See you Jimmy

Nova Scotia embraces cultural diversity 

We have left French behind and entered the Gaelic world of Nova Scotia. French may be the ’language of love’ but Gaelic just sounds like you’re trying to cough up a fur ball. (I might be kilt for saying that.)

We did another overnight train trip from Montreal to Halifax, Nova Scotia. The train was newer and more comfortably appointed than our previous trip, but sleeping was still difficult due to noise and constant rocking and rolling. Our last train journey complete.

Halifax is a pretty quiet little place, especially at the end of the summer. We were there for the Labour Day weekend, which seems to be the time when North American tourism goes into hibernation. The rainy weather was perfect for holing up in the fabulous Maritime Museum, with its excellent displays about the Titanic, and the Halifax explosion in 1917 which wiped out a huge area of the city. After all that cheeriness, it was off to try some chocolate covered bacon. Only in Canada! It wasn’t too bad, although we probably won’t line up for more.

We picked up a rental car and tried to remember, after a few months break, how to drive on the wrong side of the road again. Happily, the traffic in Halifax on a public holiday was quiet, so we could ease into it. We travelled to Baddeck, on Cape Breton Island, a sleepy village on the shore of Bras D’or Lake. We tried to go sailing on the “Amoeba”, (a ‘staysail schooner with a wishbone rig’, for the nautically-minded amongst you), but due to lack of numbers, it remained in the primordial ooze. Or at the dock, actually.

A trip to Sydney was next on the agenda. We knew we were on the right track as we passed North Sydney, Birchgrove, Hawkesbury, and George’s River on the way to the bustling metropolis of Sydney Harbour. There are a number of stories about people who thought they were going to Sydney, Australia but ended up in Nova Scotia by mistake. After all, they look the same, don’t you think?

Not far from Sydney is the Fort of Louisburg, celebrating its 300^th birthday this year. The site is actually a reconstruction on the original site, and a fantastic one it is too. Our timing was a little off – being after Labour Day, a lot of the site was closed. The upside was less “bl**dy tourists”. We did a tour which had a number of costumed actors explaining what their lives were like in a remote French outpost. Miserable, in a word. A dense fog hung over the fort during our visit, which certainly added atmosphere to a fascinating day.   As we walked across the entrance moat, over the drawbridge, I heard a woman say how silly the French were to have a drawbridge because the enemy could just walk across it into the fort. Glad she wasn’t in charge of fort defence.

Baddeck was the home of Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone. The very informative museum taught us that he was also involved in the first powered flight in the British Empire, and a host of other technological advances. For me, however, his crowning achievement was teaching his dog to speak – the dog could say “how are you, Grandma?”

On to The Cabot Trail. The ‘crowning glory’ of Cape Breton Island (CBI) which is spruiked as the number 1 island in North America.  Methinks they have a way to go to claim that title. While it was very scenic, the infrastructure is still very limited and decent dining/coffee hard to come by. During this trip we have developed a morbid fear of the words ‘family restaurant’ and ‘homestyle cooking’ –resulting in too many culinary horrors. CBI offered these in abundance. Stomachs aside, we enjoyed some scenic hikes and added pilot whales to our list of spotted cetaceans. We didn’t unfortunately get time to do the hike which was charmingly named “Bog”.  The road is steep and winding, and we are forever grateful for the considerate Canadians who build roads with guardrails and decent shoulders. We stopped at several ‘lookoffs’ –which is the Canadian word for lookout. We think it sounds more like a pub-sports staring competition. “See you Jimmy” is the current World Champion. (For your linguistic edification, Americans call them ‘overlooks’.)

Skyline trail 

i was cray-ving to see his mussels 

We’re now on Prince Edward Island and Mike is beside himself with excitement in anticipation of all things “Anne of Green Gables”. Time for a hot cocoa and a good night’s sleep.