Cape Spear

Facts and History:
Cape Spear is traditionally considered to be the easternmost location in North America.
The Portuguese named this location "Cabo da Esperança" which means "cape of hope", which became "Cap d'Espoir" in French and finally "Cape Spear".
Because of its proximity to convoy routes during the Second World War, a gun battery was installed at Cape Spear to defend the entrance to St. John's harbour. Barracks and underground passages leading to the bunkers were built for the use of troops stationed there.
The lighthouse is the oldest surviving lighthouse in Newfoundland and the location has been designated a Canadian National Historic Site.

Log:
The first part of our journey to and through the peninsula was not without its challenges. Finding (or getting to) Petty Harbour and Cape Spear was not easy for us. After tearing ourselves away from Petty Harbour we made our way to Cape Spear. Remaining weary of the posted warnings to stay clear of the rocky shore (due to unpredictably and bonafide lethality) we took our time taking in what is probably the penultimate view of the Atlantic known to man. After walking the perimeter and watching the crashing waves we made our way to the battery and underground bunkers. I must first note that we now wonder how dramatically different this violent shore must have been a few days later when hurricane Ophelia hit the region. After a brief planking incident we made our way to the famed lighthouse. My gimpy companion braved the treacherous wooden legion of stairs to the summit of Nfld`s earliest surviving lighthouse. Without the ability to explore inside the white and red structure, a lighthouse is really just a lighthouse. The view from it was however another whole thing. Conscious of the time we lost getting to our first two stops, we absorbed this for a while and hit the road again in direction of the Irish Loop.