was then I remembered that I did not have anything for breakfast in the morning and will not be having anything till noon. I didn’t know if I am going to survive till afternoon and I did not feel like asking him to stop somewhere as there were no shops around and we have to start the hike by 9 AM. Mostly it was like I did not feel like bothering him to be precise. He drove to a location where we picked up 3 more persons who joined us for the hike and headed to the parking lot Gros Morne hiking trail. One more person was waiting there to join us and we six including the guide started off with the hike at around 9 AM. As it was cold I was with my full shirt on with a jacket over it to protect myself from cold weather.
From the trail starting point it was a 4 KM initial hike to the Gros Morne mountain base where we had to hike through the trees. On the way our Guide Dave explained us and showed examples of how their forest was getting destroyed, strangely this time not by humans but by nature itself, the winds uprooting the trees completely or breaking them off and the Moose munching off the budding leaves on the branch edges limiting the trees growth etc. He also pointed us a bear marking on one of the trees. Well I was scared now, that was huge and I am glad I was not hiking alone which I once thought of doing and later decided against because of the same reason. At the early part of our hike we crossed a small wooden bridge over flowing water, the music of which could be heard for a long distance, it also made a great sight too. Within a small distance we could hear the sound of water falls but could not see it anywhere nearby, may be it was hiding in the bushes somewhere. We went on chit chatting amongst us and with the trees around us. The day was getting hot with the rising sun and with our hike I had to first remove my jack and then change to t-shirt, it was really getting hotter.
After almost an hours hike we reached a higher spot from where we could see the tableland mountain of Gros More which can be clearly distinguished from the other mountains because of lack of vegetation there as it was once a part of earths mantle filled with minerals not suitable for vegetation and had emerged out during tectonic collisions. We stopped for a while and took some pictures there with the tablelands at the background. 
After another half hours hike we reached the base of the Gros Morne Mountain from where we could see the full view of the majestic Gros Morne Mountain standing in front of us waiting for us to conquer. Though it knows we have come to conquer it, it did not pose a threatening look but posed a pleasing welcoming look exposing its majestic beauty inviting us to conquer it. We stopped for a while to gain some energy and soon we were heading to it. Out guide soon pointed out a warning board which we almost ignored because of the weather that day ( read the board and you will understand why)
We continued our hike towards the Mountain. I could already hear my hungry stomach shouting at me even before reaching the mountain base but I turned deaf to its musings. We were going at a medium pace as we had an elderly guy as well in our group. There were many other apart from our group doing the hike, some on their own and some in groups who kept passing by with a greet. We kept going in our pace. The trail was a rocky path which must have been the water flow path during rainy season and that was clearly visible. We were walking on the stone pieces and had to be extra careful not to get our ankles twisted as they were all loose rocks and stones. We kept climbing and climbing and climbing and climbing, the mountain which looked not so big from the base as you could have felt seeing the picture started growing bigger and taller as we were climbing up. It was catching up to our Guides statement “Don’t underestimate our mountains”. 
We were stopping all along for short breaks every 15 to 20 minutes and enjoying the view behind us and taking some pictures all along. We also came across a couple of ice patches ¾th of the way up and I was using the ice to cool of my face and hands. I was the only one who was cooling off with the ice and others did not bother about it and kept walking, and I did not bother about them, I just followed my instincts. At each pit stop the view behind us was getting better and beautiful with the vast land, steep mountain slope, mountains blocking the horizons, lakes filling the valley. It was a picture perfect view in every direction and every angle you can take.
If someone wants to learn photography Gros Morne could probably the place to start from, no matter what you click even with eyes closed it is going to be an amazing shot. It was all rocky paths all through the hike till we reached the top and at the top it was even worse, there seemed to be no sand but stones all over everywhere. We soon reached the peak point which was 806 m above sea level; we almost started from sea level as the sea is just bordering the Gros Morne Park. 
We sat nearby the peak overlooking a series of mountain with picturesque view and had our lunch there. Well my lunch was just a box of spinach leaves as they did not have anything vegan for me expect for that that. With no breakfast that is surely not going to suffice me as expected and I filled my stomach with some juices and apples which our guide was carrying. We my stomach was happy for the time being. We rested there for around half hour enjoying the view and started to walk again towards the 10 mile pond view point which was the one I was eagerly waiting for asking my guide all along.
Within 15 minutes of walk we were there at the spot overlooking the 10 mile pond and that was one awesome view, it was a dream come true for me to be there. I just stood there for a few minutes impressed by the view and immersed in the beauty I was not taking any pictures strangely. A picture is worth a thousand words, see it for yourself. Soon seeing other busy taking pictures I realized I had to get some and started with it. I also got my trademark picture of Gros Morne Hike taken and I was all happy at the moment living my dream. Though we spend around 20 minutes there I did not feel like going away from there even though my group started walking ahead to the descent. Though my legs started walking my eyes and mind were left behind at the spot and every step my legs took me away from the view, my heartbeat was raising and started wanting to get back and it continued for the next 5 minutes after which it finally stopped bothering my legs. That was one magnetic view I have ever seen in my life, I still feel the pleasing sensation when I am writing this and I could hear my heart pumping hard with excitement, well as I had already written I had fallen in love with Gros Morne and it was just getting stronger then. 
On the way down we could see a hanging lake on top of adjacent mountain with a waterfall, it was a bit far away to have a closer view. I should have had a binocular that day. We continued our descent down and it was a different path down as we can not take the stone path which could be dangerous while walking down. Even this route had so much to offer for our eyes. 
Almost half the way down it started to drizzle. Oops we are going to get drenched in rain if it does not stop, but luckily after few minutes it stopped and we got relieved. Though out guide has told that we would be able to see moose during the hike as there are more moose in Gros Morne per km than humans. There are thousands of them with 6 to 7 Moose per KM as per records and all of them came from just 4 moose which were introduced in to the park some years back. 
Finally our guide spotted one of them high in the mountain. That was the first time I got to see a moose in it s natural habitat but it was far away. One of our group members had a binocular and I borrowed it to have a view of it, I also tried to take a picture of it with my camera pointing to the binocular lens which turned out pretty bad. Passing though a small pond where I cooled off my face again we reached the base of the mountain where we started climbing the mountain. Our guide took a picture of us, trust me that was the toughest thing to do posing for a camera than the hike there as we were surrounded by black flies and they were all over our faces it was getting difficult to stand steady even for a second. We had to resist all those flies sitting on our face to pose for the camera and it was not just once, it was for 5 times for everyone’s camera. That was a hard job compared to the hike, it was when I realized how bad the film artist’s job would be, and I have to start respecting their profession now. 
My right knee started to feel some pain and the pain started increasing with every step I took, we still had 4 km to walk and it was hard to make it with my hurting leg but I had no other choice. I did try to manage limping and adjusting the walking angle and with some fine-tuned walking reducing the pain. Soon we were in to the trees passing the roaring unseen waterfalls, passing the bridge over the water flow and at the end of our trail. It was almost 4:30 PM and we took a short rest there before going back to the car signing off the person who joined us there. Our guide dropped the other 3 where they were picked up in the morning and we were back at the hostel at around 5 PM. By that time my right knee was screwed up and I was growing super hungry. 
I was shown my room and I put my backpack there and soon after changing my clothes I was thinking of going out and having some food and only then realized there is no restaurant nearby. I browsed through the hostel kitten to see if I find anything vegan there. I saw some stuff which looked like a mix of cake and pie, though I was reluctant to have it as I doubted it might have egg my hunger could not prevent me from having it, I just grabbed few pieces of them. Gladly I did not feel any smell or taste of egg or may be I was just too hungry to feel it. My hunger was temporarily fixed. After taking bath and resting for a while I got bored again at around 6 PM not knowing what to do. I went to the lobby where everyone whom I have met till now were there and soon I was told I can freely take the bikes standing outside it I want. What more do I need after hearing that. In a couple of minutes I was out changing my clothes to take a ride in the bicycle, I didn’t know where I wanted to go, but I any place around there is going to be fine as everything there is just new to be and looked interesting. They were busy with the BBQ making something non-veg. 
The bikes which they had were different from mine and I was even finding it difficult to get on it as the seats were too high and handle too low, totally different gear system and surely not the kind of ones I have ever used. With some difficulty getting on and balancing and getting clarification about the gear system and checking the brakes I was on my way to somewhere. The hostel was facing the seashore and some storehouses were lining the coastline making a pretty view.
