Can you imagine waking up in one of the Atlantic provinces of Canada? A beautiful island with a deep connection with nature: Newfoundland, a coastal landscape, with its numerous lighthouses that adorn every corner, and its small fishing population that is enchanted every day by its geography. It seems to be an isolated place and away from the movement of the city, however, Newfoundland is one of the most picturesque experiences you will ever have.
If you want to travel between Europe and North America today, you will surely be able to appreciate Newfoundland’s incredible landscape through the windows of the plane when you are nearing Canada, this being the shortest route that connects London to New York.
Tourism between whales and icebergs!
If you have never had the opportunity to look at an iceberg right in front of you, here you can get to see some of these huge chunks of ice floating around, mostly at the beginning of June and July. The collision between two currents: the warm current of the Gulf, heading north, and the cold current of Labrador going south, have caused the icebergs to detach from the ice shelves in Greenland, and reach the coasts of Newfoundland. However, since global warming has hit the island too, many of these are disappearing, and the sights of icebergs keep getting more unusual.
These two water currents have also brought organisms known as plankton to the water surrounding Newfoundland. These microscopical organisms live suspended in the water, and they attract fish and whales that feed on them. If you pay attention, you will be able to observe animals like humpback whales or the common dwarf whale “minke” in your trip towards the marine waters of the island.
Newfoundland, an unforgettable adventure
Newfoundland is the place with the highest concentration of moose in North America, and getting to see this huge mammal is another great and unique experience you get in here. The birdlife on the island is very diverse and spectacular too, and among all the species on the Cape St Mary’s Ecological Reserve, you can find the beautiful gannets, black-legged gulls, common guillemots, as well as hundreds of hawksbills. You can also visit some of the colonies of seabirds of the world, and be just a few meters from the birds.
One of nature’s works of art!
One of the places you cannot miss in Canada is the Gros Morne National Park, a dream paradise, where you can see an incredible landscape with a magnificent natural beauty, a product of the combination of glaciation and the movements of the tectonic plates. This place has a great variety of scenarios, wildlife, and recreation activities, one of which is to tour the mountains and surroundings of the place, then camp next to the sea.
Taking a 3-kilometer maritime walk can take you to marshes where you can appreciate orchids, moose or even carnivorous plants until you finally reach the famous 16-kilometer-long Western Brook Pond. If you prefer boat rides, you can sail and pass through a gorge where the pond gets thinner, with rough hills that rise to 650 meters. If you want to see the aftermath of the tectonic movements, head to the plateaus; this part of the park is unproductive since the magmatic rock makes the growth of the vegetation impossible, but in the vicinity of the descents of the forest, you will be able to find vegetation.
Go back in time!
The famous “outports” will take you back 100 years in time. Of these are archaic settlements on the coast of Newfoundland, some are small homes, but others are complete villages. On your trip to Newfoundland, you can visit fishing communities that are maintained despite the decreasing population. This trip includes the Bonavista peninsula “Trinidad” where, if you like, you can exercise in a marina.
City, city!
If your planning to walk through the city, the south-eastern St. John’s is the right place, with its colorful buildings and nice people, you’ll be able to admire the oldest city in North America. Its good vibes plus the stunning natural unspoiled landscapes of the island, mixed with its cold and long winters is the perfect combination to make you not want to leave. In the evening, you can enjoy an ideal drink in the different clubs and bars of George Street, with 28 establishments on each side you’ll surely have enough options to test the diversity of drinks offered by this unprecedented city. The houses that surround the streets are so colorful that you’ll be filled with joy and good memories wherever you go.
Pay a little more for convenience, it’s worth it!
One of the best options to fly to Newfoundland is Air Canada, as this is the only airline that flies there, the prices are a little high, but why not pay for something that really is worth the experience? As an advice for you: it is important that you rent a car in advance, especially in the summer (the high season) and that you take enough money with you because prices vary depending on the mileage you are going to cover and maybe the very long distances can have an additional charge. But at the end of your trip, it will be an incredible experience, that you will surely be eager to repeat.
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