A Perfect Newfie Day

There is a reason why Newfoundlanders face mockery and even contempt by their Canadian counterparts. I wonder if you have noticed that where the territory is unfamiliar we, “others”, tend to interpret then judge without enough information. It’s a common theme of our existence. I can relate to that behaviour, can you? I admit that it’s a sore point with me because I despise it in myself.

I think Newfoundlanders are a foreign and misunderstood bunch to most of us yet they seem to understand themselves well enough and have a good laugh at their own expense. I do not make a habit of laughing at people but when they ask you join in the fun, what’s a girl to do? Here is an example: I wondered if it was okay to use the term Newfie and then I heard them use it on themselves, and even on formal signage. The Newfies I have met don’t mind that we think they talk funny, rather, they showcase their creatively substitutional vocabulary and pronunciation to such an extent that a sizable dictionary of Newfoundland and Labrador English had to be written to aid in acculturating us non-Newfies. There is more to these folks than meets the ear and they love it.

The winters on the French Coast and northern most point of Newfoundland can reach -65 degrees and the strait between here and Labrador as well as the salt-water bays freeze solid. A serious and reliable source of heat is needed just to stay alive and most families arrange a $15 wood permit to cut 10-15 cords of wood in the spring, which are left by the roadside waiting for the first fall snow at the end of September so they can ski-doo their sleigh full of wood back home and stack it in their basements. Most have dual woodstoves that burn both oil and wood. In summer each family also maintains an inland plot of ground along the highway where they plant root veggies and cabbage. No one thinks of taking what is not their own; wood, vegetables or otherwise especially if the item has subsistence value. The system of honour here is not a nice idea but a life code.

Today we took in two note-worthy sites: L’Anse Aux Meadows and St. Anthony’s coastal waterways. The former is the site of the first European settlement on North American soil. You may remember Eric the Red or maybe Leif Ericcson? The Norse sagas described a land (Vinland) beyond Greenland where Vikings settled for 10 or more years, exploring the coast, plundering and pillaging, as the story goes. I first read about this settlement 15 or so years ago during a homeschool project. I never dreamed I might actually get to visit the site!

The latter site involved a boat, and that’s always a good in thing in my books. Temperatures dropped to -3 last night but the day was clear and the landscape colours vivid so we hopped aboard and headed out to sea from St. Anthony’s harbour. The skipper took us about 10 km east toward a neon blue and white 100 ft high object floating near an island that serves as a bird sanctuary. With the Titanic music playing in the background (I kid you not!) we approached the iceberg (these 3 photos are of the same berg from different angles) and ogled over it before swinging by a puffin colony, and heading back to shore. A Minke whale followed us in along the rocky beach as this Newfie day came to a perfect close.