I started from there and as the road ran along the coastline it was anyways going to be a nice ride. I know the sunset was around 9:30 PM during this season and I had 2 to 3 hours to spend enjoying the ride. Not soon I started I was pulled towards the seashore and I left my bike besides the road and walked down towards the mild waves of the sea. Though it was not a shore made of sandy beach it was a shore of pebble stones. They were found all along the coastline as far as I could see. This is the first time I have been to this kind of seashore formed by thousands and thousands of smooth, shiny, curvy pebble stones of all sizes. I was impressed by the sight and feel of the stones I started to make some stone tower out of them by placing one over the other. I thought it should be simple but.. oh man! It was not.. The smooth and curvy surface of the stones will not allow to get stacked up so easily, but I managed to stack 3 of them after some fight. Well the play did not last long, as I started feeling some tiny insects or black flies all around my hair and some really tiny red colored insects less than one tenth the size of a small mosquito running between the stones. Though initially I was ignoring them soon I felt them sucking my blood without me feeling any pain. They are like mosquito bites but without pain, you can just feel them moving on your skin which indeed was annoying. I had no idea if it was the flies or the red insects which were annoying me, but when I accidentally crushed a couple one of them behind my neck and saw a full drop of blood in my fingers, I was scared of these tiny little creatures I ran away from there in minutes.
Back to biking I could now really feel the pain in my knees, my body was asking me to go back to hostel, but my mind was no way close to hostel wandering away to whatever sight it received from the eyes. I continued biking away from hostel and came across a small food store but was not hungry enough to enter in. I continued cycling across some nice houses lines along the shore and found a small view point of the ocean a bit inside from the road. I rode in, dropped my bike and walked down again towards the pebble stone shore. The first thing I checked was to see if those tiny stupid insects were there. Satisfied they were not I started to stack up the pebble stones again. There were some rocks a few meters inside the sea which were inviting me to walk over and sit on them. Though the incoming waves managed to make me stay away, my brain coordinating with my eyes found ways to reach those stone by walking atop the small rocks leaning to the big ones. Since the waves were very mild it did not seem risky and I was soon sitting on the rock a few meters inside the sea taking a seat besides one of the many sails already occupying their seats there.
Well I was all alone there sitting and watching the waves and hearing the sounds of ocean and clicking some pictures. As far as I could see there was no one around in all direction. I was all alone. Though I was enjoying the sights and sounds I was getting to hear the bells ringing in my head reminding me the time. It was getting colder as the sun started to hide behind the clouds and I was not able to withstand it. I left the place biking back to hostel. On my way back I went to the food store to see if I can get any vegan dish for dinner, but none. I went back to hostel with empty stomach. It was around 8 PM and I was getting hungry again. I had an apple with me in my bag which I took from the guide during lunch. The apple along with some more of those cakes came to my rescue again to fill my stomach. I tried to call up the Gros Morne centre to enquire about the guided tableland trail for next day but could not reach them. My Original plan was to take guided tableland trail that day but since the Gros Morne mountain hike was being done the same day I decided to do the Gros Morne Mountain hike first and postpone the tableland trail to the next day. After checking my mails using one of the laptops lying in the hostel lobby for a few minutes I went back to my room and was soon asleep.
2nd July 2010:
It was silent and cold and I was sleeping sound when suddenly something huge and heavy fell on me and I woke up shocked and terrified with a scream. I even could not scream loudly as it fell directly on my stomach. It was Sierra, the big dog. After a couple of seconds of terrified feeling I got out of the shock as soon I saw the dog. Mostly it would only be the alarms or the sunlight which used to wake me up in the morning and never a dog jumping directly on me and then lying besides me in the bed looking at me with a friendly look and trying to lick my face. I had no idea how to react and what to do, it took a couple of minutes for me to get used to the dog lying on the bed, and couple more minutes to be easy with it. The dog seemed so friendly I did not feel like chasing it away, I just let it lie there and I was so sleepy to get up as well. That was a experience of lifetime I can never ever forget. Soon it heard some noise outside jumped out of the bed and was on it way out opening the door with its head. It was 7 AM in the morning when the dog woke me up, and by the time I took bath and got ready it was 8 AM and went to the hostel lobby where I was told that the dog used to wake up everyone last summer. 2nd July 2010:
I called up the Gros Morne visitor centre that I was trying yesterday and was told that the guided tableland trail does not happen that day. I decided to take the Western brook pond boat tour instead which was included in my hostel package. I informed Daine the hostel owner and he called up and reserved the 10 AM tour and soon around 8:45 AM Dave the guide dropped me at the parking lot of the western brook pond trail. To reach the boat tour we have to take the 3 km trail to the pond from the road. There were many cars parked there and I was sure it is going to be a full boat. I was informed that the return pickup back to hostel will be around 1:30 PM. The 3 km trail will take around 45 minutes and the boat tour is for 2 hours.
It was a cloudy day unlike the day before and the sun was still hiding behind the clouds. The western brook pond is a huge fjord surrounded by mountains. From the trail starting point, the huge opening of the fjord and the surrounding mountains were covered by mist at the top and only the lower portion was visible. Though the full beauty of the fjord could not be seen, the mist gave a special look to the mountains and I started walking towards the pond taking the trail. There were few people already walking before me and could see few more joining behind me. The trail was getting better and beautiful with wildflowers lining the trail, passing through vast coastal bogs, few stretches of wooden pathway making the walking a bit easier wishing it to cover the entire trail, with the view of the huge cliffs of the fjord and nearby mountains growing taller and taller. 
Somehow even when covered by mist there was a ray of sunlight at the opening of the fjord adding a pinch light to the mysty view. The sprain in my right knee was still not cured and the pain which was negligible at beginning of the trail started growing and with a km of walk it started to worsen. I cursed myself for not taking any medication or spray last night to fix it. I had to tilt the angle of my walk, almost limping to reduce the pain and continue the walk, a few ups and downs along the way made it tougher. I slowed down my pace and with a numerous pit stops I kept walking seeing even the elderly people passing by overtaking me. I did not get a chance to have my breakfast again and I had to once again rely on the apple which I picked from the hostel fridge before getting out. The intensity of my pain was getting shadowed by the beauty of the view in front of me and I was taking pictures all along the way and soon I reached the end of the trail at the visitor centre where I have to get my tickets for the tour. 
A photo session was going on there with everyone taking pictures with the hoisted Canadian flag with the fjord at the background. I too joined the crew (the picture here is digitally post processed with another picture taken at the same location as in the original picture the photographer has cut out half of the flag). I could see the tour boats docked there with the background of the majestic fjord cliffs and the beautiful pond. I went and got my tickets from the visitor centre. I was so happy to see a coffee stall there and grabbed a cup of hot chocolate to fill my stomach. There was still 30 minutes left for the tour to start and everyone was waiting outside taking pictures and enjoying the drinks, so did I. A seagull caught everyone’s attention as strangely it stood still at a single location for a very long time posing for pictures until it was chased away by a kid.
I saw some kids playing in the sands of the pond’s beach and I went down the stairs to the ponds sand. It was quieter out there as there were only a couple of persons there and sat on a stone there enjoying the sight displayed in front of me. After spending around 15 minutes there I saw the crowd moving towards the boat, I realized it was time for the boat and hurried up to join them. I went to the upper level of the boat and sat there. There were around 50 people in the boat and the tour started sharply at 10 AM.As I was one of the last persons to get in, I saw all rows of seats occupied in the upper level except one where only one person was sitting. On confirming with him that the seat is free I took it and started a friendly chat with him. I learnt that he is from Quebec and traveling alone all the way with his own car. He had been in Newfoundland for almost 8 days covering the eastern part and going to cover east for the next 4 days. He also told me that he is traveling up north to L’Asne aux meadows the next day hearing which I was super happy. Immediately I asked him if I can join him, I also told him that I will share the cost for the trip. He thought for few seconds and told me that he is going to take a ferry from there to Labrador and will be coming back only after two days so I need to find some other way to return back. He also told me he does not have enough space in his car as he has filled it up with all his stuff. As I told him I had just a small backpack and will find my way to return back he agreed and I was so happy. All the chatting happened before the boat even started and though I had no idea how I am going to return back from St.Anthony I was glad I found someway to go there first. I had been trying for almost 3 months to find a way to go to St.Anthony but found no options. I felt like he had come there just to take me there.
The boat started and with narration we were being told the history and geography of the pond and the boat tour, we past the tiny island in the pond and across another one and after around 15 minutes it was on it s way going closer to the fjord opening. The boat will eventually enter the fjord opening and travel 16km down to the other end of the pond. As we were getting closer and closer we could realize the height of the fjord cliffs standing majestically in front of us. The sight of the mist covering the cliffs and the appearance of the pond penetrating through the mountains in the form of fjord made everyone on the boat impressed even before entering the fjord. I also learnt from the narration that the Western Brook pond is one of very few pure water ponds in the world with Ph value of 0. Because the water is so pure, it lacks nutrients for life to survive. It is also classified as UltraOligotrophic. There was also a story that once some engine to pump up water did not start up as it could not recognize water in the pond as water as it was working on identifying water based on its mineral and iron contents. All these small information and story along with the sights surrounding the boat made it special. 
For the next hour our boat passed through many of the tall standing gigantic fjord rock cliffs covered with green vegetation, a few water falls all along the way cutting the fjord rocks making a pristine look, a lion face shaped rock, and various interesting rock formations and waterfalls along out way deep inside the fjord to the other end of the pond. It was not a straight line ride, the 16km water route was full of twists and turns and bends, with each turning opening up to a totally different view and the view of the other end was visible only after taking the last turn in the fjord welcoming us with a waterfall falling from the cliff walls above 2000 ft with a funny name. 
