September 14, 2012
Placentia to North Sydney
The one thing that lets Newfoundland down is the food. However, just in time to leave on a good note, we found Philip's Cafe, a place highly recommended by Rita from the B&B in St Vincent's. This place deserves more praise than I can give it, but they served the best breakfast I have eaten since starting this journey, and the coffee and cake which rapidly followed were just as good. It might seem like an inappropriate diversion to anyone else cycling across Canada, but I highly recommend going out of your way to eat here.
The ferry to North Sydney in Nova Scotia wasn't due to leave until 7pm, and as Placentia is only a short distance from the terminal at Argentia we spent a large chunk of time exploring the site where the US Naval base had been until they pulled out in 1996 following the end of the Cold War before going to the departure lounge to escape from the wind.
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Ironically I saw almost as many cyclists at the departure lounge as I had seen the whole time I was in Newfoundland, so it was a good opportunity to catch up with other peoples tales and routes, and compare bikes and equipment.
Some people might have noticed that my face has become hairy recently (although by my Mum's lack of comment I assume that she does not approve). I decided to not shave whilst in Newfoundland (the last time I shaved was in Labrador), but once on the ferry I could resist it no longer and exposed my cheeks to the wind once again. Crazyguy and friend Art Birkmeyer suggested a full face picture with a big smile, so here are two, and i'll let you decide if you agree with my Mum or not.
When we were on the vehicle deck waiting to unload a familiar face was suddenly seen. Thomas Kipp, who we hadn't seen since before Thunder Bay was also on the boat, so we rushed over to catch up with him. He had also stayed at the Whale Song B&B at St Vincent's 2 days before we got there to escape the storm and was heading around the Avalon Peninsula in the opposite direction but our paths had somehow not crossed.
I will now be having a few days off with friends before continuing, so I will continue with the journal then.
Today's ride: 11 miles (18 km)
Total: 7,654 miles (12,318 km)
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