Sunday 17 August 2008

Part Two a trip to St.John's and home to BC again!

On Saturday, I had a couple of hours off and took a bus into St. John's. What an experience -winding through the narrow streets where cars stop to let the bus go by. On the waterfront, even the stores 'cuddle' together, sharing walls ... perhaps for warmth in the cold Atlantic winds? To my left, a lighthouse at the mouth of the harbour. To my right, a sleek government ship is tied up at a wharf and a gas storage tanks sit on the opposite bank.I walked up the hill and met a family of ducks. (look in grass) History is not far away with the anchor of a ship that sank in the bay. The old harbour town is named by the locals as 'downinmyluck'.About the time I felt like a pause ... here was a charming restaurant serving cappuccino and strawberry tarts. I think it had been a government building, perhaps a custom's house.The door had a handmade ring
The city St. John's is built on a hill with narrow roads and series of attached homes in bright colours. The front step of the house is right on the road - from a time when you walked from place to place.Electrical and power wires cross in a haphazard way.A little bit of humour with a mailbox painted with row houses!
A sign of the times - as a church makes way for condominiums.Most houses are simple construction row houses of indeterminable age. The government and church buildings are brick and with more architectural detail.
Up the hill were newer, larger detached houses with some yard area.It was the first week of June and tulips bravely grew in rocky crannies.An interesting street name, from the days of Prohibition when alcohol was illegal.
Newfoundland was inhabited by fishermen as early as the 16th century. The graveyard could tell some stories ... about a hard life and hearty people.I continue my interest in sunbursts.In the center of the town was a penitentiary with razor wire at the top. The wire made a strangely beautiful design in the sunlight. I headed home to BC after one week, in the late afternoon and I was able to get a clear view of St. John's and the Nfld. coastline. It is very rugged with ferries being the choice for travel and only a few roads snaking across the the rocky landscape. Most towns are at the head of deep inlets. Come-by-Chance oil refinery is fairly recent, providing new jobs. The cod fishery has been decimated. Large factory ships came from all over the world and dragged the bottom of the ocean ... ruining the environment and destroying the main industry. Many men leave Nfld. and work in Alberta for months at a time.
We had clouds most of the way across the Maritime Provinces, it was interesting watching the thunderheads build as we crossed over the Great Lakes.When we neared Toronto, we had a lightning show.The airport control allowed us to land but not to disembark for 30 minutes. The rest of the trip west was a continual sunset. We chased the sun west over the Rocky Mountains.At 20,000 ft. the sun bounced across the clouds. Without pollution the colour was spectacular. A great finale to a great trip!

4 comments:

Old Boar said...

Good to see that you got out and about in St. John's.

Terrific photos!

~ Phyllis ~ said...

What a lovely town. Thank you for sharing your pictures. The sunset is beautiful.

Margaret said...

I love "Temperance Street." The photos are just great--now I feel like I've been there!

Barb said...

I love seeing your pictures. I have nominated you for an award. Please see my blog to pick it up.