I woke up at The Arches and immediately saw a clear blue sky. The provincial park looked completely different than what it was the night before, so I decided to head down to the beach to get the daytime view of what I saw last night.

It was fairly late when I woke up, and I was hungry. I knew I had to do some work (well, actually a lot since I hadn’t done much the previous few days) so I went back to Rocky Harbour and ate at the Fisherman’s Landing Restaurant. The service was really friendly, and I was able to get a table with an amazing view of the harbour. I also ordered the fish and chips, and the fish (cod) was some of the freshest fish I had ever tested.

I stayed there for several hours to a point where the restaurant was essentially empty. In the background, I heard people speaking in Newfie English. I tried to decipher what they were saying, but even though they were speaking English, it sounded like a completely different language. The servers spoke to me in regular English though, which was good.

I left afterwards to try and do the Baker’s Brook Falls hike, but the road to the parking for the hike was completely covered in snow. I tried to drive through it a few times, but the car kept getting stuck, so I turned around, left the national park and headed towards Stephenville.

“Why the heck would you randomly head to Stephenville?” one might ask.

I had met my friend Heiko, a commercial fisherman, on a crazy fishing boat adventure in off the Northwest coast of Vancouver Island at the beginning of November. When he saw that I was in Newfoundland, he shot me a message asking where exactly I was and if I was close to Stephenville by chance, and turns out I was only a couple hours away. He had just moved to Stephenville for a fresh start, and was staying with his sister who lived there. The coincidence of us seeing each other again on the literal other end of the country was just too uncanny, since he was someone that I never thought I’d see ever again in my life. Plus, with the offer of a warm shower and a real bed to sleep on, how could I not go?

The drive there was pretty scenic, and it took me through Deer Lake, then Corner Brook, then down to Stephenville. I stopped quickly in Corner Brook to try and see the caves, but the entrance was all covered in snow so I aborted the mission. There were quite a few cars parked at the trailhead, and it turns out they were locals out looking for a lost dog. I headed straight to Stephenville after, and was greeted by Heiko, standing in the driveway.

Heiko and his sister Katja were so welcoming and friendly, and they made me feel right at home. Heiko even offered me his room and Katja completely remade the bed for me. The shower was excellent and was something I greatly appreciated after not showering for 4 days.

Katja cooked us all dinner, which was this really good pasta with shrimp and a lot of vegetables. She had moved to Stephenville from Port Hardy over 20 years ago and was now working as a disability programs manager in town and also does graphic design (check out her portfolio here!) Her partner works in Alberta and has a 2 week on 2 week off schedule and he just so happened to be at work.

Heiko and I played some pool afterwards in the basement while catching up about our lives, Port Hardy, and that fishing boat adventure. It was nice getting to see him again and see how far we’d come since the last time we saw each other. At a certain point, it got late and I went upstairs to get some well-needed sleep.