The Eastern Chronicles: Fishing, Ferries and Francois

Guest Post 4 by Art Rider

Day 14, June 21, 2014

As I was making breakfast this morning the toaster popped the breaker for the kitchen outlets. Not having a clue where the fuse box was I had to call Darlene on the phone, it was 8:45 AM. and she was sound asleep, oops! The breaker stopped the coffee and everything else in the kitchen, so it had to be done. With her explanation, I found the fuse box, reset the breaker, which popped again. After moving the toaster to another location, the problem was solved.

Went for a big walk out to the lighthouse and around the big loop back to town, about 2 miles or so. Great walk, mostly on a fine boardwalk and wonderful tuckamore, bog and rocks, with lots of bunchberries, cloudberry plants, ferns and irises, which are still just coming up. Lots of great sea views too. 

The weather was a bit cool, about 11°C, with the sun coming and going all morning. Got back into town about 12:15 and had a bowl of soup and a cup of tea at Eastern Outfitters Restaurant. 

Darlene says there is a lobster raffle up the street at 1:00 PM so up the road I go. Don’t I win two, 2 pound lobsters for this evening, plus the one I ordered yesterday, that makes three! Looks like Darlene and I are eating lobster tonight, big-time! She’s baking a lemon pie for dessert too.

Just came back from Darlene’s. The lobster was fab!  The lemon pie too. Just to top it all off, Darleen gave me a big jar of her own bakeapple jam, what a sweetheart!

The ferry limped into Ramea this afternoon after being worked on most of the day in Burgeo. She’s down to one engine and will be tomorrow as well, so it’s only making one trip on Sunday, and that’s leaving in the morning at 8:00 AM.

Better hit the hay.

Day 15, June 22, 2014

Got on the ferry to Burgeo at 7:45 AM, departed at 8:00 AM sharp, that’s a pretty early morning for me. The ferry is down to one of its two engines, making the crossing a little slower. Only one trip today, down from three. Dorim was waiting at the wharf to pick me up. Martine and Dorim are so sweet. I’ll get a little laundry done today and I’ll be all set for François.

I brought 2 lobster tails from last night back on the ferry and made lobster salad for our supper, and the dishes Martine made, all in all a great meal with friends!

Day 16, June 23, 2014

On to Francois today. Waffles for breakfast, with fruit and bakeapple jam, some good eh?

On the boat by 1:30 - on the way by 1:45 PM. We made a stop in Ramea, that was a bit of a surprise, then on to Gray River. That’s a beautiful little place. Wish I had made arrangements to stay there, but it just was not possible this trip. Next time.

Got into Francois at 6:45 PM. George met me at the dock and helped bring my bags up to the house. I think he’s my age, at least according to Dorim. He’s got new knees too.  Doris had a massive supper ready for us when we got in. Cod, halibut, mashed taters, mac salad, cheese and broccoli bake with fresh baked rolls. Rhubarb pie for dessert with clotted cream. Am I stuffed! Great food, I won’t be losing any weight this week.

Went for a little walk after. Looks like I will be doing some trout fishing here this week in the top pond. No chance for any cod fishing, the ministry guys are on everybody like a cheap suit if they fish out of season. The food fishery for residents is only three week out of the year, two weeks in August and one week in September. That’s pretty sad. The Caplin are running too, so might be into some of those. If the weather is okay on Thursday I’ll go up to McCallum and Hermitage, but only if it’s clear. So far the forecast is for rain. We’ll see.

Day 17, June 24, 2014

A bit of fog this morning, but looks like it’ll be burning off soon. Toast and partridge berry jam for breakfast, coffee of course. I might take a walk up to the top ponds and see what the trout possibilities are, George says there are lots in there. I’ll have to pull some out.

Got up to the first pond after breakfast to try my luck. Very beautiful but a very steep climb up from the village, on really good boardwalk path. When you get up there, it's a series of boardwalk and trail, mostly trail around about a 75 acre, or so, pond with a stream running in the other end, from another pond. The blackflies are brutal! I sprayed up before I went, didn't help at all. Caught one brook trout about 8 to 9 inches. That was it, but what scenery. Got back to Doris’s exhausted.

