At the far side Trinity East road changes from a sealed tarmac road to a dirt stone road. Many roads off the main highway on the Bonavista Pinensula seemed to be the same, but they still have little communities and towns down those roads. We usually turned back when we came to roads like that since we didnt want to destroy the rental car. It seems from this picture that other people werent as lucky. Cars seem to have a shorter lifespan in Newfoundland than in Ireland, even pickup trucks seem to weather quickly. Here at the end of the road we have an abandoned house and two abandoned cars. I’ve no idea if anyone owns them or even cares that they are there.

The strange thing about Trinity is that despite being a small little community it seems to have at least three churches, two of the smaller ones are shown here. It wouldn’t surprise me if a at least one of the churches has a congregation numbered in the handfulls. Apart from churches there are picket fences everywhere, part of Trinitys tourist image I expect. The churches like the houses are build from wood, strange to me since in Ireland no matter what else was going on in the community we always seemed to build stone churches that last for centuries. Perhaps it’s nicer in a way to have a wooden church. It’s not the church building material that matters but instead it’s the community and what happens within the church that makes it a house of God.

Unlike Ireland most of the houses in Newfoundland are wooden. That is despite having a similar summer to Ireland and a severe winter with more snow than almost anywhere else in Canada. The houses seem to last as well as any house here, so long as someone maintains them. Every few years they change the cladding on the outside of the houses. In some cases such as downtown St Johns people paint new cladding in bright colours, while old cladding takes on a lovely weathered textured look.

Another house in Trinity town. Outside it sits a disused well with a little hand written sign saying “Dangerous, Not in Use” It’s nice to see that in some places common sense still rules. There is no need to wrap things in yellow safety tape and plaster warning signs all over them. Instead they railed off the well with twine, put a sign up and reasoned that it’s in their  front garden so if you respect their property and stay out and you wont get hurt.

Ferryland lighthouse in the Irish Loop outside St Johns, Newfoundland. Build in 1870 it was automated in 1970 and eventually  the dwelling area was abandoned and fell into disrepair for 20 years. It 2004 it was renovated and became a restaurant. Today you can go the lighthouse, visit the museum, order a picnic and get the blanket and a basket packed with home made sandwiches, deserts and lemonade. Then go sit on the edge of a cliff and watch whales swim by.

Another photo from just outside Trinity East. I’m not sure how the dock works, so high above the water and surrounded by rocks also the supports holding the shed up don’t look the strongest. This is not the only building I came across built above the water when building on land would seem easier.