Day 4: Time to Spare, Go by Ferry

Living in the ferry dependent community of Powell River BC, Wayne and I understand the problems with ferry schedules and service. Today we are getting a taste of it Newfoundland style.


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We woke up early, but knew we had to call the Marine Atlantic ferry to check on the scheduled departure for Newfoundland. They've been having ferry problems up here for a week and everything has been backed up. They thought they would get back on track earlier, but it hasn't happened. Our 10:00 departure was first pushed back to "after noon" then to 5:00 and now to 7:00 p.m.

So we stuck around the campground until the 1:00 pm checkout time. That worked out well, since it rained early this morning and was forecast to stop at noon. And at three minutes before twelve, it stopped. Just like clockwork. We were able to pack up our tent without getting drenched.

We headed over to North Sydney even though we had lots of time to kill. We found a nice restaurant called the Clansman not too far from the terminal. If you go there to eat, watch out. The portions are humongous! Then we drove to the ferry lineup to wait another three hours for loading. While we waited there was a musical group playing Nova Scotia and Newfoundland tunes for the captive audience. As I recall, the orchestra played during the sinking of the Titanic. I hope it isn't an omen (just kidding). -- Margy

FREE HOTSPOT WATCH: North Sydney Marine Atlantic ferry terminal in the ferry lineup. Not bad considering how many people must be online killing time!