Cape Spear, Newfoundland, is the most easterly point of North America..

© Christine Mastroianni, all rights reserved

'Cape Spear, Newfoundland, is the most easterly point of North America.'

I love to ponder that statement when I am there, standing as close to the edge of the cliff as I will dare to venture.. In the entire country of Canada, in the entire country of the United States, there is no piece of land that extends further into the ocean than where I am now standing. (yes, I am the type of person who thinks that is cool!)

Reverence aside, this is a place where the air is cool and fresh, the photographs come easily, and the stunted fir trees are all perpetually leaning from the wind. Most of those who visit Cape Spear find themselves drawn towards the open, winding steps, eventually reaching the lighthouse, which, I am told, is the oldest surviving lighthouse in the province. However, there's more to this Canadian National Historic Site than that. I've recently discovered that if you walk a short distance in the other direction, you will come across this magnificent cluster of rock that reaches out into the sea like giant fingers. I could literally stand here for hours, mesmerised by the rolling waves crashing up onto the clean rocks again and again. And on this particular May day, the view was as crystal clear as the air surrounding it, the kind of view that makes you forget that you're only wearing a light sweater.