BACKROADS • SEPTEMBER 2012
fishing in the early 1990’s. After grabbing another seafood lunch we continued our scenic journey toward Gander. On the advice of some locals the next day would find us heading toward Cape Bonavista in search of puffins. A stop at a local info center informed us that a boat ride was not needed to see our feathery friends; they gave us directions to the little town of Elliston. Elliston is also very proud of their root cellars. (www.rootcellars.com). Arriving in Elliston it was just a short walk to the cliffs that overlooked the rugged coast line where we were able to see what seemed like thousands of Puffins. We stayed on the cliffs for over an hour watching and taking pictures as they flew from the cliffs to the bay and back. Once back on the bikes we were ready for the last leg of our trip to St. Johns. We had a small delay, seems Mike Wernick, in the rush to see the Puffins left his lights on killing his battery (I guess you can’t push start if there is fuel injection). It didn’t matter, within 10 minutes there were 3 people offering rides, jump starts, or anything we needed. They were very friendly and we were on our way in no time. Route 230 to the Trans Canadian Highway brought us into St. Johns, along with more Newfoundland rain. Stages of the ferry, tomfoolery at the visitor’s center and L’Anse aux Meadows, swordplay on the shore.
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It did not take long to find our B&B for the night, The Everton House, not only beautiful but very accommodating, and they even drove us to get a couple bottles of wine for the evening. After freshening up we grabbed a cab into town for our last dinner in Newfoundland, when we asked the cab driver for a good place to eat, he promptly said “my place Che Bello”, (377 Duckworth St). Once there he would take no money for the fare and told us once we were finished he would take us back for free, (try that in NYC).Yes it was an excellent meal. St. John’s is one of the oldest cities in North America, established in the