Independent Arrivals to St. John's/Orientation and Introductions/People of the Sea

Afternoon: HOTEL CHECK-IN: Check-in to the hotel after 3:00 p.m., the front desk will let you know where to register with Road Scholar program staff and pick up your arrival packet containing the most up-to-date schedule and program information. Please be aware that local circumstances may require adjusting program elements. In the event of changes, we will notify you as quickly as possible and appreciate your understanding. ORIENTATION: Following check-in we will have introductions and an orientation of the program to review the updated schedule, responsibilities, safety, guidelines, emergency procedures, any other administrative issues, and answer your questions.

Dinner: The welcome dinner is at the hotel restaurant, offering a choice of items.

Evening: LECTURE: A local expert will discuss "Seabirds and the Marine Ecology of Newfoundland and Labrador", followed by a video presentation "People of the Sea". You will learn about the diversity of North Atlantic seabirds and the Low Arctic ocean conditions along the coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador that provide their habitat. The icy coastal waters that wash the Newfoundland coasts have the lowest penetration of Arctic waters in the Atlantic. As a result, Newfoundland is the southern limit for icebergs and many Arctic seabirds. The cold but productive waters provide excellent habitat for many species of marine fish. We will also explore the interrelationships between seabirds and their ocean environment and assess the current information about the North Atlantic, the fishes in it and climate change from the point of view of the spectacular seabirds of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Lodging: Quality Hotel Harbourview

Meals Included: Dinner

Breakfast: Buffet breakfast is at the hotel.

Morning: FIELD TRIP: You will begin your visit to St. John's with a guided exploration by coach around the city. St. John's is the capital of Newfoundland and Labrador. This colorful city, born of its sheltered harbor, was a busy port 40 years before the Mayflower landed at Plymouth. Although it is a small city, St. John's has a warm, vibrant spirit. Water Street is the oldest street in North America. You will also visit Cape Spear, the most easterly point of land in North America. A visit to historic Quidi Vidi Village follows, including a guided tour of the brewery.

Lunch: Lunch in Quidi Vidi.

Afternoon: FIELD TRIP: Excursion to Signal Hill National Historic Site and Cabot Tower. Signal Hill rises above the entrance of St. John's Harbour. Its strategic location made it a natural site for a signal station and fortifications protecting the harbor and the city below. As early as 1704, flag signals were flown from the summit to warn St. John's of approaching ships, both friendly and hostile. In 1762, English and French forces fought the last North American battle of the Seven Years War on Signal Hill; later, the British military fortified the summit as a citadel for the city. When the military withdrew in 1870, the Newfoundland government turned the vacant barracks into hospitals. FIELD TRIP: On a field trip to the Johnson GEO Centre, you will enter the world of geology and learn how "The Rock" formed. Join a professional geologist for a journey through time as you explore the origins of Signal Hill. Marvel at the many geological events that these rocks have borne witness to, and handle actual rock specimens to spot and analyze the features that tell you this amazing story. You will learn about sedimentary rock formation, folding and syncline formation, physical weathering and erosion by glaciers, chemical weathering by air and water, and much more. This science museum is unusual in that most of the floor lies underground embedded inside solid rock walls - the rocks of Signal Hill. FREE TIME: Enjoy free time this afternoon to explore St. John's on your own.

Dinner: Dinner on your own to explore local fare.

Evening: The evening is free to continue your exploration of St. John's.

Lodging: Quality Hotel Harbourview

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Breakfast: Buffet breakfast is at the hotel.

Morning: FIELD TRIP: En route to Port Union, we will stop in Bay Bulls, where a boat field trip will give you the opportunity to spot puffins and whales (weather and season permitting). The live, onboard interpretive program will describe the natural and cultural heritage of Newfoundland. You will also visit the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve, where over 1,000,000 pairs of seabirds gather to breed during the summer months.

Lunch: Lunch at Gatherall's, overlooking Bay Bulls Harbour, showcasing a stunning ocean view.

