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| cute and charming houses in St.John's |
I woke up the following morning feeling a little bit recharged. It was still raining when I looked out of the window. Bummer!
Since I only carried 1 bag with me, streamlining my winter clothing was part of it. That meant I decided to leave my gloves and beanie in Toronto. Oh well, I wasn't planning to spend again so I told myself to suffer the cold :)
I met a girl Cecilia in the common room. She was one of my roomies so I couldn't help but tell her about the previous night's happening. That's when she told me that it wasn't the first time the girl told off someone. Anyway, I've moved on after that. Cecilia was just there for the long weekend. Originally from Hong Kong, she's been living in Toronto for the past years and exploring Canada on the side.
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| Signal Hill from a distance |
I found the nearest Tim Hurton's along Duckworth street. Of course anybody who's been to Canada would know that it's the cheapest place you can get coffee, donuts and small stuff to eat. I stayed for an hour there staring at the maps, figuring out my bearing and strategy. I also had to ring the Avis car rental company, working out if I could pick up the car in Mt.Pearl instead of the airport. Man, that was really stressful for me most especially after computing the weekly rental the internet gave me. But I thought, hey, that'll be the best way for me to explore the island plus my initial idea of hitch hiking wouldn't really work if it was raining. So that was it. Sold. I was scheduled to pick up the car on a Wednesday, road tripping around till Monday the following week.
Before I start a write-up about St.John's, I'd like to extensively cover the history of Newfoundland. My interest heightened when I got to St.John's and realized the whole feel of the place was so much so European. I didn't even get any Canadian vibe to the place. Not everyone who travels to Canada would go out their way to explore the Eastern side of this massive country. But I'd say it's definitely worth making that side trip and exploring more than a week. Locals are called "Newfies" and a myth has been looming around that they speak "weird". I'd say they don't. They might have their own terms or dialect... but "weird" was based on the fact that they speak different from the typical Canadian accent. Personally, I think they sound more Irish.. definitely European. And Ive never had issues understanding them at all. So it was all sweet. Now I know. :)
Newfoundland was once under the British rule before it became part of Canada on the 31st of March, 1949. First settlers on this side of the country, or let's say Pre-colonization, were the Archaic Peoples, then by the Paleo-Eskimoes, then by the Inuits and then the Beothuks. It's said that the Beothuks are now extinct. Same for all of the sub-Antarctic people, they thrived in hunting and camping.
In 1496, John Cabot under King Henry VII said he would go "sail to all parts, countries and seas of the East, the West and of the North, under our banner and ensign and to set up our banner on any new-found-land". Thus the name "Newfoundland". On the feast day of St.John the Baptist, June 24, 1497, landed in Cape Bonavista. Sir Humphrey Gilbert, under Queen Elizabeth I, landed in St.John's in August 1583 and had the formal ownership of St.John's under the British rule. There were a lot of disputes between Spain, France, Portugal and England. However, majority of the battles were between France and the British rule. A lot of the European regimes that had vested interest of the Newfoundland found the huge potential of the fishing sites around. So there was a Treaty of Utrecht that gave French fisherman the right to catch fish on the western coast which they gave up in 1904. The first French settlement was just right at now called Placentia (once named Plaisance).
In well-known Battle of Signal happened in 1762. The French army, under Guillaume Bellecombe, tried to invade the city of St.John's but was unsuccessful. British Colonel William Amherst forced out of the shores and gained back what was rightfully owned. This was the last battle of the North American theatre of the Seven years of War.
In 1854, a responsible government was formed in Newfoundland. They rejected confederation with Canada and decided to be a Dominion, constituting a self-governed state of the British Empire and was said to be autonomous from British Rule.
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| Signal Hill |
When World War I came into play, British and French armies combined forces and was part of the Battle of the Somme, which was a joint offensive battle against the German Army. This wasn't at all successful, and has caused huge debts and damage for the Dominion of Newfoundland. A lot of the men of Newfoundland volunteered for the war, but as for how prepared they were, was more of a question. To this day, there is the known Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial in France, to commemorate those who died during World War I, July 1, 1916.
It was only in 1927, that Labrador, which was disputed to be either part of Quebec or Newfoundland, was put to rest. British government ruled and declared was to be considered part of the Dominion of Newfoundland.
