06 Dorset Trail

Sunday, August 19, 2007
La Scie, Newfoundland, Canada
The Dorset Trail bisects the Baie Verte Peninsula with radial roads, paved and not, in an area called "Le Petit Nord." The best scenic areas are those that still retain their French names from fishing days past, like: Fleur de Lys where the Inuit mined their soapstone, Pacquet, Baie Verte and La Scie which was named after the serrated surrounding hills. The exception was Wild Cove where the road in was basically non-existant. All this land was ceded to the English in 1904 and picked up by Newfoundland, its colony; however, France did retain St Pierre and Miquelon. None of this Peninsula is a tourist area and most of the towns have been reduced, population wise, due to the cod disaster on the Grand Banks - crab fishing is currently helping revive the area and they are still allowed to take cod for their own consumption which is how I found out that they don't sell it on the dock but will give you as much as you can eat.
 
As you can probably tell from the associated pictures, volume wise, I fell in love with La Scie, which to me is like a little bit of heaven . Camping on the edge of the cliffs by the sea was mesmerizing and fun waking up to see the dawn about 06:00. The weather was nice enough for using the bike to explore for two days but the evenings were a little rough from a rain and wind viewpoint. I still don't understand why the government doesn't install windmills; or perhaps they would break in the 100+kmph wind gusts.

Next stops: "All around the circle."
 
More Tidbits:
- Whales, icebergs and moose, which are not native to Newfoundland, are extremely plentiful. I've even seen a black mink (or maybe it was an albino ermine).
- Most stores are not open on Sundays and the church parking lots are full.
- Newfies like their flags; Canada, Newfoundland and Labrador, Republic of Newfoundland and the Union Jack. It is interesting to see the Canadian and Union Jack flying together (the two official flags of Newfoundland based on 1949). I stuck a Republic flag on the back of the van.
- When stuck, there are campsites available every two to five miles along the roads; namely old gravel pits used to build the roads (some people always use these).
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