Afternoon: Continue on to Port Union. Historic Port Union is Canada's only union built town, and it was a thriving industrial town during the period that the Fisherman's Protective Union flourished. The town's community spirit is still very much alive today as residents work to preserve their union built heritage and bring their history to life.

Dinner: Dinner at the Inn, offering a choice of local specialities.

Evening: Explore Port Union on an optional walk, or catch up on your rest.

Lodging: Seaport Inn

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Buffet breakfast at the Inn.

Morning: LECTURE: A local historian will deliver a lecture, "Port Union: A Union-Built Town".You will learn how Sir William Coaker formed a union of fishermen in the early 1900s to fight against the merchant trade of St. John's. His goal was to revolutionize the fishery, placing control of the fish trade in the hands of fishermen. He chose this site and built a town similar to the city of St. John's because he couldn't obtain land there to expand his company. Sir William is noted as an activist, labor leader, visionary, businessman, publisher and politician. FIELD TRIP: On a guided visit of historic Port Union, you will see the buildings of the town, including the factory and the Coaker Bungalow. Many are being restored to their original state. Trained guides talk about each site and the part it played in the life and times of Port Union.

Lunch: Lunch en route

Afternoon: Depart by coach for Trinity. FIELD TRIP: In Trinity, explore the town's historic sites. Then continue to Bonaventure and a field trip to the site of the Canadian Broadcasting System’s mini-series Random Passage, taking you back to the early 1800s. Based on the acclaimed book of the same name by Bernice Morgan, this site includes period buildings and fishing stages designed to replicate the life of a typical Newfoundland fishing community in the early 1800s. As you take a guided walk through the constructed buildings, you will learn about the hardships of immigrants from England and Ireland in their struggle to survive in the harsh Newfoundland climate.

Dinner: Dinner at a local restaurant in Trinity.

Evening: PERFORMANCE: Enjoy a theatre performance in Trinity presented by the Rising Tide Theatre Company. Since its founding as a professional theatre company in 1978, Rising Tide Theatre has offered audiences some of the finest plays and talent available in Canada. The Company has explored current and controversial issues on stage, rejuvenated and modernized classics, and created plays which seek to portray the culture and character of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Lodging: Seaport Inn

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Buffet breakfast at the Inn.

Morning: EXCURSION: Before the advent of electricity, vegetables were stored in root cellars. Elliston has over a hundred of them, some which have been restored. That is why the town officially declared itself the "Root Cellar Capital of the World" in July 2000. The town boasts 135 documented root cellars, some of which have survived nearly 200 years. You will learn about early Newfoundland subsistence. Guides will talk about the importance of the cellars in the life of the settlers and how they were constructed. You will also visit the Elliston puffin site. Elliston boasts the closest viewing of puffins from land in North America. FIELD TRIP: You will visit John Cabot's Matthew Legacy Site. Here you will learn about John Cabot's famous voyage of discovery to Newfoundland in 1497. That year, John Cabot, or Giovanni Caboto, sailed from England in search of new lands rich in spices. He discovered Newfoundland. He made the voyage in a 65-foot caravel called the Matthew, almost certainly named for his wife, Mattea. A full-scale replica of the Matthew made a transatlantic voyage in 1997 to celebrate the 500th anniversary of Cabot's voyage. Another full-scale replica was built, officially christened and launched in 1998 in Bonavista.

