6/26-27/14

All week the entire crew had been building up excitement for the events that were going to partake on Friday and Saturday and they certainly did not disappoint. Friday began with a nice sleep in and then a hurried breakfast before packing for an overnight at the Flower’s Cove Bed and Breakfast (The B&B whose owner served us the traditional meal). We were spending the night there due to an event on Friday that involved the Junior Canadian Rangers (a coed group similar to American boy scouts) and a bunch of local fishermen. Kathleen is filming a documentary about the local fishing communities and the dying breed of fishermen to try to spark people’s interest. While there was a lot of filming, there was also some time for a coastal cleanup in which we accumulated almost 400 pounds of trash (Charlie and I collected the most thank you very much!) in a mere half hour of work, a boat ride with some of the lobster fishermen that has been the highlight of the trip for many people, and to top it all off, a sing along with the fishermen with local music and lots of beer (for the adults) and grilled sausages. It couldn’t have been a better way to top off one of the warmest days that they have had in the last ten years. By the time that we made it back to the B&B there was only enough time to shower before the tiring day ended due to our exhaustion.

A great nights sleep for all of us was followed by another coastal clean up. This time, it was partaking at Flowers Cove, which is the location of the B&B. The clean up occurred right in the center of the town and many townsmen passed by and were impressed with the immense effort the group of local Newfoundlanders and ourselves conducted over the course of the morning. In all, almost 1000 pounds of trash was picked up on the two sites for that day; a very impressive figure considering the timeframe and lack of heavy items i.e. tires and car batteries (items that aided Matt and I’s victorious pick up the day before) What impressed us the most about today was the demographics of the volunteers, ranging from three year olds to an 85 year old woman leading the clean up and ordering the less experienced members such as Matt and myself to get on with it. To celebrate a great morning we again returned to the Bed and Breakfast for some hamburgers and fries as well as prizes for the children that took part. Another gorgeous day meant that when we returned to our ski cabin in Main Brook, it felt more like a sauna then an airy-rustic cabin. Unfortunately, some members were feeling under the weather resulting in a quiet evening in, a great contrast to the hustle and bustle of the last two memorable days.

One of the Lobsters we caught.

Charlie holding a dead Cod used for bait.

A picture of some of the trash bags in Flowers Cove. Just in one beach we accumulated almost 30 bags of trash.