Nova Scotia, Canada

October was a great time to be in Nova Scotia; the hills were ablaze with fall-colored trees, all subtlety blended together. The weather was wonderful, sunny, and in the 60’s and 70’s. We went on many hikes, some high on cliffs above the Atlantic, others in the woods, or on the beach. My friend, Carol Quest, and I flew to Halifax and rented a car for two weeks of touring, primarily on the island of Cape Breton, which mostly consists of rolling hills, and a National Park. Many times we were reminded of the North Shore of Lake Superior. There are bodies of water everywhere, bays, inlets, lakes and rivers. Artists live and work here and sell their creations of jewelry, glass, pewter, ceramics, hats, and quilts in many tourist shops. Most places were due to shut down mid-October when the main tourist season ends.

We were in Halifax for several days, exploring the harbor town, the boardwalk by the sea, the citadel, an impressive fortress that never saw a battle, and the immigration museum. On Cape Breton we visited the reconstructed fortress town of Louisbourg built by the French in 1713. Guides were dressed in period dress and gave interesting accounts of their lives at that time. It was an important port and fishing village with 3-4,000 residents, cod being the primary export. It was the third most important port on the eastern coast after Philadelphia and Boston. French soldiers were stationed there, more or less as indentured servants; life was difficult, but better than in France. The English attacked and captured the city several times. Finally the British in mid-1700 abandoned it. Unemployed coal minors reconstructed it in the 1960’s following drawings and using original stone.

Louisbourg

We also visited the museum of Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922) who lived in Baddeck overlooking the lake of Bras d’Or and saw many of his inventions besides the telephone, especially devices dealing with speech and sound. He experimented with early airplanes and an early hydrofoil that he invented in the early 1900’s.

As we drove around Cape Breton we had views of the ocean both to the east and to the west. We stayed on the east coast for several days where many Scots and Irish settled, and later in Cheticamp on the west coast settled by the French Acadians where most people are bilingual. We went to a small museum and a woman demonstrated the art of rug hooking which is a dying art. There were some incredibly complicated designs. We attended four concerts as part of the Celtic Colors Festival, a dance group of young girls tapping jigs and reels, and different groups playing traditional music, especially with fiddles, but also with guitars, banjos, keyboards, drums, a bagpipe, and a goatskin drum. Folksingers sang in Gaelic, French, and English. Most were very talented musicians that composed their own traditional music.

We stayed in Truro on the mainland of Nova Scotia the last two nights. We drove to the Bay of Fundy and to Burntcoat Head to see where the highest tide in the world is at 54 feet, and to walk on the ocean floor at low tide. In Truro we also experienced a Tidal Bore where at high tide a small, or large, depending on various factors, wave moves upstream. (Carol had seen a dramatic one in China.) It was a very peaceful experience. The riverbed was basically empty and then the wave came quietly rolling in, only lasting about 5 minutes. We observed it one evening and then again on a frigid morning.

Carol walking on the ocean bottom.

 Wine is produced in this area, and after buying a bottle we decided to visit a winery. We drove on rolling hills to Malagash and the Jost Winery on the northern coast. It was a bright and sunny day with many rows of vines, some with glistening grapes. There were speakers emitting bird calls, eagles, crows, and others, and flags on top of long poles blowing in the breeze to scare away birds. We tasted several wines, mostly with grape varieties that we had never heard of. We also walked on the beach that day; the water felt pleasant on our feet, too bad we hadn’t brought our swimsuits!

We ate seafood: some lobster, shrimp, scallops, and fish: salmon, haddock, and traditional cod cakes made with salted cod.  We tasted oatcakes (really cookies) every chance we got to find the best.

We had a lovely time and met some very nice people. There were lots of Americans from all over the States, and some Europeans. The hiking on some beautiful trails to lookouts, through the woods to lakes and waterfalls was especially fun. We had the unexpected bonus of joining with Canadians as they celebrated 150 years of nationhood. This also meant that entrance to all National Parks and historic sites were free this year.