St John’s, Newfoundland – the unsung place to go this summer

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Next day after breakfast – traditional cod cakes and strong coffee – I walked uphill to The Rooms, a museum designed as an interplay between land and sea. It resembles a gigantic fishing warehouse and is thick with memories, telling the story, among others, of the immigrants who settled in the mid-18th century. By 1795, two-thirds of St John’s 3,000 strong population were Irish Catholic. People were drawn to the seas and to the cod; today, the fish is still a blessing.

That afternoon, in the toy-town suburb of Quidi Vidi, I stopped long enough to meet the makers of the Quidi Vidi Village Artisan Studios next to stilted fishing stages on a thread of water. At Quidi Vidi Brewery next door, owner Justin Fong told me he’d recently served Charles and Camilla before the Coronation. Or nearly did. “They poured their own from behind the bar,” he said, correcting himself. “Did a good job, too.”

The whales I mentioned earlier are drawn to the waters around St John’s by vast stocks of capelin and, on my last day, I signed up, perhaps optimistically, for a wildlife safari in nearby Petty Harbour, a fishing village hemmed in by cliffs. John Olivero of Ocean Quest Adventures greeted me at the end of the dock, and pointed to the heavy fog surging in across the bay. “It’s too rough and ragged today, sorry,” he said, apologetically. “If you don’t like the weather out the front door, as we say, go out the back. Today, it’s best to stay inside.” You learn in Newfoundland that the grand travel plans you have in life don’t always pan out.

To banish the cold, I headed instead for a last supper at Chafe’s Landing, a former fishing shed. Lobster, trapped the day before by the oilskin-wearing owner, was a fitting alternative. I slurped an iceberg lager as I ate, and felt as happy as a clam. No proliferation of puffins or whales today, but the seabirds and cetaceans would be there all summer, along with a spectacle of icebergs. In St John’s, the process of arrival never really ends. And, quite frankly, that’s reason enough for me to return – to “come from away” – another time.

Essentials Mike MacEacheran was a guest of Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism (newfoundlandlabrador.com) and Destination Canada (explore-canada.co.uk). Westjet flights from London Gatwick to St John’s cost from £319 return and run seasonally from May to late October (westjet.com). Doubles at Sheraton Hotel Newfoundland cost from £119, room only (marriott.com).

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Source link : https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/north-america/canada/newfoundland/st-johns-unsung-canadian-city-place-to-go-this-summer/ Author : Publish date : 2024-05-01 03:00:00 Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source .