Where and when: Newfoundland, Canada, August 2025
0730: It is probably the longest day of the trip to date, so it is an early start from Gander.
After about an hour on the Trans-Canada highway, it was time to turn off onto the smaller roads of the Bona Vista peninsula. Time to dodge potholes again (see my previous post).
Another thing I found puzzling: In Newfoundland everyone seem to do ~20% over the speed limit as standard. It wasn’t too much of an issue on the highway when I could take the slow lane and let others pass me, but on the single track roads of the peninsulas my penchant to stick to the speed limit often resulted tailbacks.
1030: After 3 hours on the road, our first stop is the Elliston Puffin Viewing Site on the Bonavista Peninsula. This site offers the closest view of puffins, from the mainland, in all of North America.
The Atlantic puffins come to cliffs close to the shore for breeding between May and August. They take off again in September, spending the winter months at sea.
The atlantic puffin is very distinct, with a black back, white belly and a clown like face with an orange beak. Incidentally, the beak is only orange in the summer months, with the colorful outer layer of the beak shedding away after the breeding season.
The cliff off the coast is home to many puffins and other seabirds like gulls and cormorans. But the puffins are the main attraction here. We were lucky enough that some puffins landed nearby and wandered very close to us.
The puffin is also the provincial bird of Newfoundland and Labrador.
1230: Our next stop is the Bonavista Lighthouse on Cape Bonavista.
The lighthosuse ia unusual to many I have seen before, in the sense that the “house” part of lighthouse is built around the tower of the lighthouse. It is painted in distinct red and white stripes, and from a distant it looks a bit like a circus tent.
The lighthouse, which operated from 1843 until 1962, is now a provincial museum, containing an exhibition about life in a lighthouse during the 1870s.
The “light” in the lighthouse was built in Scotland by Robert Stevenson, grandfather of the author Robert Louis Stevenson.
Tip: There is a small cliff off the coast of the lighthouse at Bonavista where puffins come to nest. If you can’t make it to Elliston, this is an alternative option (although the puffins don’t come as close).
1400: After this, it was onto St John’s. We have an appointment to keep at 1900.
We made a couple of stops at service stations in the way. The frequency and quality of the service stations definitely improved the closer we got to St John’s.
After a 4 hour drive we got to St John’s. This is a busiest town I have seen in Newfoundland so far, but still a far cry from the big cities.
We are staying at a Murray Premises Hotel. The hotel is a former warehouse and located very close to the docks, but is also very central. It is a stone’s throw from Water Street and George Street, which is the social hub of St John’s. Infact, when we arrived both George Street and Water Street were closed to vehicle traffic creating a pedestrian area around the pubs, restaurants and bars in both streets.
Water Street is the oldest high street in all of North America. Because of this, the building architecture has a lot in common with the UK and Ireland. Actually, it felt a lot like the many market towns I’ve visited in the UK.
1900: Our all important appointment; the screech-in ceremony at Christian’s Pub.
The “screech-in” is a ceremony performed on non-Newfoundlanders (known to Newfoundlanders as a “come from away” or “mainlander”) involving a shot of screech (rum), a short recitation, and the kissing of a cod (yes, a real, dead (frozen) cod).
Newfoundland Screech is a rum sold in Newfoundland with 40% ABV. The term screech is a colloquial term that has been used to describe almost any cheap, high alcohol spirit, including moonshine. The rum manufacturer calls their rum “Screech” to associate the brand with this tradition.
Screech-in ceremonies are held in many pubs around St John’s. We picked the Screech-in at Chritian’s pub, made famous by Chef Anthony Boudain in his travel series Parts Unknown (and more recently on BBC Race Across the World).
Chef Lukey led us through the screech-in, blending a mix of story telling, stand up comedy and showmanship. First, find a place at the bar. Next, introduce ourselves (name and where from). Next we are taught several useful Newfoundlandic phrases.
Next is a taste of “Newfoundland Steak” which is spam, cooked with spices and saffron and really rather tasty.
The ceremony finishes with each of us kissing a frozen cod (an old custom used to wish Bon voyage to sea-farers) and downing a short of screech.
By the time all this is finished (about 30 minutes), Chef Lukey had learnt the names of every single one of us – a very impressive feat, given that there was probably 30 of us there and some names (like mine for instance!) doesn’t exactly roll off the tounge. We also get a certificate to confirm that we are now honorary Newfoundlanders.
I really like St John’s as a town (and I am not just saying that because my first drink in Newfoundland was a straight shot of rum!). It is lively, locals are friendly and it feels strangely familiar. We have a city tour booked for tomorrow to find out more about St John’s. More on that in my next post.
Quick Links
Overnight Accommodation: Murray Premises Hotel
Visited: Elliston Puffin Site, Bona Vista Lighthouse,
Activities: Screech-in at Christian’s Pub, St John’s
Diary of a Tourist 
Cute puffins. Interesting about the outer layer of beak shedding. I didn’t know beaks could shed. Love the screech ceremony. So local and cultural.
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