Lunch: Lunch en route

Afternoon: FIELD TRIP: Visit the Cape Bonavista Lighthouse, located at the headland of Cape Bonavista. As trained guides interpret this site, you will learn how important this lighthouse was in guiding mariners and shipping traffic bound for Labrador. Discover the vital role played by lighthouses, and the extraordinary breed of men and women who operated them, in safeguarding the lives of the mariners who executed their trade off Newfoundland's rugged coast. The lighthouse is now a Provincial Historic Site, restored to the 1870s. It is a two-storey structure built around a masonry tower that supports the lantern, put into operation in 1843. The lighthouse also has an interpretive display that tells the history of the lighthouse and its keepers. Bonavista is one of the oldest settlements on the northeast coast of Newfoundland. A quaint fishing community of 4,600 people, it is the largest community in the province to rely solely on the inshore fishing industry. Its name is presumed to have come from Italian explorer John Cabot's exclamation "O Buena Vista",” meaning "O Happy Sight", when he first sighted land off Cape Bonavista on June 24, 1497. FIELD TRIP: At Ryan Premises National Historic Site, you will learn the intriguing story of the East Coast fishery. Parks Canada staff will describe the compelling story of the fishing industry in Newfoundland in the unique setting of these restored merchant's premises. The first thing you notice is the smell of salt cod. More than a century after employees of James Ryan Ltd. began salting and storing the cod brought in by local fishermen, the tangy aroma of their work remains as strong as if the enterprise had just closed yesterday.

Dinner: Dinner with local residents joining you and sharing their stories about life in rural Newfoundland. Dinner will be a buffet style meal featuring traditional Newfoundland dishes.

Evening: PERFORMANCE: Following dinner there will be traditional music and dancing, try your hand at playing the "ugly sticks" and spoons. Become a honorary Newfoundlander at a screech-in ceremony. An evening of fun and laughter.

Lodging: Seaport Inn

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Buffet breakfast at the Inn

Morning: FIELD TRIP: En route to Twillingate, you will visit Terra Nova National Park. You will learn about the geology and geography of the park, the marine life along its coastline and the issues affecting its ecological integrity. You will discover why the park's theme is "where long fingers of the North Atlantic Ocean touch our boreal landscape". After watching a short introductory movie, you will have a guided visit of the marine exhibits and touch tank, then up to the top of Blue Hill. Terra Nova National Park was established in 1957 to protect the Atlantic uplands and boreal forest of eastern Newfoundland. The natural habitat of this 400-square-kilometre park includes spruce and fir forest, rolling hills, sheltered inlets, rugged coastline, bogs, ponds, streams and glacial features. From whales roaming the rich feeding grounds of the Sounds to the orchids of the boreal habitat, this area has supported an impressive array of marine and terrestrial life for thousands of years. Salmon, moose, bear, lynx and bald eagles are just some of the wildlife you may see at Terra Nova.

Lunch: Buffet lunch at a restaurant in Gander.

Afternoon: FIELD TRIP: At Boyd's Cove Beothuk Site, you will learn the haunting story of the extinct Beothuk people. Discover how these people lived in the 17th century - who they traded with and what sort of religion they practiced. Explore the physical world in which the Beothuk lived by following a traditional path through the forest used by early European settlers and possibly also by the Beothuk. Watch a video that includes footage by the late Dr. Ralph Pastore, the archaeologist in charge of the digs at Boyd's Cove. Artists' drawings, artefacts, models and a diorama provide concrete examples. On-site interpretation will be delivered by or under the supervision of the site supervisor, who holds a Bachelors degree in folklore as well as professional certifications for Heritage Interpreter and Tourism Visitor Information Counselor. Archaeological excavations have uncovered a group of house pits occupied between 1650 and 1720 AD, at a time when the now-extinct Beothuk people had had some interaction with Europeans and were making use of metal scavenged from European sites. This site lies in eastern Notre Dame Bay on an island off Newfoundland's northeast coast. The site was found in 1981 during a survey to locate Beothuk sites. The Beothuk people became extinct with the death of Shanawdithit, a Beothuk woman, in St. John's in 1829. The Boyd's Cove site and Notre Dame Bay area provide important information about the life and culture of this unique people. Continue on to Twillingate, a town of 5,000 people located in beautiful Notre Dame Bay. The town probably dates from the 15th century, when it was a fishing port. It flourished in the 18th century, becoming known as the "Capital of the North". Since the downturn in the fishery, many businesspeople and residents have turned to tourism to turn the town's fortunes around.

