The next day we took to the road. We went south, past the outport of Bay Bulls to Witless Bay. There we had tea at the recommendation of Vernon, one of the fellow conference attendees. Gull Island was visible from the balcony of the Witless Bay cafe. It was rather chilly outside.
We continued south to Ferryland (which has nothing to do with fairies, Faery, or ferries - English Ferryland came from Portuguese Farilham from French Farillon, akin to California's Farallones). There we first came upon the RC church, currently under repair, and viewed the jagged, treacherous rocks on the north side of the cove. Isle au Bois was free of tree, but presumable made that way by man. Further south, there were several other islands, and to the south of all, the Downs, a massive headland extended from a narrow isthmus. On the north (leeward) side of the Downs, a small cluster of buildings huddled around a harbor, called the Pool.
The church was of much more recent provenance, but the two workman assented (with thick brogues) to let us survey their handiwork. I'd never seen so many statues of saints!
We found the Visitor Center for the Colony of Avalon, the archeological site and original settlement on the lee of the Downs. Our guide was a local young woman named Andrea, who admitted that today was unseasonably cold. We crossed the isthmus onto the Downs. The archeological site was still surrounded by the houses of locals, who, rather surprisingly, were cooperating with the archaeologists. The first Lord Baltimore had founded Avalon (from the Avalon Peninsula derives its name) as a utopian colony comprised of both Protestants and Catholics, with freedom of worship. The site on the lee of the Downs protected it from the worst of the Atlantic winds; there was only one (southern) safe passage into the harbor, and another into the Pool; the isthmus could be blockaded effectively. The admixture of the two sects didn't work. Baltimore's colony was hijacked by David Kirke, sparking a series of lawsuits which extended to the next generation; the second Lord Baltimore prefered his colony of Maryland, but never relinquished his claim on Avalon (look on the Maryland state seal). On a more prosaic note, the colony featured the first working lavaratory, which was tidally powered.
We passed Renews, where the Pilgrims landed to restock. It is striking that the standard histories omit this, prefering to perpetuate the falsehood that the Pilgrims went straight to Plymouth Rock. Renews was also the home of a local Newfoundland hero, who swam twenty-seven times to a wreck, rescuing one person each time.
The road around Chance Cove towards Portugal Cove South (Portugual Cove is north-west) of St John's curved west through barren, boggy landscapes. There were, however, several huts in the midst of this wilderness. There is a track from Portugal Cove South to the ship-wrecking Cape Race and Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve, wherein lie the oldest fossils of North America.
Once we reached Biscay Bay (a town), we had lunch, looking south across the Atlantic, and then moved on to Trepassey. Trepassey's name comes from the use of "tre'passe'" by French fishermen to describe the departed. We climbed up to Trepassey Battery, built by the English. We continued through somewhat hillier country to Peters River (the town, St Stephen's and St Vincent's, where many whale-watching tours depart. The most striking feature of the region, however, is Holyrood Pond. 'Pond' in this dialect means a freshwater lake, but Holyrood Pond is so grand and extended so far into the bulk of the Avalon Peninsula that the town of Path End, which is on it, is the only inland fishing port (although Path End is connected to the outport of St Mary's.
After we had passed through St Mary's, we went north towards St Catherine's and Salmonier. We crossed the forested interion between Salmonier and Hawke Hill Archaeological Reserve, traversed the Butter Pot Barrens, and returned to St John's via Mount Pearl, "the city within a park".
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