Once upon a time, there was a fjord. Even covered by glaciation, it was a fine and happy fjord. All ice ages come to an end, it seems, and when the ice left, the compressed Earth’s crust began to bounce up. It bounced so high, it cut the fjord’s water off from the ocean. The happy fjord was a fjord no more, and gradually began to change into a fresh water, long, skinny lake. When English speakers arrived, they saw the lake, and knowing only the word “pond,” perhaps demoralized the body of water further, by naming it Western Brook Pond.
We had an afternoon cruise from one end of the former fjord to the other. It was scenic and relaxing on a beautiful, sunny day. It reminded me a bit of Milford Sound, on the South Island of New Zealand, because even though Western Pond is not a fjord, it still has the geology and feel of one.
The highlight of the day for me was the walk to the ferry. We had a wonderful naturalist with us, Christina from Gros Morne Tours, and Mark was introduced to her before the walk, because of his interest and expertise in botany. He was sort of a confirming assistant on the walk, and it made him very, very happy. He was even passed the microphone at one point, to talk about Equisetum (horsetail, scouring rush).
I had a chance to try to photograph more pitcher plant. It’s tricky because the pitcher and flower are far apart, and the flower faces downward. Added to that, this plant grows in boggy wet spots, so lying on my stomach was not really an option.
After the cruise, we stretched our legs hiking back up to the bus, and visited Lobster Cove, a former fishing village with a still operating lighthouse, and a park interpretive center.
We had a little time to walk around Shallow Bay when we returned to our hotel. The town has a wool and fiber goods store called Skivvers. (No website but there is a description here.) The owner, Veronica Bavis, dyes fiber in the studio, many with natural dyes. She also sells fiber arts from makers around the province. I can knit, and do, although I don’t know how to make complicated garments, so I pretty much make scarf after scarf. I bought two skeins of marigold dyed worsted, so there is a marigold yellow scarf in my future.
For dinner, I had cod for the first time on this trip. Cod is deeply embedded in the history of Newfoundland, and was important in one way or another to every human, from any culture, who ever lived here. It links this province with the US Northeast coast as well.
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