Ryan Walker

Ryan helped me book a trip of a little over a week to Newfoundland and Labrador, starting in Gros Morne National Park (Heritage Site #1) and working my way to Quirpon Island. The itinerary and lodgings were great - the Gros Morne Inn in Woody Point was a great place to start - wonderful hospitality and food in one of the most stunning natural settings on the planet. A boat tour of the Western Brook Pond is not to be missed.

From there, I headed north to Port au Choix and over to Labrador. Accommodations were more basic, but very comfortable and conveniently located. Spent an afternoon wandering Red Bay, Labrador (Heritage Site #2). Returned to Newfoundland and drove north to L'Anse aux Meadows (Heritage Site #3), which was the original reason for my wanting to visit Newfoundland.

The icing on the cake, however, was a two night stay at the Quirpon Lighthouse Inn on Quirpon Island. The island and its lighthouse are accessible only by Zodiac, and almost entirely outside of cell service. While perhaps not for everyone (you can bring only what you can carry, in a backpack, the Inn is located some distance from the dock, and the weather can present challenges), the scenery and solitude were wonderful. The owner, Ed English, took the 5 guests out for a boat tour on the first morning we were there, and we spent some time observing two humpback whales (a mother and calf) feeding in the cove right next to the dock.

Drove back to near the Deer Lake airport on the last day and stayed at the Sugar Hill Inn in Norris Point, which is another wonderful hotel and restaurant.

All bookings (hotels, Western Brook Pond boat tour, Labrador Ferry, Quirpon Zodiac tour) were taken care of by Ryan with no problems whatsoever. Ryan was incredibly responsive as we worked on the itinerary, and had a very clear sense of what was possible to fit within the time I had allotted.

An absolutely fabulous trip.