The end of the pond where the fjord started closing up formed a spectacular view with layers and layers of rocky mountain walls sliding on each other forming a zigzag pattern which was wonderful to see. The entire fjord has been formed billions of years ago by the glacial action. Though it is named as fjord, it actually is not a fjord anymore since after the glacial period the land rebounded and raised above sea level separating the pond from the sea and for the next billions of years the entire sea water has been drained from the form and the pond was fed by the pure spring waters from the surrounding cliffs and mountains. Sometimes it was threading to imaging that the pond is deeper than the surrounding cliff walls.
On reaching the other end of the pond a few people on the boat were let out. They had their backcountry permits to hike the mountains for the next 4 days. If one had to get that iconic photo (the first one in this blog) one has to get down here and do that hike. Though I wanted to get there but did not work out, I was happy to reach till this point to see the mesmerizing views. Immediately after dropping off those passengers the boat turned around for the return journey which is going to be another hour. So for those who have missed the views in the forward journey here is another chance to catch up and for those who have seen it all it is never enough to stay satisfied. The boat ride was like entering in to the core of nature’s wonderland and coming back, like slowly opening and closing the picture book of nature. The memories and sights of the fjord cliffs, waterfalls and everything around the boat is going to stay for a long in the minds of everyone who had ever taken this boat tour which puts everyone on the natures lap. After almost two hours of ride the boat returned back to its starting point where it started where we got to have the last close view of the fjord.
Me and my newly met friend, Kevin is his name, decided to go to the tablelands together immediately after the boat ride as both of us had the same plans for the day. The return trail took another 40 minutes and we were back at the parking lot, As he told his car was filled with stuff, event he seat next to the drivers was filled. He had to clear up things for me. The time was just 12:50 PM and I did not want to wait till 1:30 PM to inform Dave who was about to come for my pickup. Both of us did not have phones and even if we did it would not have worked, I decided to inform the hostel people on the way back as we had to pass the hostel to reach the tablelands and did the same. On the way to tablelands he made a pit stop to fill his car tank where I got a chance to get to the store to pickup something for me to eat and drink, I had been really starving for till then from when I landed in Deer lake airport.. I bought so much stuff so that it can suffice me for the next couple of days. Making my tummy happy we started our drive towards tablelands.
Though the tablelands was nearby it was lying on other side of the bay and we had to drive 80km all the way around the bay, out of the park and then take the other way to the tablelands on the other side of the bay which took almost a hour and half to reach there. Instead there is a water taxi which can be taken to reach there in 15 minutes but can not take the car in the water taxi. On every turn of the road I was looking for the unique sandy mountain amidst the greenish mountains of Gros Morne. Finally we managed to get a glimpse of where we were heading. There were many cyclists on the road.
Within few minutes after the initial glimpse we were at the parking lot of the tablelands trail. It was suppose to be a 2 hour trail leading to a viewpoint of the tablelands bowl. Well I was doubting myself if I can make it as my right left was half dead already and every step I was taking on was hitting the peak of pains. I did not want to stop but proceed further as far as I can. I had to keep up with the pace of my temporary travel mate as well. I was happy to hear from a couple of returning hikers that it was not a long trail. Hearing that my energy doubled. After almost 30 minutes of walk we came to the end of the trail which had a eye catching picturesque view of the tablelands bowl, it was interesting to see the barren land and sandy mountain at a place which was surrounded by miles and miles of greenery and greenery only.
Though the Gros Morne tablelands are very significant in terms of geology and research, to the naked eyes it just a interestingly looking barren land with yellowish stones, orange sand and glittering mountain slopes. After taking a few pictures at the end of the trail we headed back to the parking lot. All along the trail we could see some strange wildflowers. Another 40 minutes of walk we were back in the parking lot. Well that was a short hike which I managed to make with my 11/2 legs. From the parking lot we could see an eye-catching view of the road piercing between the barren Gros Morne Tableland Mountains and the otherwise greenish Gros Morne Mountains.
As we finished this trail much earlier than expected we decided to take the road and see what’s on the other side and started driving. On driving for around 15 Km we ended up at a significant tourist point called trout river though we did not have much to see there apart from the seashore where we took a couple of pictures and returned back (no idea why it was named as a river, may be we missed something). All along the way there were many trails going in to the mountains. The return drive was even more picturesque as now we were driving down the slope with a clear beautiful view of the partition between the lands. We stopped to get a few pictures taken and we continuedto return.
On the Way I asked him to let me off near woody point from where I can take the water taxi to other side of the bay till Norris point. I paid him for the ride he gave that day and we decided to meet at 7:30 AM next morning at the hostel where he would pick me up for the ride to L’Asne aux meadows. From the point where he dropped me off it was a 10 minutes walk to woody point and with the views of the bay all through the way I did not realize I had walked that far. The woody point view of the bay is just awesome. After enquiring a couple of locals I managed to find the location of the water taxi. It was 5 Pm and the water taxi was scheduled for 5:30 PM. I had half hour to wander around woody point. 
I saw a lighthouse nearby located in a setting which just looked like a film set, that was the perfection of the surrounding and the lighthouse. Though it was a small Lighthouse, it was perfectly painted and standing on a small cliff surrounded by grass and flowers of all colors with the background of bluish waters of the sea and the Greenish Gros Morne Mountain ranges. It was a pretty sight and my camera started its work.
Soon the Water taxi boat arrived and everyone got in. The boat started its 15 minutes journey to Norris point which is located on the other side of the bay. Though the waves were mild the boat was tilted right and left and I got the taste of the sea water a couple of times when it splashed over my face. The bluish green pure waters of the bonnie bay surrounded by the majestic gros morne mountains is something just still says in my eyes. The View of the houses lining the shore at the Norris point too made a pretty sight to photograph. After 15 minutes the boat reached Norris point. I thought I could find some taxi or bus from there to reach my hostel but no. I could just see a restaurant, few hotels and parked cars. At least I was able find something spicy in 2 days, Tomato soup and fries in the restaurant which filled my tummy. With no way to reach the hotel from there I was wandering outside not knowing what to do. There were few people near the waters with the lobster catching traps ready to pack and go. They give me the number of the taxi, but I did not have exact change to call up. I then asked one of them to drop me at the nearby Rocky Harbor which is 10Km away and he agreed for 10$. He dropped me at a hotel in Rocky Harbor and I went directly to the hotel reception to ask for any taxi service. Only there I came to know that it was only one taxi, not one taxi service but only one taxi runs in the region and it is difficult to get that. The reception lady called up the taxi for me and waiting for another 30 minutes the taxi arrived and I reached the hostel in Sally’s cove which was 20Km away from Rocky harbor. It was around 7:30 PM, I went to sleep directly after checking my mails as I had to get up early next morning.
3rd July 2010:
This time it was the alarm which woke me up at 6 AM and I was ready by 7 Am waiting for Kevin. I was sitting on the table outside the hostel facing the road and the ocean waiting for him, as he can see me easily from there. The hostel guys also had a cat which was lying there and when it saw me it started to come towards me and sit besides me and was trying to cuddle and climb on me. Though I tried to resist I can’t control but chase it away, I don’t like cats and their screechy roars. I had to keep moving inside and outside the hostel just to keep away from it. At last it gave up and I was glad. Sharp at 7:30 AM Kevin was there with his car and we started our 350 km long journey north towards St.Anthony.
It takes around 4 hours to reach there and I had booked the Northland discovery boat tour to watch the icebergs and whales in St.Anthony at 1 PM. I was expecting to reach there by then. But Kevin had other plans. He had planned to see a couple of places on the way and then go to L’Asne aux meadows; he was not going to St. Anthony. I did not think of it as a big problem as I can catch a taxi from L’Asne aux meadows. So we started. On the way we stopped at the Arches provincial park which is just a viewpoint of arches holes formed in the rocks carved out by the waves of the sea. We stopped there for 10 minutes to go inside the arches and experience the sight of the sea from inside the arches. 
After almost an hour drive we reached half the way and we stopped at Port Au Choux which Kevin wanted to see. It was around 10:30 AM. This site was of some archaeological significance and he was interested to visit it. I started to wonder if I can reach St.Anthony on time and it seemed impossible now as he was about to spend next 1 hour there. I had no choice than to spend the time with him. Inside the visitor center we saw a short movie explaining the significance of the place and excavations and study being done there. On advice from the person there we drove 2 km down the road to the site where the archaeology students were on field work doing some study, one of them came and explained about their study and about the site. 
The location was besides the sea and also had a big Lighthouse nearby with cold breeze freezing us all the time we were out. After spending some time there with we were back to the car and towards L’Asne aux meadows. He stopped at a gas station and I went to call up the Boat tours in St. Anthony to postpone my reservation from 1 PM to 4 PM. I was told that there is not enough people for 4 PM departure and it might be cancelled, but still they asked me to come and check. Though I was a bit let down I was hoping I would get to take the tour. We continued our journey and at around 1 PM we reached the intersection which diverts to St.Anthony and L’Asne aux meadow. L’Asne aux meadows was 25 Km from there and St.Anthony was 10 Km from there. Kevin asked me if I want to get down there, but the time was already up and I can not make to the 1 PM tour so I decided to join him and go and visit the L’Asne aux meadows site which also was there in my plan.
