Elliston AKA “We’re BACK!!”

Photos and Post by Bobby; Captions and editing by Cynthia

We are so very sorry for the long delay in posts.  It’s been so long that the typist (Cynthia) can barely remember all the things she has to do to make a blog post look good, so forgive any mistakes to my rustiness.  That being said, we will continue relating our journeys through Newfoundland and beyond.  This was still taking place in July 2018.

So, after our time in the “Irish Loop” and Mistaken Point, we headed back to the capital, St. John’s.  After a quick visit there, we headed to Elliston.  On the way, we had some great views.

 

Elliston is a popular destination for puffin viewing.  We stayed at the Elliston Municipal Park, which was very close to the viewing site.  The site is up a hill that is next to a cliff where the puffins (and a lot of gulls) nest – and we had heard they sometimes would come across the divide to the hill side sometimes.

We went out to the viewing site as soon as we had arrived and set up, but it was very windy so there was not too much activity.  Bobby was still able to get a few shots of these most adorable, quirky birds.

 

And, as mentioned, it’s not just puffins breeding and nesting on this rock in the ocean.

 

 

 

We also caught a great sunset overlooking the town of Bonavista.

We returned to the viewing site the next day to see if the puffins were more active (yes, they were) and if they’d cross to our side (no, they never did).

 

 

There were also a ton of puffins hanging out in the water.

We even got to see them bringing back their catch!

 

In other news, Elliston is apparently the root cellar capital of the world.  We are skeptical of whether there are any regulations or measurements to be met before a town can advertise itself the capital of whatever.  In our travels we have seen the “capitals” of a number of random things and crafts.  But, there did seem to be quite a few root cellars in Elliston.

It was super windy the entire time we were in the Elliston area.  This poor guy was just hunkered down on the ground trying not to get blown away.

 

Whenever the wind died down a bit, the puffins got much more active.  It’s understandable as they are not what we’d call the most graceful fliers.

 

 

When we were leaving that day, we spotted a bald eagle!

 

We drove out to the nearby town of Bonavista the following day to go to Dungeon Provincial Park.  We saw some beautiful scenery on the way.

 

Including a family of ducks.

The Dungeon was cool.  It is difficult to capture the size of it in just one photo.  So here are several.

 

 

 

While we were in Bonavista, we did one last puffin viewing there.

 

We also got treated to some Humpback Whales while watching the puffins.

 

 

 

 

 

So, we will continue with our adventures again soon.  In real time, we are back in Nashville for a few months and will give you an update as to where we are heading next as we wrap up the tale of our wanderings through the summer and into October.