Friday, May 10, 2024 ( Day 4)



Happy Valley Goose Bay, Labrador / 3:45 a.m. / 1 degree to St. Anthony’s, Newfoundland / 5:12 p.m. / 3 degrees.

Early morning start as we are trying to get the 1:00 p.m. ferry in Blanc-Soblon, Quebec heading to St. Barbe, Newfoundland and we need to arrive1 hour ahead for the 1 hour 45 minute ferry ride.  To add to this is the various time zones, especially those related to the ferry.  Blanc-Soblon runs on Eastern Standard Time (EST) and the ferry runs on Newfoundland time.  We made it.  It was a nice large ferry and not many passengers.  Note:  We had been advised to make a reservation for the ferry in the spring as there can be delays for a few days related to ice break up in the river.  If you have a reservation you are given priority when rescheduling.  We did not make a reservation as we saw break up had already happened and we were not sure we would make it in time for the 1:00 p.m. ferry and may need a later ferry (6:00 p.m.)
Time zones
Labrador: 1 hour ahead of EST
Newfoundland: 1 hour and 1/2 ahead of EST

Highway 510 between Happy Valley Goose Bay and Blanc Soblon was another beautiful highway at 80 km an hour, nice and smooth.  Okay girls, similar to yesterday no bathroom facilities on the highway.  The first place on the highway with bathroom facilities was a store in Port Hope Simpson (5 1/2 hours away / 404 km from Happy Valley Goose Bay).  There are 2 other roads off the highway before Port Hope Simpson but would not expect public bathroom facilities, small communities.

After the ferry ride we headed to St. Anthony’s, Newfoundland.  We stayed at Grenfell Heritage Hotel and Suites.  It used to be a nursing residence and was converted in to a hotel.  Beautiful room, includes kitchen facilities.  Our room had a stove, small fridge and dishes.  We made supper in our room and enjoyed the hotel’s basic complimentary continental breakfast (yogurt, muffins, toast, coffee & tea, etc.). Would definitely stay here again. 

A few highlights:
-Bucket List #1 accomplished “ICEBERGS”
We couldn’t believe our eyes as we were getting near the end of our Labrador drive before getting to the ferry we saw not 1, not 2 but 7 icebergs before getting on the ferry.  The magic continued along our ferry ride spotting a few.  Newfoundland just added to this magic as we were able to see even more on the drive to our hotel.  We are hooked. 
-Bucket List #2 accomplished “visiting Newfoundland”.  We will continue to explore the island and see what it has to offer.  Stay tuned. 

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