Time for tea and a cinnamon bun, or two, will try the pond again another time before I go. Went for a stroll around before supper and ran into the couple from Manitoba. They were seriously thinking about buying a house they had seen for $5000. I wonder if they will. They are trying to get back to Burgeo on Wednesday but the ferry is having a mechanical problem too. That’s both the Burgeo and the François ferries with problems.

The department of works is now running a helicopter up and down the coast in place of the ferry. The cost of the twenty minute ride from Francois to Burgeo, for a senior, $4.15, unbelievable!

After supper, jigs dinner and lemon pie, Yum, George, Cody, Noah and myself went up the coast in their smaller boat to fish for trout where a brook meets the ocean. We caught 33 trout in about three hours! Wow! What fun.

I hear the Adventure Canada Tour ship is coming here on Thursday, I can say hi to Matthew Swan again. I think I’ll scrub the McCallum ferry that day in case I get stuck there, with the ferry trouble and all.

A tea, a wee scotch, and to bed.

 Day 18, June 25, 2014

Light breakfast today, cereal, juice and coffee. Looks like showers this afternoon into this evening. Might do a little reading. The Manitoba couple got away this morning, don’t know if they bought that place or not.

A quiet morning, just doing some reading. Good lunch, salt beef hash from the jigs diner, with cold chicken and moose. Banana cake for dessert, Yum!! Raining now. Might clear up tomorrow.

Went to visit the couple from Manitoba, seems they did not leave after all. Looks like tomorrow for them now. The poor guy is in very bad shape, arthritis in his back, but I think he has other more serious problems and I think he knows that too. Makes you value your own health. If the weather clears up tomorrow morning, George and I may take the boat to Recontre Bay, where they have a cabin, just for an outing. Might do some trouting too.

This evening supper is up at the school to celebrate graduation for 3 kids and the end of the school year, of course, I’m invited as a guest of the community. I even helped Doris make two of the salads, cutting and chopping.

The graduation ceremony and dinner were quite a bid deal. One speech, presentation and award after another and lots of tears and emotion. You would think everyone was never going to see those kids ever again. Gives you some idea of how strong family and place is here in Newfoundland. I guess especially in the outports, it’s all about family and community support. None of these places could have survived all this time without it. Supper was a variety of home made dishes, everyone has a specialty. All very good ... some good eh!

Still a bit rainy, it’s supposed to quit tonight. If it does we should get out in George’s boat for a trip up to their cabin. The Caplin are running and I guess we are going to get a taste of them, we’ll see.

Day 19, June 26, 2014

I thought about going on the McCallum ferry this morning but thought of it just a bit too late, oh well.

  

George and Eli and myself went up the coast in George’s fishing boat to Recontre Bay, an old outport long since abandoned, for a day of Caplin hunting.

I took my trout rod and did some fishing in a brook that runs into the sea at that point. I caught 9 trout, all sizes but no Caplin came into shore.

George cooked a traditional Newfoundland lunch on the boat while Eli and I went to look at his cabin on shore. What a neat place it is, and so remote and quiet. There are going to be blueberries up the ying yang when they get ripe.

Back to the boat for lunch, eggs, bologna, fried with homemade bread, partridge berry jam, bottled Moose and tea, fabulous! Back to Francois to meet the cruise ship.

Walking back to the house, who do I bump into but Bill Lishman, so we had a few drinks on George’s patio. Imagine, meeting someone from your own hometown, by chance in Newfoundland, what are the chances?

Francois is crawling with cruise people, roughly doubling the population. Big kitchen party up at the community center for the cruise people tonight, should be big fun, more later.

The party started after supper at the hall at about 8 PM. Lots of great music, all kinds, and drinks, and of course, food. The cruise ship people look like a fun bunch to travel with, they usually are. It all broke up about 11 PM and by morning the ship was gone.

All the coast ferries are broken down at the moment and the chopper is still in service. They will pretty much have to keep it going as no one can move up or down the coast without it at the moment.

 

 

 

 

Hope I can get back to Burgeo on Monday. Fingers crossed!

 

All photos copyright Ronald Peter