St. John's was a great start to the two week adventure! We flew to St. Pierre and Michelon the following day to embark on this cruise to one of the more remote parts of eastern Canada, going along the south shore of Newfoundland then up the west coast to Labrador eventually disembarking in Iqualuit, Nunavut.
Now of course, St. Pierre (et Michelon) is neither Newfoundland nor Labrador, it's not even Canadian! We had to have our passports stamped. It's the obligatory "international" port that the ship had to call at on every voyage. I was really looking forward to seeing this archipelago of eight islands at the southern tip of Newfoundland with its interesting history as a vestige of New France, territory colonized by the French in North America and the battleground between Britain and France for centuries. Its residents are French citizens with voting privileges. You can read about the interesting background of the islands in Wikapaedia.
We only visited the town of St. Pierre so did not really get a good picture of the islands. But the town was strangely quiet on a Monday. You will see from the pictures that there were hardly any people around other than us tourists. Someone told us the residents take a siesta break in the European tradition for a couple of hours at noon and shops are closed so that could be the reason.
The locals welcomed us with a traditional dance performance and we wandered around the town for a couple of hours before we boarded the ship. It is hard to get a good feel for a place without people. The houses are colourful but seem oddly incompatible with their size. The museum was the most interesting stop in the town.
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| These reminded me of toy blocks I played with as a child |
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| There are some fairly new builldings downtown - it's interesting to see a man walking a horse down the main street in the middle of the day |
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Traditional dance by the locals |
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| These cannons no doubt had been heavily used in the many battles between the Brits and the French |
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| The lighthouse at La Pointe aux Canons |
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| These colourful houses look too big to be just beach houses - maybe holiday homes? |
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| The port |
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The Visitor Centre with its mural depicting the many activities in the town
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| A mural of a religious procession inside the museum |
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Vintage French rhum and whiskey jugs in the museum
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| A beautiful vintage lighthouse beacon |
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A number of us would have liked to see the inside of the church but all its doors were locked. |
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| The interesting church door made one wish to see what's inside |
Here are some snaps of some of the buildings in town to give you an idea
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| One of the few locals on the street |
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| An unexpected grotto with the Virgin Mary up on a rocky wall facing the sea - probably to safeguard the men going to sea |
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and finally it's time to board the ship!
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A view of the town and harbour as the ship sailed - into the sunset... |
