Giovanni Caboto (or Zuan Chabotto in Venetian) landed in Cape Bonavista in 1497. We got there in 2016. Well, in fact the landing site was in dispute until “…for the 500th-anniversary celebrations, the governments of Canada and the United Kingdom designated Cape Bonavista in Newfoundland as the “official” landing place.” Coming to a conclusion of course is comforting to us all.
On our way to Cape Bonavista we stopped off in Elliston to see puffins. The Atlantic Puffin turns out to be a smallish bird, about 32 cms or 13″. For those of us who live in cities, a Puffin is about the same size as a [Rock] Pigeon; that bird often mounted on statues and the sides of buildings. We had been told that there was a good site to get up close to the bird, just off Maberly Road, in Elliston. A beautiful site reminiscent of the west coast of Ireland with rocky cliffs facing the sea. A trail guides one over a narrow causeway connecting two parts of the peninsula. At the end of the trail one faces the cliff wall of an island separated from the peninsula by about 100 – 200 meters. It is above the cliff of that distinct island that Puffins and some other birds were nesting. Yet, even with a 400mm lens it was hard to get a shot of the bird. Near St. John’s is another Puffin site.
In Bonavista we drove out to the end of the Cape, where a Lighthouse is located. Fog limited the view but may be this ambiguity was compatible with the historic significance of the location.
We returned to our cottage in Trinity. We took diner at the Twine Loft Restaurant.
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