Timeless Beauty of Newfoundland

The whale surfaces off the port bow of our schooner Shenandoah II, then dives and reappears on our starboard side as if welcoming us into the waters of Conception Bay in southeast Newfoundland.

A moment later he dives toward his mate off Chapel’s Cove and Gallow’s Cove, both named for their contrasting footnotes of the history recorded around this bay.

I’d been jigging for cod as we drifted along on this day cruise that begins near St. John’s, capital of Canada’s easternmost province.

Suddenly the line felt as if a small whale had been jigged. I hauled away, and my wife Elfriede got her camera ready. The fish broke water and skipper David Murphy shouted: “Don’t bring it any closer!”

He grabbed a long pole and explained, “You’ve hooked yourself a wolffish! See all those teeth? They could take off an arm!”

While Elfriede’s camera clicked away, he released the fish and we drifted on past deep fiords and awesome headlands.

This was a new-found land for the Vikings a thousand years ago. Today’s travelers will discover the contrasts of its scenery and an array of cultural events, in a setting where North America’s closest point to Europe means many historical firsts.

Own Time Zone

The entire province includes Labrador on the mainland as well as the island of Newfoundland. The province has its own time zone, 4 1/2 hours ahead of Los Angeles. We decided to explore at a leisurely pace the new-found land in and around St. John’s.

This is a setting that has drawn writers and artists from around the world, ever since the poet Stephen Parmenius Pais came here from Budapest in 1583.

Just up the coast from where we have been day-cruising, the village of Brigus rises like a bit of old England above Bishop’s Beach on Conception Bay. Here the famed American artist Rockwell Kent established his home and studio early in this century.

Settled in the mid-1600s, Brigus is the birthplace of Capt. Robert A. Bartlett, early Arctic explorer whose memorial on the beach is shaped like three stylized sails.

Nearby is Cupids, where colonial couples tried to establish the first officially chartered British colony in 1610.

Soon after that comes Spaniard’s Bay, under the influence of Spain until the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588; Sir Francis Drake helped to weaken Armada preparations by raiding Spanish ships from his St. John’s base.

Takeoff Point

And shortly Harbor Grace will show up on your port bow, first a French settlement, then a 17th-Century pirate fort, and in 1932 the outpost from which Amelia Earhart took off to become the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. In 1919 Alcock and Brown had taken off from St. John’s on the first nonstop flight from North America to Europe.

After a fish chowder and lobster luncheon, we visited Kissing Rock at Galecliff Hospitality Home in Upper Island Cove.

The Kissing Rock is a giant boulder beside this historic home that has bed-and-breakfast accommodations as well as a dining room for luncheon and dinner.

Our hostess, Barbara Louise Mercer, told us of the legends about the joy that will befall a couple who embrace on the kissing rock. Centuries ago, couples would say farewell at this rock as fishermen went to sea. Bed and breakfast at Galecliff is $35 (Canadian), about $26 U.S., per couple.

A few more coves up the bay, there’s the story of Sheila Na Geira, the Irish princess who was captured by the British pirate Gilbert Pike in the era of William Shakespeare. They fell in love and settled at Carbonear on Conception Bay.

Historic Messages

Across the narrow peninsula, at Heart’s Content, right up the coast from Heart’s Desire and Heart’s Delight, the first successful transatlantic cable hookup in 1866 began the linking of an uncounted number of heartbeats across the ocean.

On Signal Hill in St. John’s, Marconi in 1901 received the first wireless message transmitted across the Atlantic.

Below Memorial Park and just above St. John’s Harbor is a plaque with an inscription by Rudyard Kipling: “Close to this commanding and historic spot Sir Humphrey Gilbert landed on the fifth day of August, 1583, and in taking possession of the new found land in the name of his Sovereign Queen Elizabeth thereby founded Britain’s overseas empire.”

When Sir Humphrey arrived, the busy seaport of St. John’s wasn’t exactly new-found. John Cabot had sailed into the harbor in 1497. Half a millenium earlier, Newfoundland had been the Viking’s Markland. About AD 1000 a Viking boy became the first white child born in North America.

