Newfoundland didn’t start on the right foot

Storyline: Atlantic Canada, Take 2

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June 27

Newfoundland didn’t start on the right foot. (And posting this about 3 weeks later I can say it didn’t end well either.)

The flight from Halifax to Nova Scotia with Air Canada was delayed a few times due to maintenance issues. The aircraft and the gate were eventually changed and I arrived at Deer Lake airport around 4pm. Everyone I’ve heard has told me how friendly the people here are. But this was not my first impression.

There was no one at the information desk, no shuttles, no taxis and no one to ask. Eventually a lady needing a taxi found a phone on a wall from where one could call for a taxi. After she called, I called too. She was going to Corner Brook and I just a few kilometres to the hotel. An hour later someone showed up for me.

Thank God, I though I’d sleep at this airport.  I asked the driver for a restaurant walking distance from the hotel, but I guess it all is relevant. He pointed a few down the road while driving. “Dude, I wouldn’t take a cab if I had a car. This is no walking distance”, I am thinking. One, he says, may satisfy my European taste. In Toronto rarely someone would ask me where I was from, but with my accent in the small-town Canada everyone asks. The restaurant of course wasn’t a walking distance. No dining options in the hotel.

Having heard about big lineups at the airports I had left our hotel at Halifax Stanfield International Airport early. I had checked in the previous night so all I needed was to pass the security. Wasn’t bad at all. After that I needed an espresso and a place to sit. Sitting areas are all segregated and belong to a café or a restaurant or something else. A snippy server told me I could not bring my coffee in their area, although my intention was to order something later. Come later then, was the answer. Of course, I didn’t. (Miss Toronto’s Pearson Airport where one sits wherever they find fits them and there are signs everywhere that one doesn’t have to consume anything to use the area.) This was my first snippy experience for the day. Still in Nova Scotia though. But with the flight being delayed I had not eaten much and needed to find dinner around.

The reception staff at my new hotel wasn’t very helpful. They handed me a list of restaurants or sooner pizza and burger places with delivery options highlighted. Can you at least give me a map? “Don’t you have a phone? We are so used to our phones these days?” Stuart, I am looking at you. Even in small-town Newfoundland the smartphone is king. We’ve read that there is no Rogers (our service provider) coverage. So, Alex bought a Bell SIM card for the month. He is still waiting in Nova Scotia to board the night ferry though.

I checked into a wheelchair accessible room. I had forgotten that fact. When I called to book way back in early April they were already fully booked. This was my only option. Not that it matters, as for once there is a handheld showerhead which I prefer, but just a few months ago Alex thought he’d end in a wheelchair. Not a good association. In hindsight I’d have been better staying at the Halifax Airport hotel and coming after Alex has checked in here. Many reasons. First the Halifax one was cheaper, although the same hotel chain. It was a suite, much more spacious than this one (not that this matters). Second if Alex had already arrived, he could have picked me up from the airport. And third, although one could not have known then, perhaps there would not have been a flight delay.

Anyway, when I asked for a walking distance dining place and the reception clerk sent me to the Wing’n it, “Just next door”. It’s all woods around, so next door is relative, but yes, I walked up to the Wing’n it. The name should have told me what to expect. Mostly chicken wings. The problem wasn’t the wings. The problem was that all 4 pages of options contained deep fried items of one sort or another, burgers and sandwiches. And pizzas of course. I chose flatbread with tomatoes and feta. I thought I’d be safe this way. Well, it was a flatbread soaked in oil, a few tomato pieces chasing each other on it, and a dusting of feta cheese. Texted Alex that if everything is like that, I am not sure what I’d eat.

I asked the waitress where is the nearest grocery store and she gave me thorough instructions how to get there on foot. She was the first helpful person I met today. Hope she’s not the last.

I walked to the Foodland and got a sticker shock with the prices of fruits and vegetables and the sparsity of them. Decided to look for some take out dish. Mostly deep-fried chicken and pasta salads. Found a tiny-tiny roasted chicken leg with 2 spoons of something – a little yellow ball and a little pink ball. I asked the cashier what it was – Mustard and beets, was the answer. But what is the base? Potatoes. Oh yeah, I should have known this. It’s potatoes, no veggie. Good we stocked the fridge with veggies and fruits back in New Glasgow, NS before we left for the airport hotel. This will keep us going for a while.

Walked back to the hotel ready to crash. Meanwhile Alex has checked-in with the ferry and is waiting for the embarking. He has his story to tell.

Note

Alex drove Doranya from the ferry the following day and in the evening, we found a restaurant with decent food. Probably the one the taxi driver was pointing at when he was driving me. I tried cod tongues (they actually were cheeks) with salad, Alex is so fixated on fish and chips, but the fish was pan fried, not battered. Ontario wine for me and a local beer for Alex.