How the Cookie Crumbles

Life and scribbles on the far side of SIXTY-FIVE

Good-bye Labrador

66 Comments


Few photo opportunities for this post. More next time.

Wake-up call had been arranged for 7:30 a.m. We woke fifteen minutes before the phone rang, but it was still a scramble. Our luggage  was outside our door as we made our way foir breakfast by 8:00 a.m.

One of the overstuffed pillows on the beds would have still fit in my suitcase. Mary must have packed her entire closet ‘just in case.’ She had made use of the expansion zipper and with so much jampacked into her luggage, couldn’t find anything whenever she changed her mind and dug for something else.

Our tour group had the small restaurant to ourselves. The buffet breakfast offered regular porridge, numerous types of dry cereal, orange juice, and milk. The usual hot pans awaited: pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, and sausages, lots of toasted whole wheat bread. Orange slices and a discreet bowl of prunes completed the ensemble. Assorted packets of jam were at each table.

Francis reminded us to pickup the boxed lunches on the way out to the bus. It was impossible to miss them as they covered the whole reception desk where everyone had to drop off their room keys. Our lunches tucked into the overheads, we started out again in the grey drizzle and fog. I had forgotten we were in Labrador.

https://youtu.be/X5ZRyWGRVqY   (WP says this is invalid address)

Credit  oldirishladdie

Francis read a letter he’d found on the internet by a guy wanting to renew his passport.

The Newfoundlander, who had been a Canadian since 1949 had done so successfully several times before. He had served 30 years in the army, received Canadian pension etc. This, of course, entailed all the beauracracy anyone has ever experienced in a lifetime.

One of the questions asked his address. He wondered why, in his letter, he had to supply it since the forms had been addressed to his correct address. See where this is going? On and on the silly questions continued.

We laughed so hard, Francis and the driver included, we ended up in Quebec because we’d missed the correct exit to the ferry. Easy to do, you see, since our hotel wasn’t that deep into Labrador and the small strip which was Quebec could not be avoided between Newfoundland and Labrador. Though we had to use a few minutes to find a suitable area to reverse direction, we still had plenty of time before boarding.

IMG_1578

Shaun parked, shut off the engine. We had time to wait. Novels, iPods, iPods and cells were pulled out. Although the bus has WiFi, no one had been able to access it. Internet at last night’s hotel has been the easiest and most user-friendly so far.

Power to Labrador:

  • Labrador Island Link
  • Cable laid 35 km long: 2 for power, 1 for backup
  • Drilled off 350 meters.
  • 20 meters down to ocean floor
  • 600,000 tons of gravel to protect the wire from passing ships etc. to a depth of a meter and a half.

Giggle for a Friday

Two guys go into a new bar with lots of mirrors looked around for service.

“Sit down, Paddy. They’re coming over here.”

Next on March 4th – Back to NewFoundland

© 2015 Tess @ How the Cookie Crumbles. All Rights Reserved.

For more related posts, click on Newfoundland / Labrador tab at the top of the page

Author: Let's CUT the Crap!

I'm getting a little LONG in the tooth and have things to say about---ouch---AGEing. I believe it's certainly a state of mind but sometimes it's nice to hear that you're NORMAL. I enjoy reading by the truckload. I'm a grandma but I don't feel OLD although I'm not so young anymore. My plan is to stick it out as long as I can on this lovely planet and only will leave it kicking and screaming!

66 thoughts on “Good-bye Labrador

  1. I wonder why the wi-fi on the bus didn’t work. Did anyone complain to the driver (I’m sure they did.) Thanks for taking us along Tess.

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  2. Bureaucracy. Such a beautiful thing. Not!

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  3. A discreet bowl of prunes – that’s hilarious. I can just see a few hands discreetly reaching into the bowl for the one (or two) item on the table that will make their day bearable. Hope they didn’t have to leave their address.

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    • I DiD see a person look around in self-reproach(?)–maybe my imagination–but then there were m.o.r.e. 😀 😀 OKAY. No big deal. 😀 😀 I am not judging, merely sharing.
      I slipped a couple on my plate knowing what changes in schedule, travel and new places can do to you. Don’t tell anyone. 😦

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  4. Prunes! 🙂 I’m sure lots of travelers appreciate them because vacation diets usually mess people up!

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  5. A discreet bowl of prunes-after all that food, couldn’t help laughing. 🙂

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    • Travel is mean to your system especially when you schedule is topsy-turvy and in time change. However, looking at the age group, hardly anyone turned up this ‘treat.’ Sorry, I watched, though I didn’t pass up the opportunity either. It was included in the price etc., right? o_O 😀 😀

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  6. Thanks for taking us along on your latest journey episode. Enjoyed reading. Discreet bowl of prunes? Hilarious.