The 25KM drive took around 45 minutes. On reaching the visitor centre we were given instructions and shown way to reach the site which was just a km away and after parking our car we went to the site. L’Asne aux meadows are a historically significant site. It is believed to be the only Viking settlement site in NA and is being promoted by the Canada tourism industry a lot and I also learnt from Kevin that the Canadians had a interesting chapter about the Vikings and about this site in their school days and he was always interested to visit this place of such a significance. Though I was also interested to visit the place, I was there just for the sake of knowing what it is significant for.
Again the site was located on the seashore with a beautiful view of the ocean and surroundings. A guided tour explaining about the site and study which had been done there also started at the same time we reached the site and we joined the tour. After the initial 15 minutes of the tour we felt we did not have enough time to take the complete guided tour as it was going in a very slow place. Kevin had to return to his port to catch his ferry to Labrador and I had to go to St.Anthony by 4 PM. So we decided to explore the surrounding and the site on our own. We went on a small trail along the seashore and as it was going on and on we returned back half the way and decided to spend time at the actual Vikings sample dwelling which has been constructed there based on the excavation study. Inside there we saw people dressed as Vikings and explaining about the site. We listened to them here and there and had a glimpse of the entire dwelling. Though it was cold outside, we felt comfortably warm inside the dwelling because of the lit up fireplace which kept the entire dwelling warm and the materials used to make the dwelling kept the heat inside. 
We also went out and checked around the sample dwelling. At Around 2:45 PM we decided to leave. By 3:30 Pm we reached the intersection where we had to depart. As Kevin was getting late for his ferry he could not take me to St.Anthony but dropped me there. I paid him for the ride and waited there to see if I can get a ride to St.Anthony or find a taxi. After waiting for 5 minutes I thought it’s not going to work and went to a motel nearby to ask if I can get a taxi to St. Anthony. The lady called up a taxi for me. I was all tensed as I was not sure if I can make to 4 PM boat tour and that was the last tour for the day and I was planning to return back to Gros Morne the same evening after the tour. The lady acknowledged that though it is just 10 minutes ride to reach there it is not possible now as I was late. After waiting fro another 10 minutes the taxi arrived at 3:50.
I entered the taxi to see a 66 year old driver and I immediately told him I have 10 minutes to travel 10 Kms to take the 4 PM boat ride. I really doubted seeing him if he can drive that fast to reach there on time. He said to me put on your seat belts and get ready for the rough ride. Well I was half minded but he did drove that fast and after 10 minutes of drive we were still not there but close by. The Clock struck 4, we were still in the car, he got the number of the Boat tours from me and called them up and told them we are nearby and will reach there in a couple of minutes. The boat tours confirmed that they will wait for me and I was so super happy. Within couple of minutes he took me to the boat tours centre and I could still see the boat there. I happily paid him and ran inside to get my tickets where the lady welcomed me with a smile and gave my tickets. I AS I was more eager to sea the icebergs I asked her if the icebergs are there and she replied she can’t guarantee as they are far away but she said there are many whales. I was inside the boat at 4:02 PM. Thanks to the Taxi driver and the tours, if I could not have made up to the tour my entire struggle to travel from Gros Morne to St.Anthony would have been a waste as my only aim to reach there was to sea the whales and the icebergs.
It was a cloudy and cold day and along with the strong winds from the sea it was getting harder to sit on the upper deck of the boat with my lightweight jacket. But the eagerness to see the icebergs and whales made me sit there. The boat started and did the narration and I was confirmed that there are no icebergs in the vicinity for the boat to reach. I was disappointed big time as that was one of the major reasons I struggled to reach there. But there came some whales soon to patch up my disappointment. The person in charge narrating the tour pointed out some whales in the beginning of the tour and soon we were able to spot it ourselves as the boat took us closer to them and for the next hour we were surrounded by whales. We were entertained with all kinds of shows from the whales which were busy trapping the fishes, playing with the fins and at sometimes popping their tail up outside the water. 
We also could hear the sounds made by the whales and every sighting of the whale was special and new. We kept looking for more and more and we were never contended. After sometime the waters around us became calm and there were no sign of any whales around. While the boat was turning to return we could see a greenish patch on the bluish water which was the whale and it passed right below our boat. Though we could not see it clearly we could feel it moving under us as we could see the big greenish patch moving below us from one side of the boat to the other. While returning the whales also seemed to follow us and they came up again entertaining us with another show of their flapping fins and tails and popping heads. The narrator also pointed us to a small whale with its mother. We were able to spot the smallish green spot and the big green spot nearby moving along the water besides our boat and yes they had to come to the water surface to breathe and they did for a couple of times when we could get some sneak peak of their back. It was fun to watch them in their natural habitat. We were also pointed to an iceberg at a far distance deep inside the sea which looked like an tiny ice cube at that distance. Though disappointed with icebergs I was happy I could see some good show from the whales in their natural grounds. After two hours of the tour the boat returned to the shore.
On arrival it was around 6:00 PM and everyone headed to their car and was out on their way. I was standing there alone thinking how to go back now and what to do. I had to go to the public hospital nearby to use the washroom there as that was the only public facility available there. On enquiring I was reconfirmed that there is no transportation service till Gros Morne from St.Anthony and I had to hitch hike, this was the same information told to me by the boat captain when I asked the same before getting out of the boat. I was prepared to hitchhike and I had a piece of paper with me with the destination written on it which I packed before starting to travel. At around 6:40 PM I was standing on the road towards the direction of Gros Morne with the piece of paper in my hand trying to get a ride. The paper read “I need ride to Gros Morne, Will pay”. It started to drizzle on and off and the paper was getting wet drop by drop. There were many cars going for the next 45 minutes in the direction with everyone reading but no one stopping. I started to think that might not be the right spot to hitchhike so I decided to go to the intersection where kevin dropped me as I know that the road from there is the straight road to Gros Morne. But I have to reach there and I need a ride or taxi at least till there which is 10 KM away. I again went inside the hospital and asked the reception lady for taxi details and she informed me that there is only one taxi running and getting the number from her I used up the hospital public phone to call the taxi. I was getting late so I though if the taxi guys are ready to travel till Gros Morne (350 Km away) but they were not. They said they are busy that day for a wedding and they can not come, but they agreed to drop me at the intersection 10 Km away. Within 120 minutes the taxi was there and it was the same 66 old man who was there inside the taxi driving. Well now I know for sure it is only one taxi running here as well. He also advised me to hitchhike and told that someone will give a ride. He dropped me at the intersection and wished me luck and left.
I again stood there on the road from 8 PM. There were not many cars going that way. All the cars which came till the intersection took the road towards L’Asne aux meadows which confirmed that I was previously standing at a wrong location. There was one car going in the direction of Gros Morne in approximately 5 minutes and none seemed to even read the paper I was holding, or at least stop after reading. It was almost 8:30 and I started to loose hope and was planning to stay in the motel just in front there if don’t get a ride till 9:00 Pm ( I know it will not be dark till 9:30 PM). At around 8:35 PM another car passed by and as usual without stopping. I put my head down again and casually turned back after a few seconds to see the car passing by. To my surprise the car was stopped a few meters away and was slowly reversing back. Though I was happy to see that I was not sure if they stopped for me or for some other reasons. I rushed to the car to see if they stopped for me and even before I could ask a man stepped out of the car and said I can get in. When I said I will pay he said “You can get in and you need not pay”. There were 4 people in the car and chatting with them I learnt that they are fishermen coming back after their catch returning to their home in Port Au Choix (which I and Kevin visited earlier during the day). They saved my day, as I told the same to them that I had been waiting for more than 1 hour at two different places. All of them were very friendly. Though they were speaking English they had a strange accent which I am not used to, it more sounded like a cowboy accent from old English movies and pretty fast. I was able to catch up to the accent slowly. They were funny and talking about many things on the way. They told me that they are going only half way till Port au Choix and I need to find a ride from there again. I was glad I could cover at least half the distance hitchhiking.
They told that they had a good catch of 65000 shrimps in 4 days. They had traveled 150 miles inside the sea to get the catch and when I told them I could not see any icebergs they said there were many icebergs on the fishing grounds and there was one very big one near to the shore which could have been visible from L’Asne aux meadows site. But I don’t remember seeing any when we were there, or may be we did not look for it. Well it was not my day to see the iceberg. They stopped for snacks and I got to get a drink. On the way few moose crossed the road and I got a chance to see them once again, this time there was a huge one with horns. After around 2 hours of drive we reached Port au choix and it was almost 10:30 PM and dark. They advised me to stay in a motel for the night as it would be hard to get a ride at this time at night. So I was prepared to stay in a motel for the first time. One of the four was the head and it was his car. Everyone seemed to be happy to get back home after the short trip to the seas and was dropped at their homes one by one. At last me and the head were there in the car and I thought he is going to drop me at a motel, but he told me I can stay in his home for the night if I wanted as there is no one at his home that day except him. From the conversations we had all along the way I had a comfortable feeling with those people and I accepted his offer to stay at his home and he drove to his home. On reaching his home, he informed me about his Labrador dog which is friendly and will come and smell me out. The first sight of the dog was scary as it was so huge, almost twice the size of sierra. Though scared I did not show it to him. It was a pretty house of his and he showed my room for the night and after chatting for a while about his family and friends I was yawning which he noted and asked me to go and sleep. I was just waiting to go and lie on the bed, I was so tired. I just know the moment I laid down on the bed I was soon asleep.
