It is 10 p.m. and we are in our room at the Fairmont Newfoundland Hotel in St. John’s, NL. Maya has been asleep ever since we entered the taxi. Joseph and I decide to celebrate the end of our journey with a feast: LOBSTER! We enjoy it in the tranquillity of our hotel room while thinking about how lucky we are to have visited the entire country together. 
 
At sunrise the next day, we head for Signal Hill, a rocky landmark visible from anywhere in the city. It was there that Marconi received the first trans-Atlantic wireless signal, an “S” in Morse code, on December 12, 1901. Maybe it’s just the cumulative fatigue, but I am suddenly choked with emotion. For a moment, I stand motionless at the commemorative plaque. For a person like me, fascinated with communication, this is practically a pilgrimage site.
 
I pull myself together and join Joseph, Maya and our taxi driver. The view is spectacular. “Last month, you could still see the ice floes,” he tells us in an accent that I have trouble deciphering. “Sometimes you can see whales.”
 
Next, we head for the village of Quidi Vidi (try saying that 100 times with a mouth full of crackers), a charming fishing village with brightly coloured houses. The history of the Vikings fascinates me, and I would have loved to visit the north of the province. But it is time to go home.
 
What better way to conclude our adventure than by returning to the source? Less than 24 hours after arriving in St. John’s, we land in Bagotville, where my father is waiting to take us back to my native Lac Saint-Jean. At journey’s end, Maya is singing the lobster song. We have all returned from this voyage with wonderful memories.
 
P.S.: I never saw a bear. And to be honest, it’s a relief. 
 
Did you know that…
… Newfoundland is nicknamed “The Rock” because of its rugged terrain?
… from the 18th century until the Second World War, the city’s defences were located on Signal Hill? It was also the site of the final North American battle of the Seven Years’ War.
… a Viking camp has been discovered at L’Anse aux Meadows, to the north?
… Air Canada is the main airline flying into St. John’s?
… St. John’s harbour is 1.6 km long by 800 m wide? Ships of every size call there.
… the city was the scene of considerable rivalry between the French and the British?
 
Info:
St. John's: www.stjohns.ca
The Fairmont Newfoundland: www.fairmont.com/newfoundland
We would like to thank Air Canada (www.aircanada.ca), the Canadian Tourism Commission and The Fairmont Newfoundland for making this trip possible.