St. John's and the taxi ride to Bonavista

We kinda picked the wrong time to be in St. John's to get the fisherman's perspective on camera. About a month ago Paul and Heather did their thing about the seal hunt on Larry King Live, and now the sealing season is about to go onto high gear. Most of the boats have already left - it apparently takes over 24 hrs to get out to the areas where they actually hunt. Anyway, of the boats that were still around, we got lots of cold stares when we went too close with the camera. Which I can't blame them for, there's a big protest planned for this Saturday, and protesters have already been getting in the way of the fishing boats, and it's a dangerous job without the excess people in the way. Though we did manage to get an interview with one guy on the boat he was working on. We told him what we tell everyone - he could talk about whatever he wanted to, if he wanted to mention the seals, cool, if not, cool. So when he talked about fishing, he mentioned seals as just part of the industry. Very down to earth, very reasonable. Not some mad, wild-eyed, crazed basher of fluffy things. Just a guy who actually has a job in his own province. Which is more than can be said for most people in Newfoundland.

We took a taxi to Bonavista yesterday and when it broke down on the way, we met a couple of guys from the area. Actually, the breaking down part was kinda funny. I figured in four months of travelling, something like that would have to happen sooner or later. First the guy was late picking everyone up (it's a regular taxi service that leaves St. John's everyday at about 1, or in this case, 2). About an hour out of St. John's, the driver mentioned he'd been having some problems with the alternator, but he was sure it would be fine. About an hour after that, the van died while attempting to chug vainly up a small hill. So while we waited for the other van to come give us a boost, I interviewed one of the guys by the side of the road. He was really cool. Had a rather cynical outlook, but then he has to go to the other side of the country in order to find work that will pay enough so he can come back home and spend time here. He's one of many heading out to the boomtown of Fort McMurray. And yet, Newfoundland is sitting on its own deposits of black gold and natural energy, but it's not able to reap the same rewards because of bad business and politics. It seems a premier made the bizarre decision to sell off the natural gas (or some other natural resource - I must watch the interview again) to Quebec, who in turn is apparently selling it to the States. Quebec is making a crapload, Newfoundland made a lump sum back in the 70s or whenever this happened, which probably seemed good at the time, but now looks like the cat’s breakfast. And the deal still holds today, they have another decade or something before the allotted time finally passes and Newfoundland gets back their own resource. This post is probably gonna change when I finally get around to watching the interview again. I've probably got the details wrong, but the gist of it is there.

On the upside - tourism should absolutely boom out here. Everyone in Canada should just get up and jump on a bus or a plane or get in their car and come to Newfoundland. It is so gorgeous, I can't believe it. The rocky beaches, the black cliffs, and the waves crashing against them, and the gusting winds . . . I can't do it justice. It feels like you're standing on the edge of the world looking out at infinity. It's like the most rugged tips of the Western Isles of Scotland. I love it, I want to move here. We were only supposed to stay one night, but we didn't catch the taxi back this morning, so we're here another night. Just can't leave. I can see why people keep coming back.

Oh yeah, forgot to mention - before we left St. John's we headed over to the curling rink, cause the 2006 Olympic Gold Medalist team calls it home. We were talking to the manager, trying to get an interview and see if there was any slim chance the team was in town, when Jamie Korab, the team's lead, walked in the door. So we rushed him, and pinned him down and he agreed to do a quick interview :) That was really cool. Almost makes me want to start curling actually. That seems like another way we're the oddball of the Canadian family, Vancouver has curling rinks, but they seem to be hidden, and no one acknowledges them, or the fact that the sport exists. Yet I went to Saskatoon and got stuck watching the Scott Tournament of Hearts, and then the BC team wipes the ice with everyone else. Why aren't we aware of this stuff? Sigh.