June 29

Started with exploring Port aux Choix.  First to the visitor centre.  Like
all federal localities in Canada, everything is bilingual.  This is a
national historic site because four cultures have been here in the past:
Dorset, Maritime Indians, recent Indians, and Europeans.  We hike a nice
little coastal trail, including some sculptures glorifying seal slaughter.
But the nature is nice, and it is amazingly another sunny day.

Then, we drive south to Table Point Provincial Park.  We leave the car
just before Bellburns.  There is no sign along the highway, and our most
detailed map here, 1:250,000, is not detailed enough.  I open a more
detailed map that I have stored on my laptop, in 1:50,000.  To help in the
navigation I want to get my GPS-receiver.  After some ten minutes of
searching I give up.  My GPS-receiver must have fallen out in Port aux
Choix.  That is a disappointment, although the on/off-switch had become so
worn out it took a sharp key or a small screwdriver to operate it...

Next, Arches Provincial Park.  A very small park, really just a picknick
place between the road and the sea.  It consists of some arches and rock
formations that are exactly at the shore, with a stony beach directly
above.  Many people are walking here.  No wonder, it doesn't take any
hiking to reach.  I find a spot to climb on top of the arches, walk
around, climb down again.  With my sandals I walk into the water, on the
rear of the arches.  I decide to pee.  A few minutes later a woman
approaches me saying, “I have three small girls and what you just did
there was entirely inappropriate.”.  Confused, I ask if she means climbing
on the arches.  “No, I mean that thing you did just now, just there.”.
Ok.

Next, old mail road near Shallow Bay.  Our old map has a track that
appears to correspond to the old mail road according to the description,
so we try to be smart and park at its northern extremity.  Indeed we see
some nice dunes on the other side of the meadow.  After a few minutes
walking, though, we reach a river that we can't cross.  There is not race
of the old track.  Driving around we start from the southern end instead.
Here is the official trailhead, and there are many people.  As soon as we
start walking we are attacked by small mosquitoes (blackflies) and quickly
take out the insect repellent.  Rather than continuing the trail to the
end, we decide to spend some time on the beautiful beach.

Finally we drive to the Berry Hill campground.  The campground is many
kilometres inland from the main read, and more than a kilometre before the
actual campground starts is the reception, which is just a kiosk along the
road.  The campground itself is large and surprisingly empty.  Based on
reports from others, I had expected the campground to be completely full.
Each individual campsite is huge and surrounded by dense forest.  This
makes it almost impossible to see our neighbours in any direction, in
particular since the sites immediately next to ours is empty.  Really
nice.

There appears to be no chocolate on the island of Newfoundland.  None of
the supermarkets we have been so far sell it.