A warm welcome in Burin
The golden evening sunshine lit up the green forested Islands as we picked our way into Burin Harbour. On a crag, guarding the entrance, a Bald Eagle launched himself into the air and disappeared behind Pardy Island. The wharf in Little Ship Cove had space for us and we tucked ourselves in behind a fishing boat. A comfortable alongside berth with water, WiFi and electricity.
They fish for sea cucumber here but nobody seems quite sure why. Reg, one of the older dock hands, tried to give us some and smiled when we declined. It turns out nobody here eats sea cucumber but they are pleased to sell it to the oriental market for 80 cents a pound. That’s the same price as cod for a product that everyone dislikes.
Reg was keen to tell us about the fishery. His accent had a little of the West County in it and, along with other Burin dwellers, was quite different from other Newfoundlanders we have met. A couple of centuries ago the town had prospered and had been closely linked with Dorset and I wonder if a little of that ‘West Country speak’ lives on in this remote and beautiful little port on the Avalon Peninsular?
Marguerite was quite a character too. She had a framed award in her office that named her as the Best Harbour Master in Newfoundland and she certainly made every effort to keep us entertained and accommodated. She proudly told us there are 211 Harbour Masters in Newfoundland.
We were the second yacht to visit Burin this year and Marguerite wasn’t too fond of the first as they had slipped their lines at 0730 without paying even though they knew that she came on duty at 0800. She was such a jovial soul though I doubt she will fret about it for long.
Captain Cook seems to have been everywhere and named the best spots after him. We scrambled for 20 minutes up the steep side of Cook’s lookout and then wound our way down the board walk back to the town. The summit view was spectacular and, half way down the hill, we came upon Harrison - the board walk builder. Harrison and his mate with the circular saw were busily constructing more boardwalk up to the lookout to make life a little easier for future visitors following in Cook’s boots.
Newfoundland delights in boardwalks and Burin has more than most. Harrison has built a three hundred metre boardwalk along the shore that started nowhere and finished nowhere. This sturdy wooden structure is rooted in the sea and on one side there is the glistening harbour and on the other there are scores of pipes descending from house to harbour. One toilet was flushed, right on queue, as we strolled on Harrison’s Harbour Board Walk!
The Boardwalk down from Cook’s lookout was lovely. Summer has now arrived and the native wild flowers and butterflies put on a great display for us. In the summer heat Harrison had shed his reflective jacket which seemed sensible as, on this hill top, there was no chance of him being run over by a truck. He was keen to stop and talk. Interested in where we came from and keen to tell us about his town, the weather and his plans for future boardwalks.
Just before lunch Reg let go our lines and passed us a parcel of fresh cod fillets as we pushed ourselves off the harbour wall to start our journey to St Pierre.
As we motored south a Minke whale followed in our wake for a while. A goodbye gesture from a most hospitable town.
