Today is the first time we have seen the sun since we have arrived! We are leaving St. Anthony and are heading back down the western peninsula. On the way back down, we stopped at The Arches Provincial Park in Portland Creek. The park is north of Gros Morne National Park near Parson's Pond along the Viking Trail. We missed it on the way up, which is probably a good thing, since it was cold and misty and foggy and we would not have had the fantastic view we had today! It's a great place to stop if you are driving up the Northern Peninsula on Highway 430.
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Ancient limestone carved by eons of pounding surf have created the Arches, a natural rock formation known throughout the province.
It's tricky walking once you are down by the arches, with lots of large rocks. They are about the size of small melons and it is hard to your maintain balance.
Each RV went their own separate way for lunch, knowing we would meet up again later.
There's an iceberg in the distance!
Later that day, we caught back up with Dave and Carolyn. Dave, Carolyn, John, and I went to Gros Morne National Park and did the 3 km (2 mile) walk to Western Brook Pond. The four of us wanted to take the boat ride that would take us to see the fjords inside the park. To get the boat ride to see the fjord, you had to walk in. The guide book said it was a 45 minute to 1 hour walk in. Being that my knee and back are not in the best of shape at the moment, I had doubts about this. I honestly wasn't sure my body would tolerate the up and downhills of this 3 km trek, but I really wanted to do this, so I decided to give it my best shot. Not knowing how long it would take me, I left myself an hour and 15 minutes to get to the boat. I tried to keep a good pace, and whenever I needed, I stopped for 15 or 20 seconds to let a screaming muscle relax.
The walk in took us 40 minutes, but trust me when I say it was a very painful walk in. I am so glad I was able to do it, but I was worried I would have some trouble making my way back out once the boat ride was over. The walk back will be harder, but at least we can go slower.
These photos are a combination of John's and mine. Since I highly doubt I will ever get to Norway to see another fjord, we took tons of photos of this fjord, so be prepared!
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The boat ride was spectacular, definitely worth the pain. The walk back was just as painful if not more after standing for 2 hours on the boat, I had to stop a few more times on the way back so took 45 minutes. I tried hard not to slow the group down too much. I was so glad that I wore my back brace because it definitely helped with my back, the only thing that really gave me trouble was my left knee and my hip flexors.
We met back with the group after our excursion at the Jackladder RV Park in Big Bonne Bay. The other RVs had gotten there earlier and set up camp for the night. It was a good night, so we were finally able to have another campfire.