After 15 years of having the same government since the Dominion was created, Newfoundland voted itself out of existence in 1933. In the early 1940's, the British government allowed Newfoundland to decide their future. A convention was formed and 2 referendums took place. The last with a 52.3% vote to join the Confederation of Canada. on the 31st of March, 1949, Newfoundland and Labrador became officially part of Canada.
Excerpt from Wikipedia about the flag:
The flag of Newfoundland and Labrador was introduced in 1980, and was designed by Newfoundland artist Christopher Pratt. The flag design, with the proportions 2:1, was approved by the House of Assembly of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, on May 28, 1980. It was flown for the first time on Discovery Day; June 24, 1980.
The design was chosen due to its broad symbolism. The blue colour represents the sea, the white colour represents snow and ice of winter, the red colour represents the effort and struggle of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, and the gold colour symbolizes the confidence Newfoundlanders and Labradorians have in themselves and for the future.
The blue triangles are meant as a tribute to the Union Jack, and stand for the British heritage of Newfoundland and Labrador. The two red triangles are meant to represent the two areas of the province—the mainland and the island. The gold arrow, according to Pratt, points towards a "brighter future"; the arrow becomes a sword, honouring the sacrifices of Newfoundlanders in military service when the flag is draped as a vertical banner. The red triangles and the gold arrow form a trident, symbolizing the province's dependence on its fisheries and the resources of the sea"
Anyway, moving on...
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| view of the city from deadman's pond |
St.John's town was looking gray when I started my walk. I had almost 4-5 layers on but I still felt cold. The houses around were so charming and colorful. I bumped into a local carpenter, Tyler, who gave me a short story about the designs. Apparently, back in the days the jelly bean colors were non-existent. Majority of the houses were painted white but there was also the said "ochre" chemical present around newfoundland that when mixed with a variety of oils can result to different shades. The latest variety of colours were only a transition from the urbanization of the city, most probably in the lat 70's and 80's. The close proximity of houses were also explained as the answer to using less wood when rebuilding the city after the Great Fire of 1982. Huge heritage regulations have been imposed not just around st.John's but also all over Newfoundland. This I realized when I got to drive around the towns and had a chance to chat with a few locals. One of the things worth noting: (1) You can cross the street anywhere anytime...chances are if the driver is a local, they would definitely STOP right in the middle of the traffic (2) the locals are very friendly, helpful and chatty :) (3) car rentals would honk on the second time you press the auto lock from your car key remote control. why? not sure.
I walked along Water Street and noticed a few writing along the way that shared the history of the city. Different photos of the Lieutenants of both British and French Armies were displayed. The port was filled with big vessels, parked silently on the waters of St.John's. I continued on to Signal Hill road. I remember reading somewhere that the city was compared once to San Fran because of the windy and uphill walks. Oh yeah, I did feel that. I was humping my way up Signal Hill Road but I knew it was good for my heart. So yeap up and up I went.
I stopped for a while at the Johnson Geo Centre and wanted to learn more about the Geophysical description of Newfoundland's landscapes. It was a $12 charge for me, I guess it's cheaper when it's still "winter" here. I believe I spent a good 2-hours there reading through. Majority of the architecture is located underground where a glacial formation existed million of years ago. Signal Hill was once a big glacier which eventually was dwarfed due to weathering.
I did a little bit of reading through the galleries and found out that the landscapes of Newfoundland is almost similar to Wales. Tribolite fossils can be clearly seen on the rock formations on both countries which explains a lot based on the concept of Pangaea (a supercontinent that existed ages ago during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic times which broke apart 200 million years ago). Geologists would se Ma to mean Million and Ga for Gazillion years.
There was also a section about the Titanic. It was only then that I learned that the Titanic route was actually a little bit close to Newfoundland. That ship left Cherbourg, then Queenstown and was destined to arrive in New York. There were a lot of facts and "said to be" displays in that section of the museum. What I really liked about it was how it exposed the truths and misconceptions about the tyranny of JPMorgan and his big fat dream to have the greatest and biggest cruise ship in the world, and also exposing the lack of preparation for distress, decreased number of rescue boats and the arrogance of the captain. They were already warned about the risk of sailing through iceberg filled waters. The belief that the Titanic was "unstoppable" filled the air, so they went on.
