Newfoundland & Labrador - Chaleur Bay

After almost a month of travel and adjusting back to a routine at home, I am now trying to catch up on writing up this trip to tell you about some remote areas of Newfoundland and Labrador we visited on the Ocean Endeavour.  From St. Pierre we sailed up to the south short of Newfoundland and stopped at Chaleur Bay.  It was a foggy morning and we got our first zodiac ride of the trip.  

It was a magical ride into the bay where the mist-covered tops of rocky spires reminded me of common subjects in traditional Chinese brush paintings.  There were also interesting rocky outcrops on the sides of the cliffs.  There were birds watching us move into the bay, including a pine grosbeak - a brilliant dot of red among the lush greenery on the cliffside.  

We were treated to a surprise concert on the water by the musician in residence.  It was particularly enjoyable to hear Newfoundland songs with the cliffs of Chaleur Bay as a backdrop.  The ship continued to sail towards Francois in the afternoon and we passed quite a few fish farms in the fog.  It was an interesting first day on board.

First view of Chaleur Bay from the ship

The crew taking out the kayaks for the kayaker's first run

The ship photographer circling the first zodiacs on the water

Seeing the rock outcrops  and caves up close from the zodiac

Mist shrouded cliffs reminded me of Chinese brush paintings

A cliffside waterfall

Interesting rock stacks on the cliffs 

Magical mists along the coast as we sailed towards Francois

Fish farms along the way

A Newfoundland folk concert at the foot of the cliffs