4th July 2010:
I got up at around 7 AM in the morning. As soon as I got up I washed my face and was ready to head out. I went downstairs where he was waiting for me. Soon he served me with cereals and we had a small chat again during breakfast. We soon exchanged our contacts and he told me that he will drop me at a place from where I can find some ride back to Gros Morne. At around 8 AM we started from his home. On his way he was explaining about many things including fishing Salmons, hunting moose etc and he also stopped at a bridge atop a flowing river where there were few people fishing the salmons and he also pointed out some Salmons which were swimming against current. I had seen that only in National geographic channel. Though I was expecting to see a reddish Salmon as seen in National Geographic I could only see normal colored fish. And I know that they turn read only after they reach their breeding grounds way up in the river and I was just seeing them near the sea. He soon dropped me at a motel nearby and told that I would be able to find a ride from there. It was better as if it rained I can go into the motel which had a restaurant as well. I thanked him wholeheartedly and he wished me and left. His name was Larry Plowman from Port Au Choix.
I started to wait there trying to get a ride and for 20 minutes I was not lucky. There were very few cars going that way and none stopped. I then went inside the motel to ask for any taxi service but none was the reply. I again came out and started to wait again on the road. It started to drizzle and I was standing in the rain. Soon along with the drizzling rain the black flies too invaded me and it was getting difficult to stand there out on the road. These black files are so small but annoying files. I had to keep waving my hands over my face to keep them away of my head. Cars kept passing by and did the time. I was loosing hope slowly but was still standing there trying all the cars. No one seemed to stop, but after 45 minutes a car stopped and a lady came out. It seemed she knew I was hitchhiking and even without asking me she opened the door and made room for me. She already had two kids in the car. I was surprised to see someone with kids in the car stopping for hitchhiker but I was glad she did. I told her I need to go till sally Cove and she was to drive passing that area. The kids too were friendly and we started chatting about many things on the way. Her name was Caroline, She was a very nice lady and she seemed to know Larry Plowman as they were friends from Childhood, and she too was from Port Au Choix. Port Au Choix. Should be really filled with nice people.
On the way to Sallys cove we had conversations about many things including the economy, tourism industry, Newfoundland, Gros Morne, Toronto and hitchhiking etc. She gave me a couple of interesting stories about hitchhikers whom she had met. She also told that she had given ride to a lot of hitchhikers from many different counties and she was doing it as she knows there is no transportation for visitors like me coming to see their country. She works for the government She also told that her family thinks she is crazy. I was humbled but I was so thankful to her. She had met many different kinds of hitchhikers including a guy who was planning to travel Newfoundland and Labrador with 0 dollars with him and when she asked how he is going to pay for the ferry to Labrador he had replied her “God will take care”. She also had met a couple who on arrival could not find any rental car which gets booked up months before and they were hitchhiking all the time during their stay in Newfoundland and they covered from east to west of Newfoundland hitchhiking. It was interesting to hear all these stories and the time passed by pretty quick. After about 1 ½ hours of ride we reached Sallys Cove and she dropped me right in front of the hostel. I thanked her from my heart and she waited there till I entered the hostel. I had met two really wonderful people in the last two days who stopped by to help someone in need. They are going to remain in my mind for a long time whenever I see someone in need.
It was around 10:30 AM I entered the hostel, I soon took bath and came to the lobby where Daine’s kid was playing with Sierra. It was so lovely to see them sharing so much of trust in each other and playing so friendly. They were literally physically fighting over a rope to see who wins the battle. I was so surprised to see a dog fighting with a kid and knowing its limits, it was trying to pull the rope with its mouth and the kid with his hands. I was worried one of them is going to get hurt but they seemed to share so much of trust between themselves that though for me it seemed like fight they were actually paying and enjoying with themselves. Just then I realized how friendly a dog can be as I had never been so close to a dog being so friendly. I never had any idea of having a dog but after seeing Sierra and the dog at Larry’s place I don’t mind having one in future. They had left such a big impression on me. Soon Daine arrived and I asked him if I can go for sea kayaking that day which was included in the package. That was the only thing which was left for me to day and I had a full day left. The weather was not good that day as it was windy, cloudy and raining. He told that it can get better in the evening and he will try to get me kayaking in the evening. I was wondering how I can pass time till then as it was just 11 AM.
I have heard about Green Point there which has significant rock formations, I asked him about the distance and he replied that I can ride there with bike and his girlfriend Angela was going that way and she can drop me and the bicycle there and I can ride back one way instead of both ways. I was glad I can see something in that time which I had. Soon I changed my dress and with my backpack I was out in the car and Angela dropped me and the bike at the Green point trail starting point. First I took the wrong route and after being helped by a couple camping there I got directed to the location of the rock formations. The site was located down the road in the shores of the sea. As usual there was no one except me when I went there. There was a board explaining the significance of rock the formations there.
Green Point Rocks: The Vertical layers which you see here are originally the ocean bed, due to tectonic forces they have been tilted vertical. Each layer is from different time period with the younger ones on the left and older ones on the right. The right most extreme layer is more than 550 Million years old. By walking across this section of vertical rock layers you actually have walked across the ocean bed back from today to 550 Million years ago and it was so thrilling to do that. Just the feeling of it was awesome. The roaring waves hitting the rocks and the fact that I was the only one around, it was like I own everything there including the seas and it felt great. The nature has the power to make you feel anything when you are in its hands. The layers or rock formations there kept me stitched to the place and I was there for almost 2 hours just walking across the rock formations hearing the sound of the seas and seeing the roaring waves hitting the rocks.
After spending enough time at the Green point I decided to head back to the hostel. All along the way I was biking along the seashore and could sea trees and grasses and flowers lining the road making it a pretty sight and the sight of the everlasting ocean just besides the road was some view.
It was 6 PM and started to think if I should go out for a walk but decided to stay inside as it was cold outside and my jacket was still wet. I sat with the internet for sometime. I informed Daine about my flight next morning and he agreed to drop me at the airport early morning. and then headed to bed directly at 7:30 PM as I had to get up at 4 AM next morning, my flight back to Toronto was at 6 AM from Deer Lake airport.
5th July 2010:
The alarm once again woke me up at 4 Am and after taking bath I got ready by 4:40 AM. I woke up Daine at 4:45 AM. He made his tea and we were out in his car at 5 AM after getting a pictutre of him taken. I know we are late and I was wondering what Daine was thinking, that is when he told me that he thought I wanted to be in airport by 6 AM , he was surprised to hear that the flight is at 6 AM. Though it was an hour ride to the airport from hostel he convinced me that with his driving he can get me there on time to catch the flight. I was all nervous but something kept me telling as usual that I will be able to catch the flight. As time kept passing by the conditions of driving was also worsening with the mist covering the road and limiting the visibility. Don’t forget the moose in these roads which can be life threatening to hit. He did slow down in those regions of poor visibility only when to see a herd of moose standing right besides the road and on nearing them they started to cross the road right in front of the car. The entire moose family was there from big old ones to small young ones. I guess there were five of them and even it surprised Daine as they are not seen in groups during summer. For the first couple of days I was wondering where all the moose went, but for the next couple of my days in Gros Morne I had seen enough of them to believe there are many of them. It was a 80Km distance to cover in 1 hour, but remember we need to reach at least 20 minutes before the flight time to catch it. He was driving at speeds well higher that the limits.
He made it to the airport entrance by 5:50 AM. Thanking him I ran inside to counter to get my boarding pass when I was told by the attendee there that I can not make it to the flight as there is only 8 Minutes for the flight departure. I know I was late and I apologized to him asked him to check if I can somehow make it. He called up the gates and after confirming with me that I had no check in baggage he gave me the boarding pass and asked me to run to the security and reach the gate before it is closed. He said I have 5 Minutes. Well you would have heard of people running to catch a bus or for that matter a train, that day I was running to catch a flight. The security check was on other end of the building, I ran up there and passed thorough the security scan. As I was expecting my bag caught their attention while scanning and I know it was the pebble stones. They started to check my bag and I know it would happen but I did not know I would end up with the time constraint. I helped them open my bag and showed them the stones lying at the bottom of the bag. After having a close look of the stones they cleared me to board the plane. Immediately on their approval I ran towards the gate which was still open and I could still see the plane standing in front of the gate. I ran past the front of the airplane having a look at the pilot’s windows and to the stairs leading to the planes door and I was inside at last. Remember this is a very small airport and that was the only plane at that time. I entered the plane at 5:58 AM and once I entered the door was closed and the flight started the taxi sharply at 6:00 AM sharp just after I sat down and put my belts on. It was like they were waiting for me to come in, but I know that mostly is not the case, I was just able to make it on time. I don’t think this would happen more frequently. The flight started its journey to Toronto.
