After saying goodbye to my lovely mum, I still had an hour to wait before they would begin boarding the ferry. The realization that I was about to leave Newfoundland and officially begin my backpacking adventure filled me with excitement. Since I didn’t really want to sit in boredom, I decided to explore the terminal here in Argentia.
There was a staircase inside the terminal that lead to a balcony and I have to admit, going up stairs with a backpack as heavy as mine was a bit of a challenge. The balcony had a good view of the ferry, though, so it was worth it. I ate some homemade tomato and turkey wraps and spent the rest of the time just waiting by the door for the shuttle bus.
Once I boarded the ferry, I climbed a few flights of stairs and located the lounge area. I immediately claimed an L-shaped booth in a corner next to a window. I didn’t want to spend money on a cabin, so I opted to just sleep in the lounge area, which a lot of people tend to do. Finding a booth was very important if I wanted to have a pleasant sleep that night.
During the time spent waiting for the ferry to depart, a couple next to me noticed a group of dolphins swimming into the harbour. There were at least 8-9 of them! I recorded a little video and attempted to take some photos, but they were too far away and the quality simply sucked too much to share. It was surprising to see dolphins in that area, though.
The ferry ride from Argentia to North Sydney was 16 hours long… and I didn’t get sea sickness at all! I also managed to get roughly 6 hours of sleep that night, despite the musician on-board playing the same melody over… and over… and over. He stopped playing music around midnight and I’m pretty sure I wasn’t the only person in the lounge who sighed with relief.
The next morning we arrived in North Sydney and I was pleasantly surprised at how warm it was compared to Newfoundland. It felt so nice at first, but after walking roughly 20 minutes, I quickly realized I was overdressed. So, I threw my bag down on the side of the road and changed into shorts and a tank top all stealthy-like. Feeling the cool breeze on my legs and arms felt very refreshing.
After managing to get my backpack back up and tightly strapped on, I resumed my journey, leaving the port in North Sydney behind me.
Whoa Dana 