Waiting for the ferry

I can't believe that a week has gone by since I last blogged. Internet service is not always easy to get out here. As well we have been pretty active visiting historic sights, museums, concerts, and walking the numerous trails out here. As Grace said in her blog just prier to this, the ferry out of Argentia was delayed a few hours so here we are putting in a bit of time seeing the ruins of the old French navel base at Placentia. Here's a pic of Grace on the blower with Cass.

As you can see there are some great trail walks out here.

It was a beautifull sunny day.

This fortress was in critical position overlooking the only icefree harbour in Newfoundland. It was also a prime location as it was so close to the Cod fisheries. Cod was to the world in those times what oil is to us now. In fact people were coming here to fish long before the French and the English thought it was theirs. Basque fishermen were coming here as early as the late 1300's already, long before Columbous discovered America. One documented accounted talks of over sixty ships in the harbour during the mid 1400's. They would establish a year round settlement here of a few settlers who would stay the winter, but most would go home in the fall with their boats loaded with Cod and come back in the spring.

The French eventually lost this harbour in an agreement with the British called the treaty of Utrecht which gave all of Newfoundland to the British. This promted the Fench to move to Nove Scotia and build the large citadel and fortress at Luisburg that Grace was talking about.