Week 3

Tuesday was an early morning for us, packing and getting ready for two weeks in Newfoundland. Our goal for this trip was to get Marine Species at Risk observers from the Southern Coast of Newfoundland. For this we focus mainly on finding fishermen because they are out on the water every day and see things that many people can only dream of seeing. We took the first of many ferries across the Straight of Belle Isle and landed in St Barbe, Newfoundland. From the ferry, we drove south for about 4 hours, with a stop in Cow Head to visit a fellow intern spending her summer there. Our drive included an incredible view of Gros Morne National Park, where I got to see the table mountains, some incredible waterfalls, and lots of moose! We spent our first night in Port-au-Basque. The next morning we traveled from Port-au-Basque to Rose Blanche, with a quick stop at Canada's only all-slate lighthouse, and got straight on the ferry to La Poile.

La Poile is a small costal community of about 100 people. There are no roads, no cars and a whole lot of fishermen. We found our first two observers here after two nights. We also had the privilege of getting our own tooth samples from an old shark head fished from the bottom of the harbor. The head (or what was left of it) was about a week old, leftover from a porbeagle shark caught in our observer's fishing nets. We've been studying the controversy of whether the local fisherman have been getting porbeagles or mako sharks and through these teeth we were able to confirm that most fishermen have, in fact, been getting porbeagles despite the fact most were calling them mako sharks. We've yet to find anyone who actually caught a real mako in the past few years.

After two days in La Poile we got on the ferry again and headed back to civilization. Because of the impossible ferry schedules it was not possible to do the entire southwest coast in one run. We had to drive another day around to Burgeo where a ferry would take us to the rest of the coast. From Burgeo, we once again left our car and went for another week and a half to no cars, no cell service, and no Internet. Our first stop was Grey River, which, despite its name, had some of the most beautiful scenery I've seen. It was in the center of an amazing fjord and completely hidden from the open ocean. We met with the four local fishermen that night and talked about what they saw around their area. The next day we headed off to Francois. Francois was another beautiful town with a waterfall running right through the center, under the boardwalks. Unfortunately it was pouring rain, which made it impossible to find any fishermen around town. We did manage to find and recruit one observer before we headed off to the next town.

Our next stop was the town of McCallum, home to the most friendly people I've ever met. The town was about the same size as all the towns we've been visiting, about 100 people. Everyone you passed on the boardwalks (no roads) were so friendly and introduced themselves. We found two new observers and one even brought us back a little present from his day out fishing, a full porbeagle shark that was unfortunate enough to get caught in his nets. In total it was about 5 feet long, most likely still very young; we could tell from the size and because he only had two rows of teeth, the second not fully-grown in yet. We got to study him and take some pictures. I grew quite attached to Bruce (named for the shark in Finding Nemo).

From McCallum we made our way back to civilization for out last destination, Hermitage. Hermitage was connected to the main roads making it much more populated and up-to-date compared to the other smaller towns we’ve been to. Unfortunately, that also meant the people were not as easy to talk to. We found it hard to find people who would take some time out of their day to talk to us. Despite this challenge, we did end up finding two new observers. We stayed one night and got back on the ferry the next day to head back through all the towns again to get to our cars to get home again. It was a relief getting on the ferry and back to the nice people of the small communities. We stopped on the ferry in McCallum for snacks and to say hi to everyone we met (who greeted us like we were old friends). We then got back on the ferry and headed to Francois for another night. This time, having more free time we were able to go for a hike with a local couple up the mountains that surrounded the area. It was one of the most beautiful hikes I have ever been on and I could not believe how lucky these people were to live in such an amazing place.

The next day, we got up at the crack of dawn to catch our last ferry back to civilization. After our four hour ferry ride, we got in the car for a four hour drive. We made a quick stop at Wal-Mart to get supplies for our kids camp next week and made our way back through Gros Morne National Park. This time it did not go so smoothly. Our extremely old and dysfunctional car decided to overheat in the middle of the park. It wouldn’t have been so bad if it wasn’t raining and if we had not just passed a large family of moose. Fortunately for us, Newfoundlanders are known for being kind and we were helped by a local on his way back from fishing. We finally made it to our hotel for one last night on the island. We started to make our way up to St. Barbe again for one last ferry ride but managed to make a quick stop for a hike in Gros Morne.

This trip was an incredible experience. It is something that I know was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Many of these small communities will not be there in the next few years. Because they survive almost solely on fishing they are slowly disappearing with the fish stocks. As these communities continue to struggle, the government begins to come in and pay for resettlement, leaving these beautiful areas empty and desolate. By losing these communities we are losing incredible culture. There is really no place like it and it will be a real shame to see these places go. I have never in my life met such friendly people and seen such incredible scenery.

Week 2

So far, this week has been pretty slow and tedious, but welcomed after our busy week for orientation. The end of Thursday we said our goodbyes to those who would be spending their summers in different communities. We ended the week with a nice, home-cooked meal by a few of the interns and a night of singing in remembrance of Michael Jackson. Friday we were back to work; planning our trip to the southern coast of Newfoundland and the kids camp. The weekend entailed sleeping, relaxing and a few visits from the local children. On Monday, we were graced by very rare sunshine and warm weather (probably warmer than Boston from what I’ve heard). To celebrate, we took our tasks outside and spent the majority of the afternoon working on the back deck. We were then treated to a fresh lobster dinner caught just that morning a few towns over. Tuesday was another beautiful day for working outside. We spent the day working out the final details of our trip next week and calling some of our marine species observers. Wednesday was Canada day. On our day off we spent our time soaking up the sun while it still lasted and helping some of the women in town set up for the celebrations. We then made our own Canada Day cake and enjoyed a visit and some football with the local children.

Next week and a half"ish" we'll be in Newfoundland!

Week 1

I got here safely on Thursday afternoon along with one other intern. We rested that day and spent the evening with a local family at their house, where we had a delicious dinner and enjoyed a warm outdoor fire and some smores (apparently it was one of the warmest days of the year so far, it still seemed quite cold to me).

On Friday morning I got right to work learning about the project I will be working on for the duration of my stay here, the Marine Species at Risk program. My job will include recruiting fishermen from around the area as marine observers and educating the children of the town in a week-long marine species camp.

Friday and Saturday were quite relaxing as we were trapped in by the constant rain. Saturday, I was invited (along with the other two women staying in the residence house) to a traditional brunch made by a local friend. Sunday cleared up just in time to take a long boat ride with the family who had us over for dinner the first night. We saw all sorts of creatures, such as humpback whales, seals and puffins. In addition to all of this watching, we even did some fishing of our own and caught a few sculpins, one of the ugliest fish I have ever seen.

Monday we did a bit of work in the morning but mostly got ready for the onslaught of interns who would be spending the week here for orientation. And now, Orientation Week has flown by! It is hard to believe it is already Thursday! The week was filled with meetings, games, hikes, and a drive down the coast. Highlights include seeing and climbing the second largest lighthouse in Canada (100+ steps, rough on the legs), going to the Basque landing sight, seeing icebergs, and finding the best bakery on the coast. I also experienced the largest bonfire I've ever seen in my life, towering almost 2 stories high for St. Jean Baptiste day. More to come!