Another section covered the importance of oil most especially to the economy of the Newfoundland and Labrador areas. Apparently there are lots of natural gas potential along the coast, but of course the known Hibernia oil field was covered in the museum. I wonder how much of the wildlife has been affected by such oil fields. There are speculations that they are thinking of putting up an oil field new Gros Morne National Park. OMG! darn government if they push through with that.
So after too much information overload, I decided to move on and hike up the Signal Hill Battlefield. I was still wet and cold, but decided to go on and finish the days activities. I started walking up around 1:30 pm. A few gun artilleries were still in tact and a stone house erected on the side of the hill was still solid.
Up the Signal Hill, I went up the fortress and looked out the windows. The fog was a little bit tricky to see through so I went down. That's when I met a guy named Patrick, from Sydney Australia. We decided to walk the track back to the town. That ended to be almost 3-4 hours of walking through the Pippy Park and getting lost as well. It was cool though. At least I had company.
We came across a few photographers who were looking out, and so we decided to be curious onlookers as well and have a chat. Out in the bushes, nestled by the green and gray trees was a big eagle's nest. The guy with the super lens said she had 2 eggs. We lingered for a while then decided to move on.
The walk was fairly fine, going around villages. The chat was fine and I learned that he was also in the I.T. industry. He's been in Canada for almost a year now, and trying to land a job in Montreal.
We arrived in town around 6:30 and famished. So we decided to stay in a café, keep warm, have some decent food and discussed about travel plans and what we've encountered along the road. It was a good exchange. He was in St.John's for the next 2 days.
I walked along Water Street and noticed a few writing along the way that shared the history of the city. Different photos of the Lieutenants of both British and French Armies were displayed. The port was filled with big vessels, parked silently on the waters of St.John's. I continued on to Signal Hill road. I remember reading somewhere that the city was compared once to San Fran because of the windy and uphill walks. Oh yeah, I did feel that. I was humping my way up Signal Hill Road but I knew it was good for my heart. So yeap up and up I went.
 |
| Geo Centre view across deadmans pond |
I did a little bit of reading through the galleries and found out that the landscapes of Newfoundland is almost similar to Wales. Tribolite fossils can be clearly seen on the rock formations on both countries which explains a lot based on the concept of Pangaea (a supercontinent that existed ages ago during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic times which broke apart 200 million years ago). Geologists would se Ma to mean Million and Ga for Gazillion years.
There was also a section about the Titanic. It was only then that I learned that the Titanic route was actually a little bit close to Newfoundland. That ship left Cherbourg, then Queenstown and was destined to arrive in New York. There were a lot of facts and "said to be" displays in that section of the museum. What I really liked about it was how it exposed the truths and misconceptions about the tyranny of JPMorgan and his big fat dream to have the greatest and biggest cruise ship in the world, and also exposing the lack of preparation for distress, decreased number of rescue boats and the arrogance of the captain. They were already warned about the risk of sailing through iceberg filled waters. The belief that the Titanic was "unstoppable" filled the air, so they went on.
Another section covered the importance of oil most especially to the economy of the Newfoundland and Labrador areas. Apparently there are lots of natural gas potential along the coast, but of course the known Hibernia oil field was covered in the museum. I wonder how much of the wildlife has been affected by such oil fields. There are speculations that they are thinking of putting up an oil field new Gros Morne National Park. OMG! darn government if they push through with that.
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| stone house up Signal Hill |
Up the Signal Hill, I went up the fortress and looked out the windows. The fog was a little bit tricky to see through so I went down. That's when I met a guy named Patrick, from Sydney Australia. We decided to walk the track back to the town. That ended to be almost 3-4 hours of walking through the Pippy Park and getting lost as well. It was cool though. At least I had company.
 |
| eagle's nest |
The walk was fairly fine, going around villages. The chat was fine and I learned that he was also in the I.T. industry. He's been in Canada for almost a year now, and trying to land a job in Montreal.
We arrived in town around 6:30 and famished. So we decided to stay in a café, keep warm, have some decent food and discussed about travel plans and what we've encountered along the road. It was a good exchange. He was in St.John's for the next 2 days.
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