The 4 day planned vacation which was suppose to be a relaxing cool one with everything planned, remained that way for the first couple of days and then took a u turn to turn it in to a complete thrilling adventure till the end. Thinking of it I feel glad it did turn that way making it more interesting. Gros Morne is a place one can feel being in the heart of nature and I had just experienced it, it’s going to hold the top place in my journey list besides Kerala for a long time. Let’s see if I could make to some place in future which can beat these two pristine destinations. The result will be left to be decided by my conscience!
Though the tablelands was nearby it was lying on other side of the bay and we had to drive 80km all the way around the bay, out of the park and then take the other way to the tablelands on the other side of the bay which took almost a hour and half to reach there. Instead there is a water taxi which can be taken to reach there in 15 minutes but can not take the car in the water taxi. On every turn of the road I was looking for the unique sandy mountain amidst the greenish mountains of Gros Morne. Finally we managed to get a glimpse of where we were heading. There were many cyclists on the road. 
Within few minutes after the initial glimpse we were at the parking lot of the tablelands trail. It was suppose to be a 2 hour trail leading to a viewpoint of the tablelands bowl. Well I was doubting myself if I can make it as my right left was half dead already and every step I was taking on was hitting the peak of pains. I did not want to stop but proceed further as far as I can. I had to keep up with the pace of my temporary travel mate as well. I was happy to hear from a couple of returning hikers that it was not a long trail. Hearing that my energy doubled. After almost 30 minutes of walk we came to the end of the trail which had a eye catching picturesque view of the tablelands bowl, it was interesting to see the barren land and sandy mountain at a place which was surrounded by miles and miles of greenery and greenery only. 
Though the Gros Morne tablelands are very significant in terms of geology and research, to the naked eyes it just a interestingly looking barren land with yellowish stones, orange sand and glittering mountain slopes. After taking a few pictures at the end of the trail we headed back to the parking lot. All along the trail we could see some strange wildflowers. Another 40 minutes of walk we were back in the parking lot. Well that was a short hike which I managed to make with my 11/2 legs. From the parking lot we could see an eye-catching view of the road piercing between the barren Gros Morne Tableland Mountains and the otherwise greenish Gros Morne Mountains.
As we finished this trail much earlier than expected we decided to take the road and see what’s on the other side and started driving. On driving for around 15 Km we ended up at a significant tourist point called trout river though we did not have much to see there apart from the seashore where we took a couple of pictures and returned back (no idea why it was named as a river, may be we missed something). All along the way there were many trails going in to the mountains. The return drive was even more picturesque as now we were driving down the slope with a clear beautiful view of the partition between the lands. We stopped to get a few pictures taken and we continuedto return.
On the Way I asked him to let me off near woody point from where I can take the water taxi to other side of the bay till Norris point. I paid him for the ride he gave that day and we decided to meet at 7:30 AM next morning at the hostel where he would pick me up for the ride to L’Asne aux meadows. From the point where he dropped me off it was a 10 minutes walk to woody point and with the views of the bay all through the way I did not realize I had walked that far. The woody point view of the bay is just awesome. After enquiring a couple of locals I managed to find the location of the water taxi. It was 5 Pm and the water taxi was scheduled for 5:30 PM. I had half hour to wander around woody point. 
I saw a lighthouse nearby located in a setting which just looked like a film set, that was the perfection of the surrounding and the lighthouse. Though it was a small Lighthouse, it was perfectly painted and standing on a small cliff surrounded by grass and flowers of all colors with the background of bluish waters of the sea and the Greenish Gros Morne Mountain ranges. It was a pretty sight and my camera started its work. 
Soon the Water taxi boat arrived and everyone got in. The boat started its 15 minutes journey to Norris point which is located on the other side of the bay. Though the waves were mild the boat was tilted right and left and I got the taste of the sea water a couple of times when it splashed over my face. The bluish green pure waters of the bonnie bay surrounded by the majestic gros morne mountains is something just still says in my eyes. The View of the houses lining the shore at the Norris point too made a pretty sight to photograph. After 15 minutes the boat reached Norris point. I thought I could find some taxi or bus from there to reach my hostel but no. I could just see a restaurant, few hotels and parked cars. At least I was able find something spicy in 2 days, Tomato soup and fries in the restaurant which filled my tummy. With no way to reach the hotel from there I was wandering outside not knowing what to do. There were few people near the waters with the lobster catching traps ready to pack and go. They give me the number of the taxi, but I did not have exact change to call up. I then asked one of them to drop me at the nearby Rocky Harbor which is 10Km away and he agreed for 10$. He dropped me at a hotel in Rocky Harbor and I went directly to the hotel reception to ask for any taxi service. Only there I came to know that it was only one taxi, not one taxi service but only one taxi runs in the region and it is difficult to get that. The reception lady called up the taxi for me and waiting for another 30 minutes the taxi arrived and I reached the hostel in Sally’s cove which was 20Km away from Rocky harbor. It was around 7:30 PM, I went to sleep directly after checking my mails as I had to get up early next morning.3rd July 2010:
This time it was the alarm which woke me up at 6 AM and I was ready by 7 Am waiting for Kevin. I was sitting on the table outside the hostel facing the road and the ocean waiting for him, as he can see me easily from there. The hostel guys also had a cat which was lying there and when it saw me it started to come towards me and sit besides me and was trying to cuddle and climb on me. Though I tried to resist I can’t control but chase it away, I don’t like cats and their screechy roars. I had to keep moving inside and outside the hostel just to keep away from it. At last it gave up and I was glad. Sharp at 7:30 AM Kevin was there with his car and we started our 350 km long journey north towards St.Anthony. 
It takes around 4 hours to reach there and I had booked the Northland discovery boat tour to watch the icebergs and whales in St.Anthony at 1 PM. I was expecting to reach there by then. But Kevin had other plans. He had planned to see a couple of places on the way and then go to L’Asne aux meadows; he was not going to St. Anthony. I did not think of it as a big problem as I can catch a taxi from L’Asne aux meadows. So we started. On the way we stopped at the Arches provincial park which is just a viewpoint of arches holes formed in the rocks carved out by the waves of the sea. We stopped there for 10 minutes to go inside the arches and experience the sight of the sea from inside the arches. 
We then continued our journey and on the way we saw a couple of moose crossing the road. This time I got the chance to see the moose in close proximity at last. It is also dangerous to hit the moose as they have tall slender legs and once hit the entire body of the moose will enter the windshield of the car and crush the passengers inside. So one has to be extra careful while driving in these roads, especially during poor visibility as the moose can jump in anytime.
After almost an hour drive we reached half the way and we stopped at Port Au Choux which Kevin wanted to see. It was around 10:30 AM. This site was of some archaeological significance and he was interested to visit it. I started to wonder if I can reach St.Anthony on time and it seemed impossible now as he was about to spend next 1 hour there. I had no choice than to spend the time with him. Inside the visitor center we saw a short movie explaining the significance of the place and excavations and study being done there. On advice from the person there we drove 2 km down the road to the site where the archaeology students were on field work doing some study, one of them came and explained about their study and about the site. 
The location was besides the sea and also had a big Lighthouse nearby with cold breeze freezing us all the time we were out. After spending some time there with we were back to the car and towards L’Asne aux meadows. He stopped at a gas station and I went to call up the Boat tours in St. Anthony to postpone my reservation from 1 PM to 4 PM. I was told that there is not enough people for 4 PM departure and it might be cancelled, but still they asked me to come and check. Though I was a bit let down I was hoping I would get to take the tour. We continued our journey and at around 1 PM we reached the intersection which diverts to St.Anthony and L’Asne aux meadow. L’Asne aux meadows was 25 Km from there and St.Anthony was 10 Km from there. Kevin asked me if I want to get down there, but the time was already up and I can not make to the 1 PM tour so I decided to join him and go and visit the L’Asne aux meadows site which also was there in my plan. 
The 25KM drive took around 45 minutes. On reaching the visitor centre we were given instructions and shown way to reach the site which was just a km away and after parking our car we went to the site. L’Asne aux meadows are a historically significant site. It is believed to be the only Viking settlement site in NA and is being promoted by the Canada tourism industry a lot and I also learnt from Kevin that the Canadians had a interesting chapter about the Vikings and about this site in their school days and he was always interested to visit this place of such a significance. Though I was also interested to visit the place, I was there just for the sake of knowing what it is significant for. 
