Newfoundland At Last

The M.V. Highlanders, North Sydney, N.S.

On the morning we crossed the border into Canada, we luckily secured a reservation on Marine Atlantic for the night crossing. Another eight hour drive from St. Stephen, New Brunswick to North Sydney, Nova Scotia, we were certain that we could make the trip. Although we were very road weary at this point, daily updates from the Canadian Government had indicated a worsening situation and a rapid response that seemed to be closing down the entire economy. We were relieved to be back in our own country.

At around 10pm that night, all the vehicles who had travelled from the USA were last to board the ferry. Once on board, we were personally escorted from our vehicle by a masked Marine Atlantic employee to the 8th deck of the ship and placed in an area quarantined from the rest of the passengers. That night about 13 of us camped out in reclining chairs or on the floor,  ensuring that we were practicing the social distancing encouraged by Public Health. Though we all appeared well and some of us chatted about the scary times we now found ourselves in, the anxiety for some was quite apparent and at times unbearable.  Our governments at the federal and provincial level have done an excellent job of informing us of the

Settling in on the 8th deck

developing situation, as well as of informing us of our responsibility in keeping ourselves safe as well as that of the general public. The response protocol outlined by Marine Atlantic was certainly one where we felt everyone was being protected. Though not ideal conditions (water, coffee and tea could have been provided!) we felt lucky enough to be going home! At around 7am we arrived in Port Aux Basques and were last to be called to the vehicle deck. Greeted by snow, wind and ice we felt sad to have had to cut our trip short but understand that we are living in unprecedented times and take comfort in knowing we are doing the right thing.

Our early morning drive along the south coast of Newfoundland after disembarking from the ferry