I snapped a few pictures of this pretty seaside town and
also stopped at the wharf to buy tickets for an afternoon cruise around Bonne
Bay before returning to the RV. And, since cleanliness is next to godliness, I did
two loads of wash at the KOA laundry room. After lunch we headed out to Norris
Bay for our cruise.
When we got to dockside, we recognized the ticket taker – he
was Wayne Parsons, one of the performers in the Anchors Aweigh show at the
hotel the night before last! And his accordion-squeezing partner, Reg, was our
captain for the cruise.
Throughout our two-hour plus cruise around Bonne Bay and
into the mouth of the Gulf of St Lawrence, Wayne gave us an amusing but
informative spiel about the sights and history around us. We were only a few
hundred yards out when he spotted the first whale. Then there was another, and
another (the same one?) – gliding to the surface for a breath, revealing a
shiny black dorsal fin and dipping back into the deep. Wayne said they were
minke whales, about 20 feet long, feasting on the small fish in the bay.
When it got chilly in the wind topside, Reg invited us into
the captain’s inner sanctum (despite the “Crew Only” sign on the door) so we
could see in warmer surroundings. He had a fish-finder set up so he could steer
the vessel to where the whales were most likely to be – and it was working! We
must have seen 15 whales or more.
Wayne told us that the depths of Bonne Bay had been well
sounded by none other than Captain James Cook in the early 1700s, with
precision and detail that serves navigators to this day. He also pointed out
the Lobster Cove Head lighthouse in the distance, and said on a clear day it
was even possible to see Labrador from the bay.
Reg brought us closer to the rocky shore on the return leg
of the journey so we could see the geology at close range. Then he cut the
engine and drifted when a magnificent bald eagle came into view, perched on a
high rock. We watched for several minutes before he took to flight, spreading
his wings wide. As a mature bird, he was easy to spot with his white head, but
shortly afterward, Wayne pointed out another eagle with the mottled brown
feathers of a younger bird. In all, I think we saw six or seven eagles, both
young and old.
We were charmed as we drifted past Woody Point and several
people on shore came out to wave at us. All the towns had trim little houses,
some in bright colours of red and yellow, set on the hillsides. Behind them we
could see the sweeping Tablelands, offering a rare glimpse at the unadorned earth’s
crust – a geologist’s dream come true.
As if our trip hadn’t been thrilling enough by this time, it
ended with Wayne and Reg and another crew member presenting a medley of
sea-faring songs, ending (by edict from Parks Canada, Wayne joked) with a
lively rendition of I’se the B’ye. At the end of that one, Reg had to abandon
his accordion to race topside and dock the boat! 
Another visit to Earle’s seaside res-taurant in Rocky Harbour
seemed appropriate, where Val scarfed down a steaming bowl of moose stew and I
sampled a Jigg’s Dinner, con-sisting of salt beef, cabbage, turnip, potato,
carrot, beets and peas pudding. Hearty fare indeed.
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