Dinner: Dinner at the hotel, featuring a choice of items.

Evening: Free evening to explore Twillingate.

Lodging: Anchor Inn Motel

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Buffet breakfast at the hotel.

Morning: FIELD TRIP: Your day will start with a visit to Prime Berth Fishing Heritage Centre, where you will learn about Newfoundland's inshore fishing heritage and culture as it is lived in the hundreds of little outport communities scattered around the coast. See demonstrations in a 100-year-old fishing stage and learn how life has changed in these communities in the past 20 years. The large number of cultural artefacts enables you to connect with the "soul" of Newfoundland. You will also be able to speak to people who have spent their lives in tiny outport communities. They work in the commercial fishery, catching snow crab, cod, capelin, herring, lobster, mackerel and squid. The name of the site comes from the traditional practice of drawing from a hat the spot where cod traps would be set that summer. Naturally, every fisherman wished that he would draw the best, or "prime", berth. The Centre offers visitors a complete learning experience on Newfoundland and Labrador's fishing heritage and culture in an authentic setting. Run by commercial fisherpeople, it features an old fishing stage, net loft and fish store. You will also learn how the province's people are coping since the collapse of the cod fishery.

Lunch: Lunch at the hotel, featuring a choice of sandwiches and side dishes.

Afternoon: BOAT EXCURSION: Observe whales, icebergs (weather and season permitting) and marvel at the rugged coast. You may also see icebergs because Twillingate calls itself the "Iceberg Capital of the World".” FREE TIME: Later this afternoon, spend some free time on your own in Twillingate.

Dinner: Dinner at the hotel offers a choice of items.

Evening: Free evening

Lodging: Anchor Inn Motel

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Buffet breakfast at the hotel.

Morning: Depart for Cow Head by coach, with rest breaks en route.

Lunch: Picnic lunch en route.

Afternoon: FIELD TRIP: Gros Morne National Park. Here you will learn about the park's remarkable geology. In fact, Gros Morne has been called the "Galapagos of Geology" and became a World Heritage site in 1987. Thanks to sharp ridges and huge cliffs, coastal bogs and highland tundra, dramatic ocean inlets and lakes, the scenery at Gros Morne National Park ranks among the most spectacular in Atlantic Canada. The park is a textbook illustration of plate tectonics, the theory that suggests that continent-sized plates of the earth's crust have collided and separated repeatedly over geological time. About 600 million years ago, the joint land mass of Europe and North America was starting to pull apart. Magma from the lower crust welled up and filled the gap between them, and this solidified magma is visible in the cliffs of Gros Morne's Western Brook Pond. Between 570 and 420 million years ago, an ocean existed between the two continents, called the Iapetus Sea. Sedimentary strata in the park preserve fossils of almost every phylum known to exist during that time, making the park a virtual catalogue of evolution. By 460 million years ago, North America and Europe were pressing together, raising the Appalachian Mountains and closing the Iapetus Sea. Some blocks of oceanic crust and mantle were transported west and raised to the surface of the earth. Eons later, glacial ice scoured the area, creating fjords and cutting transects through the mountains that reveal their geological past. On a walking field trip to the Tablelands in Gros Morne National Park, you will hear a presentation on "Gros Morne Park Geology". Continue on to Cow Head. This small fishing village is situated on the Gulf of St. Lawrence in Gros Morne National Park. It represents a large sample of Newfoundland's western highlands and coastal lowlands - a landscape of mountains, fjords, deep glacial lakes and wave-carved cliffs.

Dinner: Dinner at the hotel features a choice of items.

Evening: Enjoy a free evening to explore your surroundings or catch up on your rest.

Lodging: Shallow Bay Motel and Cabins

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Rocky Harbour/Western Brook Pond Trail and Boat Excursion/Theater Performance

Breakfast: Breakfast at the hotel.

