Sunday, June 14

Val

Sunday was indeed a day of rest for some of us with lollygagging at the chalet, our nicest digs yet. Diane chose to dine on her leftover fish dinner for lunch, and the rest of us walked the quarter mile to the Edge of Avalon Inn. Dan and I left 10 minutes after Tom, Deb, and Jim and yet we somehow arrived before them. They were slightly surprised to find us seated at a table, but they provided a simple explanation. The town wharf behind our lodging had lured them to meet some locals and learn that fishermen would be arriving to offload their catch of crabs the next day mid-afternoon. Unfortunately, our planned morning departure meant we would miss the excitement.

Diane and Deb opted to stay behind while the three guys and I went for an exploratory drive that involved a couple of kilometers up a one-track road to the Powles Lighthouse. Many scrubby pines gave way to open land covered with lichen, moss, and other plants. According to Google, it is tundra. The lighthouse was locked up behind a chain link fence so we walked toward the cliff edge at the side of the point to view the ocean surf crashing on the rocks below.

A couple of hours later we returned to the Inn to meet up with Tony Power, a local naturalist who took our small group to several spots to learn about the local fauna. In spite of his slow delivery, we found his Newfoundlandish accent a bit challenging. “Dagg” turned out to be “dog.” There didn’t seem to be any “th” or other diphthongs, Just a “t” or “d” sound. We actually returned to the area from our earlier drive but learned a good bit about the tundra with Tony providing identifications of local plants, including the pitcher plant that eats insects and is the official flower of Newfoundland. We also looked in vain for seals that are known to frequent the rocks near the lighthouse.

After another great meal at the inn, we settled in for the night.