The
hope for better weather in St. John’s, Newfoundland is a hope against hope, I
gathered soon after i woke up in the morning. The strong Atlantic winds keep the city cold and windy, particularly
for one from Chennai who find 30 degrees Celsius cold! Todd, caretaker of the
guest house, told me that for the locals this was merely a light breeze, when I
was almost getting swept off my feet. Mercifully, it wasn’t raining, except for
the odd drops that threatened every now and then. It was cloudy and windy,
though. Braving what was, I set off on foot for a short walk after breakfast.
Cereal with cold milk, delectable banana strawberry muffin and a couple of cups
of coffee put me in the right frame of mind to explore the immediate
neighbourhood.
Five
minutes’ walk from the guest house took me to the Basilica of St. John the
Baptist, the mother church of Roman Catholics in Newfoundland. The huge church is
on the highest ridge of the city and faces the harbour. The Basilica was completed
in 1855 from grey limestone and granite brought from Ireland. The many stained
glass windows and the colourful, ornate ceiling adds substance to the
architectural masterpiece. It is the second largest church in Canada after St.
Joseph's Oratory. The massive 2500 seating capacity church has a statue of Our
Lady of Fatima that was ceremonially brought to St John's by a devout group of
4000 Portuguese fishermen on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the
church's consecration. It was indeed a new experience to read the Mission
Statement of the Basilica that was displayed prominently within it. 
Just
above the ridge on which the Basilica is situated is The Rooms which has a large collection of art, artifacts
and archival records. It is the proud repository of the colourful cultural
history of St. John's. The museum was not yet open and I had to be content with
going around its grounds. The St. Andrews Church, called The Kirk, is
Newfoundland’s first Presbyterian Church. The building was consecrated in 1896
and has a magnificent pipe organ. The stained glass windows are also some of
the best of the times. I walked past the impressive building of the United
Church, which I suspect has a woman parish priest purely going by the name
Peggy Fitzgerald that was seen on the wall of the building. The St. John's
Anglican Church is the oldest one in Canada and was consecrated in 1850.
The
UN NATO peacekeepers memorial depicting a soldier about to release a dove is a
tribute to the contribution of Canadians to over 60 UN peacekeeping operations
abroad. There is another granite column, a memorial to the brave hearts from
Newfoundland who lost their lives in the First World War. There is another life
size statue on Gower Street of a police officer with a lantern in one hand
leading a girl, supposedly a tribute to modern policing and the efforts of the
constabulary to keep the city safe.
The Gower
Street is full of brightly painted house made famous by the Jellybean Row
houses. The bright colours of the facades can lift ones spirits on the dullest
of days. The colours are startling and, at times, whimsical but it reflects the
soul of St John's and is now its symbol too.
The
Courthouse houses the Supreme Court of St. John's and overlooks the harbour.
The modern building was completed in 1904 while the site has seen its
predecessors since 1730, when it was a combined court and jail. The St. John's
harbour is a good place to walk, if the weather is good. The historically
significant sheltered harbour is an essential ingredient to the development of
the city. It is promoted as the first getaway port of North America to Europe. One thing I observed on the walking tour of the city is that the cars did not carry the registration number on the front bumper of the vehicle.
The
weather sort of cleared a bit short of noon and I drove to the Quidi Vidi
Village, a historic fishing village in the outskirts of St. John’s. It has a
tiny sheltered inlet, known locally as the gut, with closely spaced houses,
quaint buildings, traditional fishing structures and wharves, known as stages
and stores, perched at the edge of the cliff and balanced over water. Famous
now in the village is the rather striking green building that houses the Quidi
Vidi Brewing Company. The company brews its own nine brands of beer, some of
them made with pure iceberg water. They have a brand by that name too, Iceberg.
This building was a former seafood plant and now has a restaurant and beer bar on the upper
floor from where one can experience the brewing process and see the plant in
action. I bought four cans of different IPA brands to serve me on a later part of
the trip. The Quidi Vidi Lake hosts the Royal St. John’s Regatta annually every
August, which is the longest continuing sporting event in North America. Across
the lake are eye-catching colourful buildings in an open space. That used to be
a military housing facility of the Americans during WWII. Now they serve as
residential units and government warehouses.
An
hour in the afternoon was spent with the engaging crew of CBC, Anthony and
Mark. While Mark was in charge of the visuals and sound, Anthony was the
interviewer. The interview, done mostly while driving from the CBC centre to
Torbay and back, was fun. Anthony took me to Middle Cove from where I had
brilliant views of icebergs and the Atlantic Ocean lapping the shores of the
Cove.
Late
evening was reserved for a sprightly interaction and fellowship with Jerry Joy,
a classmate of my cousin. Jerry has been in Newfoundland for nearly a decade
now. The excellent conversationalist is a very successful entrepreneur managing
his B&B, restaurant and a food truck vending Indian foods. The food truck
seems to be breaking new grounds in the industry. He has plans to expand his
business in the near future even buying up the property which is with him on rental
now. The B&B and restaurant overlook the Portugal Cove ferry that serves
Bell Island for commuters who work on the mainland and tourists. The island is
just 34 square km in area and it once had large iron ore mines. Jerry told me
that the erstwhile mines are a tourist’s delight. Delightful conversation, a
few pegs of Puerto Rican Bacardi dark rum and authentic Kerala food such as
beef fry, cabbage thoran and the ubiquitous Indian ‘Butter Chicken’ with rice
and naan, in the background of some heavenly views was the right way to wind up
the visit to the historical city.
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