Even though I was sleeping in luxury, I still woke up earlier than I thought I would on Thursday morning. Seven am and there was no going back to sleep. I went for a bit of a walk to the nearby cemetery, which has a great view of the Labrador Sea. I also went to the gym, then spent a frustrating 20 minutes booking TIFF tickets.

Glen and I had chosen our top five films but luckily we had some runner-ups as when I went to book, the times for some were different to the ones that had been in the program, and others had either been withdrawn completely or were ‘off-sale’. Whatever that means. It was a very frustrating experience, and as a result only got two of our top five. I’m sure the rest will be fine. First world problems.

I left Fogo Island Inn at about 11:30, drove down to Joe Batt’s Arm to see the two Newfoundland dogs. They sometimes come up to the inn but no such luck today. They’re big dogs. I then went to Tilting, a village on the other side of the island, and climbed a hill to see an artist studio that’s built on the edge of the ocean. There are four of these type of studios that are used as part of an artist-in-residence program. They’re awesome structures and have a great view of the sea.

I zoomed back around the island, taking a wrong turn at one point, and was worried I was going to miss the ferry, which was leaving at 1:30pm. On the way over, the ferry could only fit about 21 cars so I was frantic thinking there wouldn’t be space for me as I was arriving only half an hour before departure. When I arrived, I was very far back in the queue but there was a different ferry this time, a much larger one, and I got on without any problem.

Back on Newfoundland proper, I decided to go to the islands of Twillingate and New World. It’s well known for whale and iceberg watching, neither of which are visible now. Instead it was mostly a lot of driving, and unfortunately the weather was pretty rotten. The islands are still beautiful though, and I drove up to Long Point Lighthouse to have a look out north to the Labrador Sea. Sea was choppy, wind was cold.

I then went to the Auk Island Winery which mostly makes wine made from berries collected on Newfoundland like blueberries, bakeapples, lingonberry and patridgeberry. I went on the short little tour to hear about how they do it all, then had some tastings. Had a chat with the woman behind the counter, and a woman from Florida who’s been in Newfoundland on holiday since 7 August. She says the weather has been terrible most of the time she’s been here. I said I was here while Glen was in Toronto. Again, people think this is strange hehe.

Next stop was Lewisporte where I was staying the night. While driving, in the pouring rain, I considered that maybe I should have just driven through to Corner Brook, however, I was tired and glad for the break from driving. It would also take four hours to get there so that would mean I’d arrive about 9pm. I’m not sure I would have made it. 

I’m staying at Islands Villas, a nice little hotel on the edge of the water. Like Fogo Island Inn, this hotel provides employment for the local community by buying art, furniture and other things that come from here. Lewisporte doesn’t have much in the way of food (apart from fast food), but I went to the Chinese restaurant. It was what you’d expect for the middle of Newfoundland. At least it was filling.

Tomorrow I’m off to Cornerbrook and get to see Tim and Vaughan. Then at 2am I pick up Glen from the airport.

I still haven’t seen a moose.