Dale wasn’t able to find any accommodation right in Bonavista but the Seaport Inn Hotel in nearby Port Union had one room left, the Honeymoon Suite, oh la la! It was the room at the very end of the corridor, with a door out to a private hot tub. The room itself was tired and the decorating was dated, but it was clean and we were happy. It was a step up from some of the other places we had stayed. I considered our stay in L’Anse aux Meadows camping, sure we were in a B&B with a solid roof over our heads, but the bathroom was across the hallway and the bed was just a step up from a camp cot. So if the Valhalla B&B was a 1+ star, and chalet in Rocky Harbour was 5 stars, then the Seaport Inn was a 3. And in my mind, anything below a three is camping. So, the Seaport Inn just squeaked by, the bed was comfy and the linens were crisp white, so yes, not camping.
We checked in and then drove into Bonavista. We were able to go into the home of the lighthouse keeper and his family. The admission also got us into the Mockbeggar Plantation in the town of Bonavista. It was late in the day so we toured the lighthouse and walked the grounds. The house was quite beautiful and there were guides throughout the house and in the light tower to give information and answer questions. The keeper got paid in cash and his family lived rent free. They had to maintain the house, but they had quite a standing in the community due to their favourable economic circumstances. Dale was fascinated by the light mechanism. It was a series of gears and pulleys that had to be wound several times a day, and also during the night. As long was the mechanism was wound, the light turned. There was a way to wind it from inside the house. Of course, there were other jobs to be done, like cleaning the glass chimneys on the lights, the reflective surfaces and the windows. The windows had to be cleaned from the outside, by accessing a very narrow walkway. It was a job that would test the mettle of anyone, especially if there was a wind blowing.
The grounds were beautiful and from a wooden walkway we were able to use a telescope to see puffins! We were so excited but were later told that there was a better location where we could see them without a telescope. The wind was blowing but it was still early, so we walked out to the headland. It was an impressive sight. This was the place John Cabot, or as he was known in Italy Giovanni Caboto, landed. We didn’t see a good landing spot but from the top looking down is never a good vantage point.
After leaving the lighthouse we went back to the inn to discover a tour bus had arrived. The hallways were full of luggage being delivered to the appropriate rooms. We maneuvered our way through the maze and went to our room to clean up before dinner. The restaurant at the inn had a good rating, so we decided to forgo a drive and we went there. The room had many reserved tables, of course, the tour bus. The tables along the windows weren’t labelled so we motioned to the server and she told us to sit. Dale ordered a beer and I had a tea. The server was very friendly and chatty. The couple at the table behind us must have known her well. She kept going back to chat with them and when they left she gave them big hugs. Our meal was great, Dale’s panfried cod was especially delicious. The room slowly started to fill up with the tour bus people as we had our dinner. Clearly the inn had done this a time or two before. The plates came out of the kitchen with rapid efficiency. It was interesting to watch the groups at the tables. There were some couples, who seemed to only sit with other couples. There were some groups of women who came in together and sat together, and a few women who came in alone and looked for a free spot to sit. There were no men who walked in alone. Most of the people at the tables were actively engaged and the noise level grew. Everyone seemed to enjoying themselves,
Our server told us where to go to see puffins. She said mid-morning would be best. So the next morning we got up, checked out and drove to where the puffins were. It was foggy when we left and still foggy when we got to the site. We parked and hiked across a field and then to some cliffs. We were up pretty high and we went quite a ways out over the sea. We went right to the end. We could see an island about 30 feet away and it was covered with birds. We could see puffins but not clearly because of the fog. So we hiked back and decide to look at other things, hoping the fog would lift.
The small community we were in, Elliston, is known for its root cellars. They were everywhere, not just attached to houses. It was neat to spy the small wooden doors built into the many small banks. We drove around seeing how many we could find. Then we went back into Bonavista proper to go to the Mockbeggar plantation. It was a beautiful old house and again, well represented by the guides stationed throughout the house. By the time we were done the fog had lifted and we drove back to see if we could improve our puffin experience.
We did. We sat on a rock at the end of the headland and watched the puffins on the island ahead of us. They are crazy fliers. They have little burrows they pop in and out of. They often flew out in groups to get fish and then came back to give the fish to their babies in the burrows. They had to dodge the seagulls who decided stealing fish from puffins was easier than getting it themselves. From what we saw, the puffins were able to get past them, but the seagulls must sometimes win otherwise they wouldn’t keep trying. We were too far away to get a good photo with our phones but we still sat there for quite a while, enjoying their antics and making memories.
