This vignette is in the bar called “The Yellow Belly” on George Street in St. John’s! I see – The Flash, Johnny Depp, “Elvis”, a Fisher, a Smurf, the Hulk, Legolas, silver Elvis, bra wearing Elvis, green Elvis, hidden Elvis and maybe Captain American Elvis….!

Yesterday was a classic NL weather day apparently. Cool, foggy, rain, more fog, misty and more fog. Signal Hill of Marconi fame was slashing rain, pea soup fog (which really is a thing) and bloody windy (and how the latter two can co-exist escapes me). The boat tour was soggy, foggy but fun! Lots of intermittent rain, the occasional rough waters going around headlands (some people should never venture off dry land and thats all I’m going to say – well except that some people also haven’t a lick of sense!)

We did see Minke whales – for about a nano-second as they are truly speedy little ones. Little is relative as they reach 30 feet on average. Everyone on the ocean chases capelin – all the birds, all the whales and all the fishers too for bait. I hope they don’t suffer a collapse like the cod and other fisheries as it would be even more catastrophic.

BUT the birds, bajillions of birds! I’ll be editing photos forever. Meantime just to whet your appetite, Susan has kindly lent me a photo from her iPhone. There were the puffins of course, murres, auks, razorbills, seagulls – both the garden variety and these bloody great black and white ones which will prey on puffins. They are a raucous bunch and pretty smelly if you get downwind.

Puffins can dive as deep as 200 feet in search of food and as such do not have hollow bird bones. Makes them awkward flyers, especially as our captain so pithily put it, “they’re basically shaped like a potato.” They are also pelagic – they live at sea for 8/9 months of the year, come to shore only to hatch their one egg, mate for life but spend most of that time apart – which probably makes for exciting reunions!

We had our last dinner all together last evening at that “Yellow Belly” on George Street. The area is in the midst of their annual “George Street Festival”, live music and concerts, streets closes off to vehicles, hordes of scantily clad girls and “bored” boys. More than a few street people too – perhaps they congregate in anticipation of better handouts?

Today being a travelling day, it dawned bright and crystal clear and windless. I’m sitting in the lounge at the airport and I can see Signal Hill perfectly – from 9 km away. No justice in this world LOL!

Flight called so I have to sign off now. I’ll revisit all these entries with lots and lots of photos – once I edit which is not my fav activity as I’m sure you all know by know. Friday, friends arrive from Europe for three weeks and between that and the board I’m going to be a bit busy….