It’s Wednesday and the Zuiderdam will call on the town of Corner Brook in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada today. It is a first time visit to this province for both of us.
Corner Brook Morning
I was awake at 2 am and after tossing and turning for an hour got up and out the door. In the lido area, I had coffee and one of my protein bars. When I was ready to go back to bed, Steve was up for the day.
We had coffee in the Crow’s Nest once it opened at 6 am and enjoyed the scenery as we sailed from the Gulf of St. Lawrence into the Bay of Islands before sailing up the Humber River to Corner Brook.
Eventually, we went and got breakfast in the buffet. No pictures today.
Corner Brook Excursion
We got ready to meet our excursion at 8:45 at the pier. The name of the two-hour tour is Corner Brook Highlights.
Tour Description: This part of the world has been visited by many people, beginning with the Maritime Archaic Peoples 3,500 years ago. Since then, Inuit, Beothucks and European visitors have come and gone. Some have stayed, too. Jacques Cartier was the first European to arrive here in 1534 on his first voyage to the New World. Since that time, Portuguese, Basques and even Captain James Cook have frequented this area. Today, Corner Brook is a modern, progressive city with a population of approximately 19,000 and is nestled among scenic hills 30 miles from the Gulf of St Lawrence. Head out to the city’s eastern edge to see some highlights — Marble Mountain, the Heritage Tree and the Old Man in the Mountain. Before returning to the ship, you’ll also drive through Corner Brook to Captain Cook’s Monument.
Once off we found the shore excursions (around the corner from the pier) we boarded a repurposed school bus. Our driver and guide both were fantastic (although I didn’t remember their names!). We have three stops on this trip. On the way to the first we passed the Newfoundland Railway Historic Site. The narrow gauge rail system isn’t in use any longer, but this diesel engine is still functional.
There are several cars/engines to visit at the site.
Heritage Tree
We arrive at the first stop at the Marble Mountain ski resort.
This will be the only stop with restrooms so we took advantage of it as did most people. There was another tour group already there for ziplining.
The heritage tree is a cedar tree that was brought from British Columbia for the 1999 Canada Winter Games.
The 52 foot pole has 56 scenes from Newfoundland history carved into it.
The images range from the Maritime Archaic Indians (4500 BC) to the Vikings (999 AD) to Joey Smallwood (1949) who was instrumental in getting Newfoundland in the Confederation of Canada. John Cabot who was credited with “discovering” Newfoundland is at the bottom.
It was very interesting and well done. Then we loaded back up on the bus and headed to the next stop.
The Old Man in the Mountain
Here we see the “old man in the mountain”. It is a spot on the Breakfast Mountain.
It took me a couple of minutes but then I did see it and circled it below.
Steve never did but there’s a sign to help people out.
Captain Cook Historical Site
Next and last stop is the Captain Cook historical site.
Along the way we enjoy the scenery and information from our guide.
Captain Cook surveyed Newfoundland for the British government and apparently his work was excellent with his charts being used for a couple of centuries.
His time here as before he went to Tahiti, Hawaii and other spots in the pacific. They have a whole different feeling about him than the Hawaiians! It was also an excellent viewpoint where we saw downtown Corner Brook and our ship docked in the river.
We drove through town on our way back to the pier. There is a very nice park, a little train you can take around town. There is also a free shuttle that takes people from the ship to a downtown drop off and back.
Corner Brook Afternoon
Once on the pier we boarded and headed straight for lunch. I went with the Asian corner while Steve had Dive-in Grill (hamburger and fries).
The desserts were fantastic today with rum cake, marble cheesecake, etc.
The cupcakes are usually great.
Clean laundry was waiting for us in the cabin.
After not getting much sleep last night I was ready for a nap and slept for the next two hours. We got ready for the evening and also readied another bag of laundry. This is our third one so yes, I think the unlimited laundry package was the way to go.
Corner Brook Evening
We headed to the Ocean bar for predinner drinks .
At 5 I went up to the shore excursions desk when it opened to cancel our reservation for Paamiut. There was a line but it went quickly.
Our table was full tonight and we enjoyed hearing what our tablemates did today.
I started with the always available french onion soup.
That crock looks worn out! This was followed by the crostini.
Steve had Caesar salad. For entree he had the roasted duck.
It looks overcooked. I had the sea bass.
I was surprised to have it served with the skin on and thinner than I usually see in restaurants. Nevertheless itwas very good as was the risotto.
Dessert was coconut cream pie for Steve and mine was chocolate carmamel tart.
We went to the showroom after dinner. The entertainers were a trio of women named Gravity.
They opened with Andrew sisters’ boogie woogie boy. How old do they think we are?
Fortunately they moved on to more modern music, LOL! I enjoyed them but Steve didn’t as much.
Afterwards I got two canned waters for the room and read until after 10 pm. Clocks go forward another 1/2 hour tonight. Below is today’s program. Click the image for the full PDF.
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