Again the site was located on the seashore with a beautiful view of the ocean and surroundings. A guided tour explaining about the site and study which had been done there also started at the same time we reached the site and we joined the tour. After the initial 15 minutes of the tour we felt we did not have enough time to take the complete guided tour as it was going in a very slow place. Kevin had to return to his port to catch his ferry to Labrador and I had to go to St.Anthony by 4 PM. So we decided to explore the surrounding and the site on our own. We went on a small trail along the seashore and as it was going on and on we returned back half the way and decided to spend time at the actual Vikings sample dwelling which has been constructed there based on the excavation study. Inside there we saw people dressed as Vikings and explaining about the site. We listened to them here and there and had a glimpse of the entire dwelling. Though it was cold outside, we felt comfortably warm inside the dwelling because of the lit up fireplace which kept the entire dwelling warm and the materials used to make the dwelling kept the heat inside. 
We also went out and checked around the sample dwelling. At Around 2:45 PM we decided to leave. By 3:30 Pm we reached the intersection where we had to depart. As Kevin was getting late for his ferry he could not take me to St.Anthony but dropped me there. I paid him for the ride and waited there to see if I can get a ride to St.Anthony or find a taxi. After waiting for 5 minutes I thought it’s not going to work and went to a motel nearby to ask if I can get a taxi to St. Anthony. The lady called up a taxi for me. I was all tensed as I was not sure if I can make to 4 PM boat tour and that was the last tour for the day and I was planning to return back to Gros Morne the same evening after the tour. The lady acknowledged that though it is just 10 minutes ride to reach there it is not possible now as I was late. After waiting fro another 10 minutes the taxi arrived at 3:50. 
I entered the taxi to see a 66 year old driver and I immediately told him I have 10 minutes to travel 10 Kms to take the 4 PM boat ride. I really doubted seeing him if he can drive that fast to reach there on time. He said to me put on your seat belts and get ready for the rough ride. Well I was half minded but he did drove that fast and after 10 minutes of drive we were still not there but close by. The Clock struck 4, we were still in the car, he got the number of the Boat tours from me and called them up and told them we are nearby and will reach there in a couple of minutes. The boat tours confirmed that they will wait for me and I was so super happy. Within couple of minutes he took me to the boat tours centre and I could still see the boat there. I happily paid him and ran inside to get my tickets where the lady welcomed me with a smile and gave my tickets. I AS I was more eager to sea the icebergs I asked her if the icebergs are there and she replied she can’t guarantee as they are far away but she said there are many whales. I was inside the boat at 4:02 PM. Thanks to the Taxi driver and the tours, if I could not have made up to the tour my entire struggle to travel from Gros Morne to St.Anthony would have been a waste as my only aim to reach there was to sea the whales and the icebergs. 
It was a cloudy and cold day and along with the strong winds from the sea it was getting harder to sit on the upper deck of the boat with my lightweight jacket. But the eagerness to see the icebergs and whales made me sit there. The boat started and did the narration and I was confirmed that there are no icebergs in the vicinity for the boat to reach. I was disappointed big time as that was one of the major reasons I struggled to reach there. But there came some whales soon to patch up my disappointment. The person in charge narrating the tour pointed out some whales in the beginning of the tour and soon we were able to spot it ourselves as the boat took us closer to them and for the next hour we were surrounded by whales. We were entertained with all kinds of shows from the whales which were busy trapping the fishes, playing with the fins and at sometimes popping their tail up outside the water. 
We also could hear the sounds made by the whales and every sighting of the whale was special and new. We kept looking for more and more and we were never contended. After sometime the waters around us became calm and there were no sign of any whales around. While the boat was turning to return we could see a greenish patch on the bluish water which was the whale and it passed right below our boat. Though we could not see it clearly we could feel it moving under us as we could see the big greenish patch moving below us from one side of the boat to the other. While returning the whales also seemed to follow us and they came up again entertaining us with another show of their flapping fins and tails and popping heads. The narrator also pointed us to a small whale with its mother. We were able to spot the smallish green spot and the big green spot nearby moving along the water besides our boat and yes they had to come to the water surface to breathe and they did for a couple of times when we could get some sneak peak of their back. It was fun to watch them in their natural habitat. We were also pointed to an iceberg at a far distance deep inside the sea which looked like an tiny ice cube at that distance. Though disappointed with icebergs I was happy I could see some good show from the whales in their natural grounds. After two hours of the tour the boat returned to the shore. On arrival it was around 6:00 PM and everyone headed to their car and was out on their way. I was standing there alone thinking how to go back now and what to do. I had to go to the public hospital nearby to use the washroom there as that was the only public facility available there. On enquiring I was reconfirmed that there is no transportation service till Gros Morne from St.Anthony and I had to hitch hike, this was the same information told to me by the boat captain when I asked the same before getting out of the boat. I was prepared to hitchhike and I had a piece of paper with me with the destination written on it which I packed before starting to travel. At around 6:40 PM I was standing on the road towards the direction of Gros Morne with the piece of paper in my hand trying to get a ride. The paper read “I need ride to Gros Morne, Will pay”. It started to drizzle on and off and the paper was getting wet drop by drop. There were many cars going for the next 45 minutes in the direction with everyone reading but no one stopping. I started to think that might not be the right spot to hitchhike so I decided to go to the intersection where kevin dropped me as I know that the road from there is the straight road to Gros Morne. But I have to reach there and I need a ride or taxi at least till there which is 10 KM away. I again went inside the hospital and asked the reception lady for taxi details and she informed me that there is only one taxi running and getting the number from her I used up the hospital public phone to call the taxi. I was getting late so I though if the taxi guys are ready to travel till Gros Morne (350 Km away) but they were not. They said they are busy that day for a wedding and they can not come, but they agreed to drop me at the intersection 10 Km away. Within 120 minutes the taxi was there and it was the same 66 old man who was there inside the taxi driving. Well now I know for sure it is only one taxi running here as well. He also advised me to hitchhike and told that someone will give a ride. He dropped me at the intersection and wished me luck and left.
I again stood there on the road from 8 PM. There were not many cars going that way. All the cars which came till the intersection took the road towards L’Asne aux meadows which confirmed that I was previously standing at a wrong location. There was one car going in the direction of Gros Morne in approximately 5 minutes and none seemed to even read the paper I was holding, or at least stop after reading. It was almost 8:30 and I started to loose hope and was planning to stay in the motel just in front there if don’t get a ride till 9:00 Pm ( I know it will not be dark till 9:30 PM). At around 8:35 PM another car passed by and as usual without stopping. I put my head down again and casually turned back after a few seconds to see the car passing by. To my surprise the car was stopped a few meters away and was slowly reversing back. Though I was happy to see that I was not sure if they stopped for me or for some other reasons. I rushed to the car to see if they stopped for me and even before I could ask a man stepped out of the car and said I can get in. When I said I will pay he said “You can get in and you need not pay”. There were 4 people in the car and chatting with them I learnt that they are fishermen coming back after their catch returning to their home in Port Au Choix (which I and Kevin visited earlier during the day). They saved my day, as I told the same to them that I had been waiting for more than 1 hour at two different places. All of them were very friendly. Though they were speaking English they had a strange accent which I am not used to, it more sounded like a cowboy accent from old English movies and pretty fast. I was able to catch up to the accent slowly. They were funny and talking about many things on the way. They told me that they are going only half way till Port au Choix and I need to find a ride from there again. I was glad I could cover at least half the distance hitchhiking.
They told that they had a good catch of 65000 shrimps in 4 days. They had traveled 150 miles inside the sea to get the catch and when I told them I could not see any icebergs they said there were many icebergs on the fishing grounds and there was one very big one near to the shore which could have been visible from L’Asne aux meadows site. But I don’t remember seeing any when we were there, or may be we did not look for it. Well it was not my day to see the iceberg. They stopped for snacks and I got to get a drink. On the way few moose crossed the road and I got a chance to see them once again, this time there was a huge one with horns. After around 2 hours of drive we reached Port au choix and it was almost 10:30 PM and dark. They advised me to stay in a motel for the night as it would be hard to get a ride at this time at night. So I was prepared to stay in a motel for the first time. One of the four was the head and it was his car. Everyone seemed to be happy to get back home after the short trip to the seas and was dropped at their homes one by one. At last me and the head were there in the car and I thought he is going to drop me at a motel, but he told me I can stay in his home for the night if I wanted as there is no one at his home that day except him. From the conversations we had all along the way I had a comfortable feeling with those people and I accepted his offer to stay at his home and he drove to his home. On reaching his home, he informed me about his Labrador dog which is friendly and will come and smell me out. The first sight of the dog was scary as it was so huge, almost twice the size of sierra. Though scared I did not show it to him. It was a pretty house of his and he showed my room for the night and after chatting for a while about his family and friends I was yawning which he noted and asked me to go and sleep. I was just waiting to go and lie on the bed, I was so tired. I just know the moment I laid down on the bed I was soon asleep.
