Measuring Our Lives

Fishing Stage, Tilting, Newfoundland, August 2008.

I don't knew who said it first but it is a remarkable phrase:

Life is not measured by the amount of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

And I had many of these moments in the past few days up in northern Newfoundland in the Fogo area.

The grandgirl and I went on many hikes, climbed many mountains, toured museums, took to the briny and caught dolphins at play and both the humpback and fin whales cavorting. It seems like we spent weeks soaking in these breathtaking sights but in reality it was just five days.

Five remarkable days.

One of many highlights was time spent on top of Brimstone Head which is deemed to be one of the four corners of the earth by the Flat Earth Society. We found this crazy inukshuk on top of it and the views in all directions were spellbinding.



I had the camera at the ready all of the time. Here is another one of two
boathouses and a string of punts in Tilting.



But the best photo albums are in our hearts.

Through a Glass Clearly

Photo taken through the Trinity Cooperage window, August 22nd, 2008

We're just back from a road trip to Trinity, a place that the word 'spectacular' doesn't do any justice. The harbour is beautiful, sheltering a town that has been carefully preserved. We explored the functioning forge and cooperage, museums and the churches and marvelled at the age of some of the tombstones. The weather was incredible also.

One of the highlights was a hike, considered one of the world's best, on the Skerwink Trail. It is approximately 5.4 km long, a little challenging in parts due to the climbing. But the views from the over 200' cliffs make it all worth while. Eagles soared, moose dawdled by and we ate wild blueberries along the way.

We stayed here at this great B&B. I'm a total fan of the B&B experience, apart from the friendliness of the owners one gets to meet travellers of all kinds and we actually spent time exploring restaurants and sharing dinners with our fellow B&B-ers in Trinity and of course exchanging life stories. Fascinating life stories. B&B-ers in Newfoundland share a sense of adventure and a thirst for the different and unusual. Being a writer, I so delight in these windows into the lives of others.

I don't know why Ontarians are depicted as dull, plodding, careful and predictable. We had a good laugh on the Skerwink trail. Not too many attempt it as it has an element of risk, but the hikers we encountered on the Skerwink were, without exception, all from Ontario!

PS: I'm heading up to Fogo and Twillingate with my granddaughter for a few days for our annual vacation together so I won't be on line until the end of the week. Happy end of summer all!