The first mountain crossing was fairly long with a decent grade, making for an easy climb although fairly sweaty because the humidity was intense. Coming around a turn, there were a few cars and men directing traffic as a cop car was stopped off to the side next to a yellow tarp. Oh no. Sure enough, just before we arrived, a motorcyclist must have missed the turn and ran into the rock and ditch and unfortunately died. Not a good way to start the weekend. Life is so short and this was a great reminder to be even more careful and appreciative of this time we have. So, if you are debating on taking time to do something out of the ordinary, the best advice is to just do it. That is the most difficult part.
A steep windy decent led down to Pleasant Bay where we ate our worst meal of our trip. I can't wait for American-sized portions for breakfast again one day to satisfy our ever hungry appetites. Our second climb was an intense grade over a shorter distance, 1,400ft or so over 4kms. Up, up, up. Compared to Guatemala, these climbs feel so easy, and it will take something extreme to ever complain on the bike. We wrapped our way around the park, and initially wanted to visit a few of the more northern communities that are referred to as more "wild", but the weather was spitting rain, opting to carry on the shorter routes. The rainy days are not as enjoyable but we must take the good with the bad and let's be honest, there are not many other places I would rather be.
Wanting shelter and place to get dry we came across a picnic area on a beach just as the sun was setting. No visitors and a three-sided shelter with a wood burning stove to warm our bodies, dry our clothes and a dry place to put our tent. Yep, tent inside with a fire to keep us warm and the sound of the surf breaking. Heaven. We set up late and took down early. The only downfall was that we didn't have enough fuel for our stove, so we unfortunately could not cook. Chips and cookies for dinner and granola bars for breakfast. We stayed through the morning, keeping warm by the fire while sitting in our chairs and reading our books as the worst of the weather passed by 10:30am. It was a wet day on the bikes, but not a soaker. Our wool clothing comes in handy in this weather, keeping us fairly dry and relatively comfortable.
Hoping for a warmshower, we stopped at the only general store within miles. The owners could not have been nicer and let us camp under their picnic area. Another night to stay out of the wet and the chance to chat with the locals to waste away the evening. It was perfect. A great nights sleep, a few cups of coffee in the morning and we were back on the road in the rain, heading toward North Sydney to catch the Newfoundland bound ferry.
A few days ago, we researched the ferries to get us on and off Newfoundland. Even though we do not have a car, the ferries are still quite expensive, costing between $700-$800. Yikes. Ryan emailed the ferry company to see if we could work in exchange for part of our cost and they unfortunately said no. Because we are at the tail end of our travels, our finances are low. Now is the time to decide how we want to spend the last bits of our money. Do we go out with a bang and explore a part of the world that we may never get to see otherwise? Or do take the less expensive route and travel longer? At first, we opted for the longer travel, but after talking with so many people who said Newfoundland is a must, we thought, screw it, let's just go. We have years to worry about money and let's just enjoy these last weeks of biking. Change of plans.
We are now at a campground (only our 5th campground we have paid for since Minnesota....not bad) because I had "a moment" yesterday riding with the wind in our face and the continued spitting rain. It worked out surprisingly well because the campground had a pool, sauna, wifi, satellite television and an indoor space to get out of the weather. These campgrounds are great because the amenities are the same as a hotel but we sleep in our tent.
Now we will head out and ride the last 20 miles to North Sydney before catching the 8:30pm, 6 hour ferry to Port Aux Basque, Newfoundland. We have heard nothing but compliments about Newfoundland and the people, many saying these are nicest folks in the world. If you have read many of these posts, you probably known that kindness and people are the greatest aspects of travel. Nothing beats that in my opinion. The roads are remote and we will carry more supplies than normal, hopefully hitting fishing villages to resupply. What an experience to be had.
A steep windy decent led down to Pleasant Bay where we ate our worst meal of our trip. I can't wait for American-sized portions for breakfast again one day to satisfy our ever hungry appetites. Our second climb was an intense grade over a shorter distance, 1,400ft or so over 4kms. Up, up, up. Compared to Guatemala, these climbs feel so easy, and it will take something extreme to ever complain on the bike. We wrapped our way around the park, and initially wanted to visit a few of the more northern communities that are referred to as more "wild", but the weather was spitting rain, opting to carry on the shorter routes. The rainy days are not as enjoyable but we must take the good with the bad and let's be honest, there are not many other places I would rather be.
Wanting shelter and place to get dry we came across a picnic area on a beach just as the sun was setting. No visitors and a three-sided shelter with a wood burning stove to warm our bodies, dry our clothes and a dry place to put our tent. Yep, tent inside with a fire to keep us warm and the sound of the surf breaking. Heaven. We set up late and took down early. The only downfall was that we didn't have enough fuel for our stove, so we unfortunately could not cook. Chips and cookies for dinner and granola bars for breakfast. We stayed through the morning, keeping warm by the fire while sitting in our chairs and reading our books as the worst of the weather passed by 10:30am. It was a wet day on the bikes, but not a soaker. Our wool clothing comes in handy in this weather, keeping us fairly dry and relatively comfortable.
Hoping for a warmshower, we stopped at the only general store within miles. The owners could not have been nicer and let us camp under their picnic area. Another night to stay out of the wet and the chance to chat with the locals to waste away the evening. It was perfect. A great nights sleep, a few cups of coffee in the morning and we were back on the road in the rain, heading toward North Sydney to catch the Newfoundland bound ferry.
A few days ago, we researched the ferries to get us on and off Newfoundland. Even though we do not have a car, the ferries are still quite expensive, costing between $700-$800. Yikes. Ryan emailed the ferry company to see if we could work in exchange for part of our cost and they unfortunately said no. Because we are at the tail end of our travels, our finances are low. Now is the time to decide how we want to spend the last bits of our money. Do we go out with a bang and explore a part of the world that we may never get to see otherwise? Or do take the less expensive route and travel longer? At first, we opted for the longer travel, but after talking with so many people who said Newfoundland is a must, we thought, screw it, let's just go. We have years to worry about money and let's just enjoy these last weeks of biking. Change of plans.
We are now at a campground (only our 5th campground we have paid for since Minnesota....not bad) because I had "a moment" yesterday riding with the wind in our face and the continued spitting rain. It worked out surprisingly well because the campground had a pool, sauna, wifi, satellite television and an indoor space to get out of the weather. These campgrounds are great because the amenities are the same as a hotel but we sleep in our tent.
Now we will head out and ride the last 20 miles to North Sydney before catching the 8:30pm, 6 hour ferry to Port Aux Basque, Newfoundland. We have heard nothing but compliments about Newfoundland and the people, many saying these are nicest folks in the world. If you have read many of these posts, you probably known that kindness and people are the greatest aspects of travel. Nothing beats that in my opinion. The roads are remote and we will carry more supplies than normal, hopefully hitting fishing villages to resupply. What an experience to be had.
No comments:
Post a Comment