Morning: FIELD TRIP: You will visit the Rocky Harbour Visitor Centre. Learn about the geology and wildlife of Gros Morne National Park, supported by exhibits and a video. Curving around a long and sweeping bay with the mountains in the background, Rocky Harbour is the largest and prettiest village in Gros Morne National Park. The community serves as the major service center for the park. You will walk the Western Brook Pond Trail to begin the cruise on Western Brook Pond. The trail is 3 km (2 miles) in length each way. The trail is boardwalk and gravel, mostly flat with a few slight grades. There is no transportation available on the trail.

Lunch: Enjoy a picnic lunch dockside at Western Brook Pond. There is a sheltered waiting area, indoor washroom facilities, canteen services, gift shop as well as several beautiful picnic areas.

Afternoon: EXCURSION: This afternoon you will take a boat excursion on Western Brook Pond in Gros Morne National Park (weather permitting). This is the largest lake in the park. On board the boat, you will see the spectacular, land-locked Western Brook Pond fjord. The fjord is just one of numerous glacially carved fjords in the Long Range Mountains, the northernmost extent of the Appalachian Mountains. Waterfalls cascade from a height of 3,000 feet (900 meters), and you may spot some of the local wildlife. The lake is home to Atlantic salmon, brook trout and Arctic char as well as an unusual colony of cliff-nesting gulls. FREE TIME: When you return to the hotel, you will have free time for the remainder of the afternoon.

Dinner: Dinner at the hotel features a choice of items.

Evening: PERFORMANCE: Enjoy a presentation at the hotel by the Gros Morne Theatre Company, focusing on Newfoundland stories, song and music, celebrating the Newfoundland culture, heritage, and most importantly her people. Plays include stories about heroic nurses, heroic actions during a ship wreck, a pair of Newfoundland Eds, and a real life murder mystery from the 1800s.

Lodging: Shallow Bay Motel and Cabins

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast at hotel.

Morning: Depart for St. Anthony. St. Anthony had its beginnings as a seasonal fishing station for French and Biscayan (Basque) fishermen in the early 1500s. This is how Jacques Cartier came upon it in 1534, when he named the protected harbor St. Anthony Haven. A permanent coastal settlement did not begin until after the Napoleonic Wars ended in 1815. During the latter decades of the 19th century, the town was a service point for Newfoundland schooners sailing between the Labrador coast and ports in Bonavista. As the largest town at the tip of the Great Northern Peninsula, it was a base camp for early European settlers. Today, its proximity to L'Anse-aux-Meadows makes it one of the world's significant archaeological properties. The founding of the mission by Sir Wilfred Grenfell in 1893 began the development of St. Anthony as an institutional and medical centre, one of the more important facets of the town's economy today.

Lunch: Lunch at the Lightkeepers Restaurant, located in the former residence of the Fishing Point lighthouse keeper. The restaurant features a spectacular ocean view of Iceberg Alley.

Afternoon: FIELD TRIP: Explore the Grenfell Historic Properties complex in St. Anthony. At Grenfell House Museum and Interpretive Centre, learn about the life and times of Sir Wilfred Grenfell, a medical missionary who devoted his life's work to serving the people of northern Newfoundland and Labrador. You will have an opportunity to visit Grenfell Handicrafts, located in the Interpretation Centre. The Jordi Bonet Murals in the rotunda of the nearby Charles S. Curtis Memorial Hospital are a series of ceramic murals depicting the culture and history of the people of Newfoundland and Labrador. On entering the rotunda, one is at once struck by the beauty and harmony of design and color. Some of the panels are quite realistic and not difficult to interpret while others are more abstract.

Dinner: Dinner at the Norseman Restaurant. Explore an unforgettable dining experience in L'Anse aux Meadows. Take in a fabulous view of the ocean where whales and icebergs cross paths.

Evening: PERFORMANCE: Following dinner, experience local entertainment at the restaurant, or enjoy a theater performance at nearby Norstead Viking Village.

