Day 13: St. John's, Newfoundland

Today I switched it up a bit and decided to hire a taxi by the hour to hit the places I wanted to visit around St John’s.  The weather is miserable but honestly this is the first port day the weather has been sort of crappy.  I was off as soon as they opened the door with hopes of beating the excursion groups!  I had a list of places to visit that I gave the taxi driver and off we went.

Cape Spear

Cape Spear's location is near the convoy routes of World War II which made it a strategic point in the Battle of the Atlantic. It provided protection from German submarines, and there are bunkers, underground passages, and two 10-inch guns. 

The Cape Spear Lighthouse was designated a national historic site of Canada for its age and architecture. 

Cape Spear is also the easternmost point in North America and home every morning to the first sunrise on the continent.

And the best part was there were only a couple other people there and the tour busses were arriving as I was leaving.

Jellybean Row Houses

Quidi Vidi Village

By this point the weather was not great but the one place I really wanted to visit was the last stop.  I had intended for the taxi driver to end our tour here and do some hikes in the area before walking back to the ship but that wasn't going to happen in this weather. 

Signal Hill

Signal Hill is one of St. John’s most popular landmarks due both to the history and spectacular views of the city, Atlantic Ocean, and the rugged coastline. Originally known as the “Lookout” because of its strategic placement overlooking St. John’s harbor, Signal Hill was used in defense, observation, and signaling from the early 1700s to World War II.  Signal Hill was also the reception point of the first transatlantic wireless signal by Guglielmo Marconi in 1901.

Cabot Tower

The weather was miserable and not getting any better and I was starting to feel not so great so I called it a day.  I had the taxi driver return me to the ship and headed back on board.

A view of Fort Amherst as we sailed away leaving St. John’s . . . 

. . . and just like that it cruise is basically over . . . next stop will be Boston after a couple of sea days.