Long Point Lighthouse, Twillingate

From Bonavista, we are now heading west to my next lighthouse in Twillingate. We need an overnight stop along the way.

Welcome to Salvage, a picturesque fishing community at the end of the Eastport Peninsula. At the time of our visit in 2009, I was not aware that there is a lighthouse visible from the walking trail in Salvage. One day I need to go back and take that photo. We were pleased to find a nice sandy beach on our way back to Eastport.

Further along we pass the town of Gambo, the hometown of Newfoundland and Labrador’s first Premier, Joey Smallwood. Joey might have been small, standing only 5 ft, 5 inches, but he was stands large in Newfoundland’s history. He was a key player in getting Newfoundland into confederation with Canada in 1949 and then served as premier for 23 years. You can imagine that he must have had many supporters in order to get elected 6 times with large majorities of both the popular vote and seat counts. He also had more than a few detractors. There is still some bitterness regarding Newfoundland losing its independence.

One year we stopped in Gambo and visited the museum dedicated to Joey. One thing that impressed me were the 3D photos of Joey. He loved them. This is an election version I found online.

There is a scenic overlook of Gambo on the TransCanada highway, past the turnoff for the town. One constant at the parking lot is the chip wagon, a place to get French fries on the go. There is a nice view. We have never tried the chips.

By the way, do not expect fine cuisine along the way. I do recommend the fried ice cream at Monty’s Place at the gas plaza near Whitbourne, which is way back on the Avalon, about an hour out of St. John’s. The main menu is full of what one could call typical Newfoundland restaurant fare such as fried cod, fish & chips, fish fingers, and roast beef sandwiches. Just think of gravy.

The turnoff for Twillingate is in Gander. In my Brigus Point post I mentioned Newfoundland’s role in early transatlantic aviation with early air adventurers using the island as a base for their historic flights across the ocean. For many decades Gander played a serious role in both military and civilian aviation. It was an important air post during World War II when over 10,000 Canadian, British, and American military personnel were based there. After the war, the Gander International Airport was used for refueling for international flights between Europe and North America.

That traffic declined with the advent of modern jets, but in the early 1980’s eastern bloc airlines still used the airport. The airport was a stop on flights to Cuba, so asylum seekers would book their Cuban holidays and then force their way off the planes in Gander.

After the September 11 attacks in 2001, 38 civilian and 4 military US bound flights were ordered to land at the airport after the US closed its airspace, stranding more than 6,600 passengers and crew. The people of the small town sprung into action, providing the needed food and shelter, as well as entertainment, and most important of all, a warm Newfoundland welcome. A Broadway play, “Come from Away”, commemorates the town’s great hospitality on that occasion.

There is a memorial site just east of the town for Arrow Air Flight 1285, which crashed on December 12, 1985, with the loss of 256 lives. The plane was carrying US armed forces returning from a 6-month peacekeeping mission in the Sinai.

Twillingate is 1.5 hours north of Gander. Like many places in Newfoundland, its name comes from an original French name, “Toulinquet”, given by French fishermen.

We chose Twillingate for our stop on our way back to Pouch Cove in June 2008. The town has declared itself the Iceberg Capital of the World. We were pleased to see a large iceberg and just after checking into our B&B walked up a hill to have a better look. We would have considered a boat tour, but the weather turned rather cloudy and then quite rainy over the next couple of days.

We visited the town’s museum where we learned about the polar bear that had visited off an ice floe. He is now stuffed. One night we took in a musical performance by a local group, The Split Peas, a group of seven women singers who have been putting on a weekly performance for over twenty years.

Twillingate is on a small island which is connected by causeways. There are several small fishing communities on the island. With its sheltered harbour and once rich fishing grounds, Twillingate was once a major fishing centre. There is still some activity, but nothing like the first half of the twentieth century.

There is also a great lighthouse, the Long Point Lighthouse, which was completed in 1876. There was an earthquake on November 18, 1929, that caused a tsunami on the Burin Peninsula. The earthquake actually caused cracks in Twillingate’s lighthouse, several hundred kilometres from the offshore epicenter. The lighthouse was then encased in a foot of reinforced concrete. The view could have been fantastic from the lighthouse but not on the day that we visited.