Arriving in Newfoundland...

Being from Ontario, I was in for a rude awakening as to the culture and the people that were about to greet me. As I stepped off the "Caribou" (the name of the ferry that brought me from mainland Canada to Newfoundland) I could not believe the smells and sights that greeted me. It was late August of 2001 and I was in a new land, with a new partner and a new business to start. What lay before me only time would tell. The smell was that of salt water and fish. All around me was coastline and rock, lots and lots of rock. So, this is Newfoundland I said to no one in particular. I wasn't quite sure of what to make of this strange new place. A place that would become home for me. Having spent some time in Alberta (western Canada) I was not overly impressed with Newfoundland's mountains' size but more the remoteness and coldness of them. Their sheer rock face looked unyielding and unforgiving, which was not far from reality as time would tell. As the car buzzed down the highway heading into central Newfoundland, I noticed the cliff faces thrusting high and bold out of the shoulders of the highway, what daunting work must have been faced building this highway. I was amazed at the speed at which most cars zipped past ours as we drove on into the night. I was surprised looking over at the speedometer to see my partner doing the speed limit plus 10 and people passing us as if we stood still. My partner, content to maintain speed, commented on the boldness of the drivers passing where it wasn't safe to do so and driving at speeds only seen on the "Autobaun" until now. To this day (7 years later) I still drive as an Ontario granny and am happy to be safe at the speed limit and passing where it is safe to do so. The one thing that always stuck in my mind growing up in Ontario, was the reports of moose sightings and how many people here in Newfoundland(NL) have hit a moose or been killed by moose. Yet, here we were travelling a very dark highway on a very dark night at the time of year that is rife with moose on the highways, and people driving as if it were a bright sunny day. I have since come to learn, although there are a great many moose here in NL, life still goes on and people will do what they have to do to get on with life and living.