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Landed in Portes Aux Basques before 8 am and took a leisurely drive through town while the ferry traffic cleared. Had breakfast in a hotel – always a safe bet – and then enjoyed sunshine and clear skies for about 1/2 an hour. Then the monsoon hit again and stayed with us all day.

Stopped in Corner Brook to see if we could find Keith and Heather Nicol but they seem to have moved on so we decided to push on and check the weather at the south end of Gros Morne. Raining…hard.

So we drove on as far as Bishop’s Falls and took a place for two nights.

Talked to Cam to wish him a very happy 36th birthday!

Camped in Miramichi and everything was fine until about 4 am. The rain started and continued in biblical fashion all day.

And now we are sitting in the ferry terminal waiting for the overnight boat to Port Aux Basques…..getting to Newfoundland a week later than we planned.

Got on the ferry and were all bundled up and almost asleep when we were called to move into our newly acquired 4 bunk stateroom! Should have bought lottery tickets also.

First stop is the town of Godbout just east of Baie-Comeau where we will catch the ferry across to Matane on the south shore.

Then we plan on making tracks as far as Miramichi in New Brunswick.

Lots of things settled overnight. We have a reservation on the ferry over to Gaspe and one on the ferry from North Sydney over to Port Aux Basque in Newfoundland. Things are starting to look OK again. Now we need the weather to cooperate.

Today we’ll drive down to Baie-Comeau by of way of Wabush…center many things. These are all for you Fred.

Left Goose Bay in torrential rain and beat a hot path for Churchill Falls and Labrador City. Arrived about 3 pm and hunkered down until the drive to Baie-Comeau and more ferry uncertainty.

Spoke to Heather and Fred and made some small alterations to our Newfoundland plans.

We were up early and down to the ferry terminal in Blanc Sablon by 7:30 this morning hoping to be on the only sailing to Saint Barbe before the hurricane moves in to the area. Alas, no such luck and the earliest possible next sailing is Tuesday morning with no guarantee that we would get on the boat. So we made an executive decision and started driving to Goose Bay on our way back to Baie-Comeau with hopes of taking a ferry over to Gaspe on Tuesday.

Just another example of how real life interferes with the very best plans.

Waiting for news about the ferry. Most are confident we will sail in the afternoon but no official word yet. And that nasty hurricane keeps getting closer. It is supposed to track right over Halifax on its way to wester Newfoundland and then out to the Atlantic once more.

Well, no ferry today so we hiked around the Jersey Trail and then went to the lighthouse in L’Anse Amour. Also stopped at the burial mound of a young boy who died 7,500 years ago. First well preserved site from that era.

Put the tent away in the rain and made the drive down the coast from Pinware to Blanc Sablon only to find that the ferry isn’t running today due to weather. Oh well. Drove back to L’Anse Au Claire and spent the night after a riotous evening in the bar with some locals and other stranded travellers.

Drove from Port Hope Simpson along the coast to Battle Harbour where we spent a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon touring the old fishing station.

From there made our way further down the coast and pitched our tent in the park in Pinware. Rain started in the night and continued fall the next day.

We are driving today to North West River and then further south to Port Hope Simpson. Little did we know that 180 km of highway 510 were under construction. And the black flies tried to hold us accountable.

This morning we visited the Interpretive Center in North West River and then the Heritage Museum in the old Hudson Bay general store. Sharon was a fabulous hostess and spent an inordinate amount of time telling us stories about all the items in the museum.

Then began (2 pm) the long drive south along highway 510.