It's cold

We thought it was cold in Montreal and St Johns but today we arrived in Gander and is 22 degrees below zero centigrade. Apparently the wind chill factor means it feels like minus 36 . That's the coldest weather we have ever experienced in our winter travels anywhere. It is so cold it is hard to breathe and we have had to rug up in our warmest woollies and gloves.

We just loved Montreal. It is a delightfully sophisticated city with many coffee shops - with espresso coffee - and excellent restaurants. Montreal had just had a gigantic snow storm so it was heavy going in parts - but that's the way we like it.

St Johns was quite an experience. It too had just had a snow storm that dumped more than a meter of snow on the town - so it was quite a sight. Most of the footpaths had not been cleared so we had to walk through great piles of snow or walk on the road - which we did most of the time. Apparently this is a regular occurrence and the motorists always give way to pedestrians. I fell over only once - and not on my camera - so did not sustain any injuries.

The town itself is just gorgeous and is full of multi-coloured houses crowded together on very hilly streets. We were absolutely astonished by the quality of the restaurants and had dinner at two of the best we have found since we arrived in the USA.

The landscape is reminiscent of the fiords of Norway.

Gwenyth tried cod tongues with pork scrunchions for the first - and last - time. I tried half of one and that was enough for me. This is a local delicacy but is an acquired taste and requires a strong stomach.

Tomorrow we exploring the area around Gander and on Saturday head off to Fogo island.