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    • If you looked at the age range of tourists, you might not wonder. Then again travel messes one up. I almost burst out laughing at the first couple who felt embarrassed. Most partook as a matter of course. So did my sister and I. We figured it wouldn’t hurt, but watching some of the other tourists was as scream–the reason the bowl seemed ‘discreet.’ 😀 😀 😀

      Liked by 1 person

  7. Sounds as if you’re having a ball, Tess. But sooooo cold looking.Jx

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  8. Reblogged this on Smorgasbord – Variety is the spice of life and commented:
    Teresa Karlinski​ continues her informative and entertaining trip in Newfoundland.. I can see why so many Irish people settled there over the centuries.. those skies look just like home!! Great stuff.

    Liked by 1 person

  9. I love that Francis read the letter she found on the internet and had everyone laughing including the bus driver. (so much so he missed the turn off) That is what makes these trips so much fun. You should try to get through the paperwork system here in Spain. Incredible! It makes the Canadian bureaucracy look simple and easy. I think it is all still based on medieval law.

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  10. I always think that it is a good thing if wifi doesn’t work on a bus or a train because then passengers can look out of the window and enjoy the view. People spend too much time on phones and tablets if you ask me.

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    • Indeed, and as I mentioned to John earlier, this was supposed to be a vacation, away from regular life, for relaxation. Everyone was busy taking pictures even from the bus most of the time, not catching up unless we had to wait for some reason.

      Liked by 1 person

  11. Loved reading this article !!! Canada looks freezing! 🙂

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  12. Nice. I’m still trying to warm up after looking at the pics.

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  13. Enjoy your vacation, Tess. Hope you have a great time with your sister xo

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  14. I really need to take a trip. Labrador sounds good. Maybe the Canadian Rockies train trip?

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  15. They have a train trip from east to west coast, which I just saw in this paper. From the time you mentioned it, I’ve been itching to go.

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  16. I’m glad you had a nice trip. Love the pics. 🙂

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  17. Traveling and laughter often don’t go hand in hand. But they should. As should prunes and breakfast. Prunes should be the daily ‘one a day’ treat instead of apples. 🙂
    I think it’s amazing how important WiFi is to everyone now. A decade ago, we’d all be looking out the bus window instead of down at our phones. :-0

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  18. You take the best trips!

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  19. I’m still hoping you had some blues sky and sun, remind me which month you went?

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  20. We were there September 11 to 22nd. The season had already ended for these tours but they had an overflow of interested people and tacked on another tour. After we left, we heard they had summer-like weather for a week. 😦

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  21. This makes me want to go to Newfoundland/Labrador, Tess, you should be in promoting tourism. 😉
    Hope this week treats you kindly. 🙂

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    • That would be work, Donna. Just drop a few million dollars in my special coffee cup. A good cheque will do. 😀 😀
      I contacted the tour guide a couple days ago because I couldn’t make out my notes. He wrote back too. Where else would you get that kind of service? What a guy. He even took a group picture of us all (will be posting soon) and sent it to us. No charge.

      Hope this week treats you especially well. ❤ ❤

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  22. If a bowl of prunes is on the table, it is not discreet enough.

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  23. Such fun, what a wonderful trip Tess. I can’t wait for your next one! Where to?

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    • Ha ha. A couple days ago I contacted the tour guide by e-mail to ask a question about where the heck were we when he took our group picture. He wrote back the next day. Where do you get that kind of attention?
      The hard part is finding someone to come along. Can’t take my sister since she’s going to Boston in April. I want to go away in May. Might have to wait till the fall again. Not sure where I’d like to go. The Canadian dollar is a killer right now. o_O
      Wonderful to see you, Valentine. Thanks for visiting.

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  24. I shudder at these car ferries, even though living here we need to use them to get pretty much anywhere. I put that down to the fact my uncle was on the Herald of Free Enterprise that went down because they put to sea with the car doors still open. He had an awful time but survived, visibly shrunk for several years. Loved the post as usual. Bus with wifi sounds dreamy until you realise it doesn’t work!

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    • Sorry to hear about your uncle. That would do me in. Glad he survived, but what a horrible, horrible experience.
      There’s something about water that scares me. Flying is scary but a ferry more so for me. I was in British Columbia end of the year. Had to take four ferries, two each way, to get to an island. Over a thousand people on it. How many vehicles is that? Yikes.
      WiFi DID work and I was in awe (On a bus? What will they think of next?). Wide open space of nothing and miles of trees and nothing else must have been the reason for no access.

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  25. Just relieved to know – upon reading the post – that the topic wasn’t a Labrador Retriever dying!

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  26. It was a scare!
    (Just a short note that the Labrador Retriever breed originated from what was the St. John’s Water Dog, that lived (but is now extinct) in Newfoundland, north of Labrador. Very cold waters there!)

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  27. All is well that ends well. I must confess to loving plums and prunes in their own right (not only for the effects) although the older I get the more careful I must get… It’s great to be off and not connected to anything but it can be annoying if you’d planned the trip around certain stops to be able to keep up. Thanks, Tess. I hope you have some more travels planned and you’ll take us with you again!

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  28. Hi Tess. Lol, can I ever relate to your friend Mary and her packing! 🙂 ) 🙂

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