September 29,2013 Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia

Sunday, September 29

More photos in morning light at Peggy’s Cove.

Then headed south towards Lunenburg.  More scenic coastal villages, including Mahone Bay, where three churches edge the bay.  We walked to a nearby Flea market where Beth found a cool wooden sand timer that a lady was selling as part of her parents' estate.  

Three churches, Mahone Bay
  

Adirondak Chairs in bright colors are everywhere

Signs of Fall, Mahone Bay

Lunenburg is a very old town with many houses built in the late 1700's and early 1800's.  Most are labeled as to their "former lives" as homes to shipbuilders, sea captains and such.  Most now are catering to the tourist trade, with shops, restaurants, B&B's, etc. There were many ships in the harbor, including the beautiful schooner Blue Nose II, which is very famous in these parts.  

We walked around town and learned about fishing, rum-running and other sea-related history.  There is a large memorial listing all the boats and sailors lost at sea since the mid-1800's.  Quite a list!

Memorial to those lost at sea

Schooner Blue Nose II

Homes overlooking Lunenburg Harbor

Took a wrong turn which Greg swears I planned, to yet another lighthouse at Port Medway, after which we turned inland and headed across the Island.  Very wooded, small towns and a few farms.  Here we are beginning to see some color in the trees, which was even better when we reached Kejimkujik National Park.

Wonderful park!  We splurged on electricity,  took a nice bike ride along the lake and Greg chopped some wood for a fire.  Chatted for a while with a local man who helps keep tabs on the endangered Blanding turtles found here, protecting the nests, counting hatchlings, etc.  Cooked burgers over the fire and had long hot showers..aaahhh!  Couldn't get their "free wi-fi" to work...oh well.
 Good night!

9/28/2013 Halifax

Saturday, September 28

Woke to sunshine – yeah – but it had gotten quite cold last night – 40’s.  Had some good hot oatmeal to start the day, and headed for Halifax.  Quite a large city with a beautiful waterfront area.

We fortuitously parked near a visitor’s center to find that it was free parking today – apparently a rare thing in Halifax!  Greg is getting good at finding spots he can back into and have the bikes dangle over lawn or rocks or whatever so that we don’t protrude too far into traffic.

We were quite near the Maritime Museum, so decided to go there first.  Very nice building dedicated to shipbuilding, ships, military history, maritime history. Beautiful models of early sailboats, schooners and other vessels. Canada has the longest coastline of any country and has over 2000 wrecks just in Nova Scotia waters, many of which were documented here.  Of course the major “wreck” was the Titanic for which there is an extensive exhibit of history, artifacts and personal stories. Boats from Halifax joined in rescue efforts and most of the deceased were brought here for identification and processing.  About 150 are buried here.

The other major event covered was an explosion which killed over 2000 people and destroyed a portion of the city in the early 1900's.  A fully loaded munitions boat was rammed by a Norwegian freighter, caught fire and exploded.   Interestingly, Halifax still sends Boston a huge Christmas tree each year as a token of thanks for all the help Massachusetts gave in re-building and aid.

Bell which used to toll hours to keep time at the Halifax port.

 Halifax has a beautiful boardwalk along Water Street, which must be the most often-used street name in Nova Scotia.  We walked it to reach the Seafarer’s Farmers Market, a huge building (reminds us of Fanueil Hall (sp?) in Boston.  Fruits and vegetables, fish, flowers, baked goods, and musicians interspersed with crafts and specialty items.  Very busy but interesting.

FUN  along the boardwalk

Seafarer's farmer's market

Lots of people out enjoying the day

 We headed back to the Trek,  and wound our way south towards Peggy’s Cove. 20 miles between towns can easily double as you wind in and out around coves, guts(!) inlets and harbors. On this sunny day the water couldn’t be more blue!  Lots of small fishing villages but most seem more well kept.

We stopped at the memorial to those lost in Swissair Flight 111,
which crashed offshore in 1998.  This was at a "look off" near Peggy's Cove.

Picturesque Peggy’s Cove was swarming with people, including many tour buses! 

We were told that the cruise ships that dock in Halifax all send buses here.  We took a quick look and decided to come back later in the day, as one shop keeper told us the crowds die down later.  We continued along the coast and while the small fishing villages continued, but behind them were some beautiful large homes and sleek sailboats joined the fishing boats. 

 Cormornants are everywhere, diving, fishing and preening to dry in the sun.

Cormorants taking flight

cormorant drying on a buoy

A few hours later we went back to Peggy’s Cove, and as sunset approached the tour buses finally left.  We clambered around on the rocks and enjoyed the spectacular sunset with a modest crowd. 

Sunset at Peggy's Cove Lighthouse

Decided to boondock at the Visitor’s Center. Huge lot and we are the only ones here tonight.  Bonus is the availability of wi-fi!  Ham and yams and salad for dinner – tomorrow I’ve got to have some seafood!