4th July 2010:
I started to wait there trying to get a ride and for 20 minutes I was not lucky. There were very few cars going that way and none stopped. I then went inside the motel to ask for any taxi service but none was the reply. I again came out and started to wait again on the road. It started to drizzle and I was standing in the rain. Soon along with the drizzling rain the black flies too invaded me and it was getting difficult to stand there out on the road. These black files are so small but annoying files. I had to keep waving my hands over my face to keep them away of my head. Cars kept passing by and did the time. I was loosing hope slowly but was still standing there trying all the cars. No one seemed to stop, but after 45 minutes a car stopped and a lady came out. It seemed she knew I was hitchhiking and even without asking me she opened the door and made room for me. She already had two kids in the car. I was surprised to see someone with kids in the car stopping for hitchhiker but I was glad she did. I told her I need to go till sally Cove and she was to drive passing that area. The kids too were friendly and we started chatting about many things on the way. Her name was Caroline, She was a very nice lady and she seemed to know Larry Plowman as they were friends from Childhood, and she too was from Port Au Choix. Port Au Choix. Should be really filled with nice people.
On the way to Sallys cove we had conversations about many things including the economy, tourism industry, Newfoundland, Gros Morne, Toronto and hitchhiking etc. She gave me a couple of interesting stories about hitchhikers whom she had met. She also told that she had given ride to a lot of hitchhikers from many different counties and she was doing it as she knows there is no transportation for visitors like me coming to see their country. She works for the government She also told that her family thinks she is crazy. I was humbled but I was so thankful to her. She had met many different kinds of hitchhikers including a guy who was planning to travel Newfoundland and Labrador with 0 dollars with him and when she asked how he is going to pay for the ferry to Labrador he had replied her “God will take care”. She also had met a couple who on arrival could not find any rental car which gets booked up months before and they were hitchhiking all the time during their stay in Newfoundland and they covered from east to west of Newfoundland hitchhiking. It was interesting to hear all these stories and the time passed by pretty quick. After about 1 ½ hours of ride we reached Sallys Cove and she dropped me right in front of the hostel. I thanked her from my heart and she waited there till I entered the hostel. I had met two really wonderful people in the last two days who stopped by to help someone in need. They are going to remain in my mind for a long time whenever I see someone in need. It was around 10:30 AM I entered the hostel, I soon took bath and came to the lobby where Daine’s kid was playing with Sierra. It was so lovely to see them sharing so much of trust in each other and playing so friendly. They were literally physically fighting over a rope to see who wins the battle. I was so surprised to see a dog fighting with a kid and knowing its limits, it was trying to pull the rope with its mouth and the kid with his hands. I was worried one of them is going to get hurt but they seemed to share so much of trust between themselves that though for me it seemed like fight they were actually paying and enjoying with themselves. Just then I realized how friendly a dog can be as I had never been so close to a dog being so friendly. I never had any idea of having a dog but after seeing Sierra and the dog at Larry’s place I don’t mind having one in future. They had left such a big impression on me. Soon Daine arrived and I asked him if I can go for sea kayaking that day which was included in the package. That was the only thing which was left for me to day and I had a full day left. The weather was not good that day as it was windy, cloudy and raining. He told that it can get better in the evening and he will try to get me kayaking in the evening. I was wondering how I can pass time till then as it was just 11 AM.
I have heard about Green Point there which has significant rock formations, I asked him about the distance and he replied that I can ride there with bike and his girlfriend Angela was going that way and she can drop me and the bicycle there and I can ride back one way instead of both ways. I was glad I can see something in that time which I had. Soon I changed my dress and with my backpack I was out in the car and Angela dropped me and the bike at the Green point trail starting point. First I took the wrong route and after being helped by a couple camping there I got directed to the location of the rock formations. The site was located down the road in the shores of the sea. As usual there was no one except me when I went there. There was a board explaining the significance of rock the formations there. 
Green Point Rocks: The Vertical layers which you see here are originally the ocean bed, due to tectonic forces they have been tilted vertical. Each layer is from different time period with the younger ones on the left and older ones on the right. The right most extreme layer is more than 550 Million years old. By walking across this section of vertical rock layers you actually have walked across the ocean bed back from today to 550 Million years ago and it was so thrilling to do that. Just the feeling of it was awesome. The roaring waves hitting the rocks and the fact that I was the only one around, it was like I own everything there including the seas and it felt great. The nature has the power to make you feel anything when you are in its hands. The layers or rock formations there kept me stitched to the place and I was there for almost 2 hours just walking across the rock formations hearing the sound of the seas and seeing the roaring waves hitting the rocks. 
After spending enough time at the Green point I decided to head back to the hostel. All along the way I was biking along the seashore and could sea trees and grasses and flowers lining the road making it a pretty sight and the sight of the everlasting ocean just besides the road was some view. After biking for almost 30 minutes I reached the hostel but headed to the shore directly opposite to the hostel to pick up some pebble stones which I wanted to. I saw an inukshuk in a motel reception earlier that day made of pebble stones and I was inspired to make one myself. So I was there on a mission to collect some pebble stones to make it. Though I though it would be easy to get the right pebble stones when thousands of them where lying there, it was getting tougher and tougher to find the right sized , right shaped stones to form the inukshuk of the right size and proportions. I could see the pebble stones everywhere but I was finding it hard to find the stones I wanted. After struggling for almost an hour I managed to collect two sets of stones and backpack became heavy already to let me thinking about carrying it along with me. I stopped taking more stones and headed back to the hostel and reached hostel by 3:30 PM
At around 4 PM Daine said Dave is ready to take me out to sea Kayaking. I soon headed out with enough wind protection wearing 2 t-shirts and a jacket with gloves and ear muffs to make sure the winds from the sea do not free me out while kayaking. We reached the kayaking spot after 20 minutes of drive and kayaks were lying there already. Dave had carried the paddle and life Jacket. After putting the life jacket we took a two person kayak in to the sea. Though I do not know swimming I was exited to kayak in the sea for the first time. I somehow believed that the lifejacket will keep me alive, though my mind kept telling me you are going to be dead in 20 minutes if you are in that cold sea waters. But still I headed out with Dave in to the sea with out kayak. We started to paddle towards the ocean and we went 50 to 60 meters inside the sea when the winds started to gain strength and was increasing the height of the waves. I was seated in the front of the kayak and I could feel the waves hitting the kayak. Though I was scarred inside it was a thrilling experience and I wanted more of it. The first wave hit the kayak and passed over the kayak. The second wave was a bit taller and it too passed over the kayak after splashing water on our faces wetting our clothes. Before the third wave could hit us, Dave told me that he was not expecting that big waves and he was all set to head back. As he was seated at the back, he has the control over the kayak and he soon turned the kayak to return back to the shore. I was so disappointed on seeing him do that. We were there not even for 10 minutes and we are heading back. On reaching the shore he told me that he did not wanted to risk lives and though I was disappointed I started to think that what he did was right. He has much experience with kayaking in the sea and he knows better than me in deciding what is good and what is not. We headed back to the hostel disappointed and I went directly to my room to change my wet clothes. Only when I was changing my clothes I could feel how wet and cold they were and were thankful to Dave for turning the kayak back. If we had been out there for few more minutes I would have started to shiver and what would have been the condition if our kayak had given up to the waves and tripped us in to the water. Thanks to him for making a wise decision.
It was 6 PM and started to think if I should go out for a walk but decided to stay inside as it was cold outside and my jacket was still wet. I sat with the internet for sometime. I informed Daine about my flight next morning and he agreed to drop me at the airport early morning. and then headed to bed directly at 7:30 PM as I had to get up at 4 AM next morning, my flight back to Toronto was at 6 AM from Deer Lake airport.
5th July 2010:
He made it to the airport entrance by 5:50 AM. Thanking him I ran inside to counter to get my boarding pass when I was told by the attendee there that I can not make it to the flight as there is only 8 Minutes for the flight departure. I know I was late and I apologized to him asked him to check if I can somehow make it. He called up the gates and after confirming with me that I had no check in baggage he gave me the boarding pass and asked me to run to the security and reach the gate before it is closed. He said I have 5 Minutes. Well you would have heard of people running to catch a bus or for that matter a train, that day I was running to catch a flight. The security check was on other end of the building, I ran up there and passed thorough the security scan. As I was expecting my bag caught their attention while scanning and I know it was the pebble stones. They started to check my bag and I know it would happen but I did not know I would end up with the time constraint. I helped them open my bag and showed them the stones lying at the bottom of the bag. After having a close look of the stones they cleared me to board the plane. Immediately on their approval I ran towards the gate which was still open and I could still see the plane standing in front of the gate. I ran past the front of the airplane having a look at the pilot’s windows and to the stairs leading to the planes door and I was inside at last. Remember this is a very small airport and that was the only plane at that time. I entered the plane at 5:58 AM and once I entered the door was closed and the flight started the taxi sharply at 6:00 AM sharp just after I sat down and put my belts on. It was like they were waiting for me to come in, but I know that mostly is not the case, I was just able to make it on time. I don’t think this would happen more frequently. The flight started its journey to Toronto.
The 4 day planned vacation which was suppose to be a relaxing cool one with everything planned, remained that way for the first couple of days and then took a u turn to turn it in to a complete thrilling adventure till the end. Thinking of it I feel glad it did turn that way making it more interesting. Gros Morne is a place one can feel being in the heart of nature and I had just experienced it, it’s going to hold the top place in my journey list besides Kerala for a long time. Let’s see if I could make to some place in future which can beat these two pristine destinations. The result will be left to be decided by my conscience!