About 9,000 years ago, Indians at a site now known as L’Anse Amour held a burial ritual for a young man. His grave has recently been authenticated by archeologists.

When the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock, they were greeted by an Indian named Squantum who had learned to speak English in Newfoundland.

Privacy and Plenty

In St. John’s, we stayed at the Prescott House, a B&B; home just above the harbor, Our accommodations included a fireplace, well-stocked bookshelves, a private bath and a cozy kitchen. Janet and John Koop, our host and hostess, brought us a basket of freshly baked blueberry muffins.

The cupboard was stocked with jams and jellies, coffee and teas. We shopped at the nearby grocer’s and prepared our own breakfasts. Our rooms cost $48 (Canadian), about $36 U.S.

The Koops were characteristic of the friendliness we found everywhere in this oldest North American city, from the Tourist Commission office to Bannerman Park where the Newfoundland Folk Festival was under way with music, arts, crafts and dancing.

The “Walking Tour of Old St. John’s,” prepared by the Tourist Commission, leads to museums, galleries, theaters, cultural centers, parks, hotels and restaurants.

Looking at the famous narrows of the harbor from a terraced hillside just above Water Street, your imagination can see the 15th-Century sailing ships entering from the North Atlantic. Nearby is the modern, 300-room Hotel Newfoundland, with squash courts, an indoor pool and health spa. Doubles start at about $115 (Canadian), about $86 U.S.

Only Canadian Moat

The first stop on a walking tour is the wooden structure of St. Thomas Church, completed in 1836 on the site of the first garrison church of 1699. Beyond it is Government House, completed in 1825, the only residence in Canada with a moat.

The ceilings of Government House and the Colonial Building were frescoed by the Polish artist, Pindikowksi. On this same street is the Basilica of St. John the Baptist with Romanesque towers.

A memorial inscription in a nearby park told us that Hungarian poet Stephen Parmenius Pais, who had come here to chronicle Sir Humphrey Gilbert’s expedition, was lost with Sir Humphrey and the entire crew when their ship sank in a storm during the return trip to England.

In the Arts & Culture Centre are small theaters, libraries, galleries, a museum, craft-training area, restaurant and a 1,000-seat main theater. The Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra begins the season here during October, a month also highlighted by the National Ballet of Canada and the St. John’s Oktoberfest. Memorial University, with an enrollment of nearly 12,000 students, has a theater on campus. The Newfoundland Museum presents the story of the province since prehistoric times.

The Regatta on Quidi Vidi Lake in the city, every August, has been held since 1826 and is the oldest organized sporting event in North America.

Pippy Park is big enough to offer enjoyment at any season. In winter its golf course is popular with cross-country skiers.

From the many selections in the restaurant guide, we chose to have our first dinner of fresh lobster in St. John’s at the Fishing Admiral beside the harbor on Water Street, oldest street in Canada and the United States. Along with our lobster we got the story of the Fishing Admirals.

sh Admiral, Judge, Jury Before governors arrived in Newfoundland, the master of the first fishing vessel to sail into a harbor each season became the admiral and the judge of all disputes involving the people who lived around it. Houses with stoves and fireplaces were burned to prevent any permanent settlement after the fishing season was over.

Marine Drive along the coast north of the city is the place for photographing or just viewing the coves, cliffs and often wild seas of this North Atlantic shore.

When we stood at Cape Spear we were farther east than anyone else in North America.

Flat Rock’s Grotto, a shrine to Our Lady of Lourdes, was blessed by Pope John Paul II, who knelt here on Sept. 12 two years ago. We were standing outside the grotto church on Sunday morning when a man who had come to pick up his daughter asked us, “Where are you going to have your coffee this morning?”

Then he explained that there was no place open on Sunday morning and that we should follow him and his daughter to their home. We drove behind Bill Short’s car to the Pouch Cove home overlooking the sea, where his wife Dot and daughter Helen served us coffee and cake.

(For help in planning a Newfoundland visit, write to the Department of Development, Tourism Branch, P.O. Box 2016, St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada A1C 5R8.)