Two Sore Backs

Ok, this will be a quick one.

After Blow me Down, we travelled south towards Port Au Basques and set up at Barrachois Provincial Park, just east of Stephenville. It’s a really nice park with campsites on a peninsula overlooking a very nice lake.

We had one day to explore the area so decided to drive around the Port au Port peninsula. First stop was Hidden Falls which was literally right beside the highway.

Very much worth stopping for, but so close to the road that it felt like cheating.

Then it was off to the Boulangerie de Boutte at the end of the peninsula. This is a demonstration Acadian bakery with an outdoor wood-fired oven and free bread. (The peninsula is the only remaining part of Newfoundland that is officially bilingual.)

We arrived just as the bread was being taken out if the oven. I wish I could say it was better than it was. I have been spoiled by Bad Dog Bread.

We back-tracked to a restaurant, and after a quick lunch we continued around the peninsula in a clockwise direction. The change in the landscape as we got to the exposed west side was pretty dramatic. Then we got intrigued by Long Point which is a really long spit with a gravel road right to the end.

It was pretty rough but worth it as we arrived at a tiny fishing village called Blue Beach.

I noticed four guys fishing from the pier, so went to check it out. They were fishing for mackerel and before I knew it I had been given three of them plus a filetting lesson.

One of the many examples of Newfoundlanders who would happily give you the shirt off their back. It sounds cliche, but it really is true.

The fellow in the blue shirt – he goes by the name “Fiddler” – encouraged us to come back. We could camp there for free. He actually said we could build our own fishing shack right there on the beach, alongside the others. Nobody would care. Not even the government. It’s a different world.

We were late getting back to the campsite, so it was cooking by headlamp. Mackerel tacos. They were great!