Our Walk Along the East Coast Trail (ECT)

Puffins and Root Cellars in Bonavista  Birdwatching and History in Newfoundland Bonavista has a lot to offer, including the opportunity to visit the Cape Bonavista Lighthouse, Dungeon Provincial Park, the Ye Matthew Legacy, the Ryan Premises National Historic Site , and the Mockbeggar Plantation Provincial Historic Site. The Ye Matthew Legacy features a full-size replica of the Matthew , the ship in which John Cabot sailed from England to North America in 1497. It is located here because it is believed that Bonavista is the point at which John Cabot first made landfall in North America.  The Ryan Premises is a collection of 19th- and 20th-century heritage buildings which were once the headquarters of the fish merchant James Ryan, and now showcase the history of the town.  The Mockbeggar Plantation was the former residence of politician and Confederation advocate F. Gordon Bradley, and today exhibits tell the story of life in Newfoundland in the 1930s and 1940s, when the i...

Travelling to Bonavista and Elliston, Newfoundland Searching for Puffins, Whales and Root Cellars  Today was mostly spent in transit.  We spent a slow morning, packing up, having breakfast, and then making the half-hour walk to Chapters to get a book for Sean to read in the shuttle.    At 12:30, we were picked up by Marsh's Taxi .  Marsh's was one of several companies to choose from that ran a daily shuttle up to Bonavista.  Marsh's offers a shared ride for passengers in a van, which is also used to run a courier service up and down the route.  So, we stopped to pick up several other passengers on our way out of the city, and then made quite a few stops along the way to deliver and/or drop off packages.  It may not be the fastest mode of transport, but they offer prompt, professional, and courteous service, and it is far cheaper than hiring a private taxi would be.  These passenger/courier services seem to be available for multiple routes ...