Sept 27, 2013 Louisbourg, toward Halifax

Friday,  September 27

Found a nice trail from the lighthouse this morning and the weather is cloudy but with sunshine so far. 

Had some breakfast, and headed for the Fortress at Louisbourg.  Stopped at “our Laundromat” for a little wi-fi on the way.  The Fortress is  mostly a reconstruction of a huge French fort that stood here  in the l700’s.   It was captured twice by the British before the French gave up their land claims.

There are north winds today, so it is very cloudy and cold so the first building we entered was perfect with a nice cozy fire.  The buildings included living quarters for the governor, which were quite elaborate with tapestries and nice furniture and artifacts.  Also, soldier’s quarters, stables, a bakery, storage houses full of barrels, sacks, ropes, etc., a home which showed building techniques, a chapel, and lots of others.   Employees in costume added to the authentic feel and were very knowledgeable.  One man we spoke with was a chemistry professor as his “real job” but also was a vet so he took care of the sheep, goats and horses. 

Main gate to Louisbourg

Some interesting hour glasses!

French is predominant language

A cozy stop

It was good to be in and out of buildings as the weather got colder and windier – thankfully no rain.  We spent about 3 hours and then took the shuttle back to the visitor’s center and our Trek.

Headed south along Bras d’Or, a huge inland lake with many homes and resorts along its shores.  Left Cape Breton over the one and only causeway, and headed for Halifax area.  Took the highway this time, rather than the windy coastal road to save three or four hours.  More coast south of Halifax.

Spent the night at Dollar Lake Provincial Park, a few miles northeast of Halifax. Saw one other camper the next morning.  Quiet, star-studded sky – hopefully a good sign for tomorrow’s weather!

September 26, 2013 Cape Breton,

Thursday, September 26, 2013

53 degrees this misty, drippy morning.  We decided to stop at Tim Horton’s for a little wi-fi and breakfast sandwiches.  Spent an hour or so there, then started the day’s journey toward Glace Bay on the east side of the island.

We had to go through the only city on Cape Breton, Sydney, which was pretty substantial and sprawling.  This was the only place on the island that we saw  many  “chain” stores like Subway and KFC, etc.  We took a few wrong turns so saw more of the city than we really wanted.  I have gotten very good at asking directions, and people have been unfailingly kind and helpful.

Glace Bay, our destination, once a mining and industrial hub with a population around 35,000 is now a rather subdued town with one tenth of that.  We learned why when we went to the the Coal Mining Museum. 

There are huge beds of coal surrounding and under Cape Breton, even today, but the last mining operations left in 2001, taking the steel mills and other industry with them.  The museum had good displays and a film, but the best part was an underground tour given by an ex-miner named Wishie.  He had worked in the mines for 34 years, following in his grandfather and father’s steps, and has been doing tours for the past 13 years.  He is a great raconteur, and told many stories, some humerous, some sad, in addition to technical information and day-to-day operations. The underground labrynth of mines are equal to the size of Halifax, with some branches extending  up to 7 miles under the ocean!  Lots of fascinating information about things like hazing of new workers, use of cannaries, pit ponies, rats, unionization, conditions,  child labor (his father began at age 10!) and more.

Many of the miners have left the area, changing jobs or going where the jobs are, but there are still some who hope that  negotiations with an Austrailian company will bring a return of mining to the area.

It was still rainy when we left and headed south towards Louisbourg, an old French fort with lots of history.   We went along the coast, through several small fishing villages.  In all our travels on Cape Breton, the majority of “towns” don’t have traffic lights or more than a few dozen homes and businesses. Other than the few major highways, the roads are mostly paved but in poor condition, with lots of cracks and patches.

We stopped to take a picture of  this house with a yard full of wood near a town called Main a Dieu.  A man came out to see what we were doing and was very friendly once he understood that we were curious.  He said he buys

 14 cords of wood each year for about $1200, and that will heat his home for the 10 months of the year that require heat.

A little further down the road we ended up at the harbor at Main a Dieu.  Many of the boats were out of the water, in people’s yards, with lots of lobster traps and buoys.  We stopped to talk with this man who was burning some wood along the shore.  He too was quite pleasant, and explained that the lobster season in this area is only two months long, and ended a few weeks ago.  It is heavily regulated to help preserve the fishing grounds.  There has been a moratorium on haddock and some other fish since the early 1990’s and he was skeptical that it would ever come back in his lifetime.  He said a few people were fishing for scallops or diving for sea urchins, but most folks had no work.  He emphasized that they wanted to work but there was nothing to be done.  They do get unemployment compensation when they aren’t working.

We found internet at a small convenience store/laundromat in Louisbourg for a little while and then headed out a rough road for the lighthouse.  Some Roadtrekkers had recommended this spot for boondocking and we had a great , though foggy, view of Atlantic all to ourselves. Quiet  except for the gusty winds as we enjoyed spaghetti and meatballs for dinner.