Lodging: Haven Inn

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast at hotel.

Morning: FIELD TRIP: Exploring L'Anse-aux-Meadows National Historic Site is one of the highlights of this program. En route to the site, you will watch the video "Vinland Mystery" in preparation. At L'Anse aux Meadows you will learn about this famous ancient Viking settlement, the first European encampment in the New World and site of Leif Erickson's Vinland. Discover the westward migration of the Vikings and understand how they lived so long ago. Stand on the same grassy plain facing the sea where the Vikings stood 1,000 years ago, then stoop to enter the reconstructed sod house that once protected them from the chill, wind and snow. You will experience first-hand the warm, smoky atmosphere of these efficient buildings, while costumed interpreters depict Viking life. Eight Norse sod-house foundations were unearthed by explorer Helge Ingstad and his wife, archaeologist Anne Stine Ingstad, in the 1960s. They were assisted by George Decker, a local fisherman, who showed them what he thought was an Aboriginal campsite. This confirmed the discovery of the first European encampment in the New World. FIELD TRIP: Experience Norstead Viking Village, a re-created Viking village. Learn how the Vikings would have lived 1,000 years ago and discover what crops they would have planted. Analysis is provided by costumed interpreters carrying out authentic demonstrations. At the boatshed, marvel at a full-scale replica of a Viking ship. At the place of worship, explore the transition from paganism to Christianity. Visit the chieftain's hall, blacksmith shop, tents and fire pit.

Lunch: Lunch en route. Experience the renowned Newfoundland hospitality and a choice of traditional or non-traditional dishes.

Afternoon: Continue on to Hawke's Bay, a town on the Viking Trail between Gros Morne National Park and St. Anthony, at the tip of the Great Northern Peninsula. Nestled at the end of a beautiful inland bay, the town is protected from the cold winds and fog experienced along the coast. It is rich in history, from whaling to early aviation, logging, sport-fishing and river drives.

Dinner: Seafood dinner at the inn.

Evening: LECTURE: A presentation by a local expert highlights early Newfoundland culture in Canada.

Lodging: Maynard's Torrent River Inn

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast at the inn.

Morning: FIELD TRIP: A field trip to Port au Choix National Historic Site begins with a lecture highlighting early Newfoundland culture in Canada. At Port au Choix, you will watch a film and listen to a lecture on "The Ancient Peoples of Port-au-Choix - Groswater and Dorset Inuit and Maritime Archaic Indians".

Lunch: Lunch at the inn.

Afternoon: PERFORMANCE: Entertainment is provided by a local musician during and after lunch. LECTURE: A presentation on the Torrent River Boardwalk and Salmon River Fish Ladder is followed by a visit to the Fish Ladder. The boardwalk along the Torrent River ends in a spectacular waterfall, the site of Newfoundland and Labrador's most successful salmon-enhancement project. When the salmon are migrating you can see them jumping up the ladder to the area where they will spawn. You'll then depart by coach for Deer Lake.

Dinner: Dinner in Deer Lake.

Evening: The evening is free to explore Deer Lake on your own or prepare for your departure tomorrow.

Lodging: Deer Lake Motel

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast at motel.

Morning: FIELD TRIP: Explore the Insectarium in Deer Lake and learn all about the world of insects, especially species found in Newfoundland and Labrador. In addition to live tarantulas, scorpions and giant cockroaches, you can also watch over 20,000 honeybees in the observation beehive. Staff members are nearby if you want to handle the enormous walking sticks or tropical leaf insects. Marvel at this beautiful, fascinating and least understood group of animals on earth. The Insectarium is designed like a modern art gallery. There are three levels, with the top floor acting as a balcony from which to observe the exhibit floor below. Wall-mounted and floor exhibits show insect groups from around the world. Live exhibits are interspersed, enabling you to view both living and preserved specimens. Depart by coach, drop offs at Deer Lake airport or hotel in Deer Lake, if necessary

Meals Included: Breakfast