To Argetea, Newfoundland (Placentia)Aug 7, 2006
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North Sidney, NS to Placentia, NL - 8 miles and a 14 hour ferry ride - August 7, 2006
Our "day" started just after midnight as everyone convoyed the 4 miles to the Ferry Terminal. Check-in at the Ferry involved the normal differences of understanding of the personnel operating the booths and the folks that briefed our Fearless Leader. Within 30 minutes everyone had satisfied the individual bureaucrats and were parked in the line waiting for the 5 am start of boarding. Some got some sleep before leaving, others after arrival in the line. Sleep was like a truck stop with reefer trucks generators running, back-up buzzers activating, etc.
Boarding went very smoothly and the 500+ foot ferry left the dock just after 6 am. We had reserved lounge chairs on board. Most didn't use them for long. The room was pretty cool and the footrests only came up to an angle to the floor. Had to have velcro on your britches to keep from sliding forward. Lots of other places to hang out on board though, which seemed to be the preferred solution for most. It was nice to have a reserved place to leave your stuff though.
We got all three meals on board - more food than anyone needed, if not exactly gourmet by our standards. Pie was very good though. The bar/lounge had a couple of "Newfy" musicians who entertained three times during the trip, five different movies were available, and a couple of lounges had TV. Lots of options. It was mostly an open Atlantic voyage, with the weather cooperating to the fullest. We had a trailing wind and full sun for most of the way. Several times whales were spotted; well it must have been whales that created the geyser like plumes of white about a mile from the Ferry. Locals said they were Minke whales and they never broke the surface like blues or humpbacks. I did see one very large dark object blow and surface, but it was a mile or so out and the wind was blowing so hard I couldn't hold the camera steady enough to focus. Just got a large dark blur on blurry waves.
The road from the Ferry terminal to the evenings camping spot - a college campus parking lot - was only 4 miles, but with ample ambiguous turns & instructions to allow several rigs to take a scenic loop through the small village before arriving at the parking lot. We got off the ferry just as the sun disappeared which made route following a bit more sporty.
After a very different adventurous day, all settled in for a good night's rest.
