Noo-fn-land (aka Newfoundland)
We are wrapping up our 3 week stay on this fascinating island and despite what would seem like a fairly long time to many, I believe we have only scratched its surface. Yet, there are some unmistakable facets in the personality of Noo-fn-land and its peoples that stand out like their brilliantly colored fishing huts that you find all over the island.
Traditional fishing hut painted vividly for fishermen to sight their huts through the RDF (rain, drizzle, fog), near King’s Point (Route 391)
Most of all, there is a simplicity and earthiness in Newfoundlanders that is so charming and endearing that it cannot but reel you in. It is as though they are stuck, in a good way, in some magical era where one is not rushed, there is civility in interaction, and traditions are valued.
We had the privilege of so many wonderful interactions during this time that made us come to the above realization very quickly during our trip and it only kept getting reinforced every passing day we spent there. Here are some examples:
The manager at a whale museum (thanks Terry!) when he heard that we were looking to find the Fudges who make fudge called up his friend network to find us the right Fudges who astonishingly came down to the museum in 10 minutes with their selection of fudges to choose from!!
The same manager called up Mike, a local fisherman, who turned out to be at sea fishing, and requested him to deliver freshly caught and cleaned cod to us that afternoon! And which he actually did!
As I started to clean up our car that was caked white from a trip up an unpaved road, our neighbor across the road from our Airbnb walked up to us, introduced himself, and asked us to use his hose in his driveway!
We were sitting in our patio and a local stopped his car and offered for us to buy eggs and fresh honey that he had just tapped at his farm. And did we have a fighting chance against these home delivered goodies and his charming accent – no way!
A local fisherman started chatting us up on a short ferry ride back from an island and offered to take us fishing and show us whales, simply out of the goodness of his heart.
Their accent is charming as hell – it can sometimes be a little hard to decipher but it is so lovely to hear!
The local Noofie food is distinctly different from the mainland and so very unique – some highlights:
Jiggs dinner (a quintessential Newfoundland meal featuring salt beef, cabbage, carrots, turnips, potatoes, and often peas pudding)
Fish and brewis (traditional food consisting of cod and hard bread)
Toutons (fried dough balls)
Figgy Duff (Molasses-rich pudding)
A Newfoundland Screech-In is a traditional, lighthearted ceremony for non-Newfoundlanders ("Come From Aways") to become honorary members of the province. The ceremony typically involves reciting a poem or pledge, kissing a dead fish (often a cod), drinking a shot of strong rum called Newfoundland Screech, and sometimes eating a local delicacy like "Newfie steak" (bologna)!!!
The island is blessed with so much water around and within that they are spoilt for choice – it is replete with great views of the open ocean, bays, fjords, lakes, rivers and ponds. Not a few minutes go by on any road that you drive on without a new water body showing up and wowing you with the sights!
We loved our stay so much that we may make an exception to our rule to not revisit a place (just given how many wonderful places there are to see around the world and so little time!). In all our travels so far, the only other place for which we have carved out this exception is New Zealand, and it is easy to see the parallels – awesome natural beauty and even more awesome people!
PS: Interestingly, we discovered much later that Terry and Mike are celebrities, having featured in a Conde Nast Traveler post! https://www.cntraveler.com/story/whale-watching-triton-newfoundland-canada
With the Fudges who make (wonderful) fudge!
With Kaitlin and Kevin, our friends from NJ, and Mike and Elvis, the Noofie fishermen
With Richard, our kind neighbor in South Brook
