Twillingate

 Twillingate / 10x10
CAROL HAS HOPES and plans and goals for Canada. One is to see a moose. Another is to see whales. Yet another, to see puffins. 

And so, as we figure out where to go during the time that she's with me, we include these goals. Gros Morne we visit in part because of the gorgeous pictures we have seen of the place, and partly because of the possibility of moose. 

We spend a long afternoon there, but see no moose. Ever hopeful, we head northeast
toward Twillingate. We have heard that it’s lovely there, with beautiful vistas and cliffs - and whales. 

The drive takes us through miles and miles and miles and miles - and MILES - of pine trees. I am rarely bored on a drive, but the monotony of this one is beyond description. 

We see no animals, virtually no houses, almost no towns. We get off the Trans Canada Highway one time on the way to Twillingate, mostly just to see something different. Anything but pine trees. 

Twillingate is worth all those piney miles, though. It is craggy and cliff-filled, with interesting houses and eccentric roadways. 

We pull over on a wide spot near a beach, and meet a man out with two young daughters. They tell us that we can see whales here in Twillingate - from shore! He directs us to the lighthouse and tells us where to look, and with Carol navigating, we go. 

And sure enough, we see whales! 

We are standing near the lighthouse, at the top of a cliff, and Carol spots a spray of water spouting up from the sea. A moment later, a dark shape rises and curls down, showing a flash of white. It’s a humpback whale, feeding. We watch, and after we see that one blow and then rise a couple times, we lose him. But farther out, we see two sprays, and two whales. Then another comes in close to the rocks directly below us. 

A woman who has studied whales tells us that they will come - sometimes in pairs or groups - close to the rocks, pushing the fish before them, trapping them against the rocky cliffs, and then they will eat to their hearts’ content. 


We watch for a long, long time. It’s exhilarating, thrilling, stupendous! 


Above, you can see the spray from the humpback whale, and below, you can see as his dark body, with a white side and belly, comes up and begins to curl down for a dive. 



***
Road Art! 

 Yup. Lick-A-Chick. The restaurant was in North Sydney, Nova Scotia. 



Yup. Cod tongues. With scrunchions. This is a traditional Newfoundland dish. Cod tongues aren't really tongues, but a fleshy part of the throat. Scrunchions are pieces of pork fat, diced and fried until they're crispy. I had cod with scrunchions, but just can't quite get to cod tongues. 

***
Dog of the Day

It's Bella, a mini golden doodle belonging to Carol's friends Cindy and Matt! 

***
A Final Thought

"A man of ordinary talent will always be ordinary, whether he travels or not, but a man of superior talent will go to pieces if he remains forever in the same place." 
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart




















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