The Burin Peninsula's interior landscape, hills and rock, is like being in Scotland. The Heritage Road, as opposed to no other road :), is in the middle of the peninsula at the north end but then does a 175km coastal loop at the point. My first night was spent at Frenchman's Cove Provincial Park and I was lucky enough to get a great campsite next to the shore, where I could watch the waves from my bed. The wind kept the mosquitoes away so I read by the water until 22:00.

Up at 06:00, I explored Burin - a really scenic town . The road was made for "baby" but it was an Irish morning (not raining but the mist still got you wet) and extremely foggy going over hill tops -- ergo, not. Going around the loop clockwise through many small towns, I arrived at Fortune an hour before the fast ferry left for St Pierre (or St Pete as the locals call it). So, on a whim, I hopped aboard the Atlantic Jet, where most seats have a seatbelt, and cruised at 32 knots in 8-10 foot seas (wow - top speed is 38 knots on 4 foot seas). I spent the night at Hotel Robert where Al Capone stayed a few times while running liquor during the prohibition. The local fishermen used to put the booze in bags filled with salt in case the "feds" stopped their boats; they would return in a couple of hours to retrieve the liquor once the salt had dispersed into the sea :) - pretty neat.

St Pierre and Miquelon are volcanic islands with a total population of 6,600 extremely friendly people; everyone says at least "bonjour" and they even tolerated my hackneyed French . The fishing embargo really hurt this little island, now their main industry is tourism (mainly people from France). I splurged on dinner having escargots followed by cod cheeks au Basque -- yummy but the local exchange rate is horrendous (1 Euro = $1.50; hopefully Visa will do better). The first afternoon and evening were foggy so I took most of my pictures the following day in the sunshine (walked the tourist route twice). I took an island tour but it would have been nicer if they rented mopeds or bicycles -- a business opportunity??? Next trip I will definitely venture to Miquelon.

After returning to Canada, I drove north and slept in a lay-by with a great view just short of Swift Current. Tomorrow I will invaid the Avalon Peninsula.

Tidbits:
- St Pierre used old tyres to cover steps for traction; a very good recycling venture.
- People drive like the French here; no need for a license on moped/motorbike as long as an insurance sticker attached.
- Clothes, including sexy underwear, stores were fifty percent of the retail market.
- Salt air is really hard on their diesel cars.
- Sailing courses are mandatory for all elementary students.
- Both police and doctors do rotations from France.
- Biggest shock of the day was putting in over $100 of gas into the van (needed 100 litres).