Guess What?

I have been listening to James Taylor today for more than pure pleasure. In one of his songs he mentions a place called Twillingate Isle and I wish I could find it! The song that is. We found the place and we also saw these. Can you identify the items in these photos? Numbers 1-6 from top left to right.

Let’s see how well you know Newfoundland.

The first is baleen from a whale. Humpback whales filter krill by the tens of thousands through this hair-like mesh, and down the hatch they go.

The second is a homemade snowshoe. Snowshoes were absolutely necessary for both transportation and hunting and this pair of snowshoes is another indication of the ingenuity of Newfoundlanders. They made it or made do.

Third is a whale vertebra. Can you see the cylindrical part in the centre? That’s the spinal cord. Whaling first brought the Basque here in the 1500’s, then the cod fishermen from France, Spain, Portugal and later the land-hungry English.

Fourth are lobster traps. Once the cod industry dried up, lobster became big industry. Actually, in between there was mining. We were surprised to learn that many Newfies head to the oil sands in Alberta for the winter months. The economy still seems in flux here where 16% are unemployed.

Fifth is salted cod and, you guessed it, cod was salted for the purpose of preservation. This is how fishermen shipped it back to the homeland on the far side of the Atlantic.

Sixth is a Killick. When the Basque first arrived they had few supplies with them and needed to tap into what the island provided. A Killick is an anchor made from wood and stone and was used to prevent fish nets and small boats from drifting.

How many did you answer correctly?

If you scored 100%, you can wear the hat, use Newfie slang and have succeeded in the Newfie right of passage (at least in my imagination)! Congratulations!