We reluctantly left our oceanfront house, we watched the sun set over the water the last night there. We drove south the following day, a very long drive ( 8 1/2 hrs ) . Yarmouth is a port town hosting a Snow Crab fishing fleet and the ferry to Maine. This large town has a busy strip with Walmart, Taco Bell’s, etc. Fortunately the old waterfront town and Main St have survived and are beautiful. We parked at the harbor and had a great dinner.
After almost 2 weeks in the road, we took a break at a waterfront Airbnb sitting on 700 acres of ocean front land. It’s a big 4 bedroom house that sleeps 8 , too bad none of you are here to share. We arrived in a blowing storm with rain and stiff winds. The sun finally came out today. We are way out of the small town of Guysborough on the south coast of Nova Scotia, it’s a 15 minute ride to the tiny village. Our generous host has given us garden veggies and some fresh halibut to grill tonight, this location on the ocean is incredible.
Beach bellow the house
We drove the whole coastline route called the Cabot Trail, considered one of the most scenic drives in the world and we agree, it was spectacular. The 4 thousand foot mountains come right down to the coast making for wonderful scenery. We stopped at a couple fishing villages for some great seafood on the way.
We stopped for lunch at Cheticamp ( pronounced shittycamp ) .The village is known for its Snow Crab, we had crab rolls. Notice the wind wall attached to the left side of the barbershop door to shield it from from the open ocean winds. The fishing fleet is in the harbor in back.
We are staying on the very Northern tip of Nova Scotia at Cape Breton National Park. Our private site is only a couple hundred yards from the beach which goes on forever and is empty, we have it to ourselves. Abandoned lobster traps are sprinkled on the beach, one looked active wallowing in the surf so I dragged it up in the beach, empty. I went swimming in the surf today, so much like CapeCod and Nantucket. The National Park campgrounds are fully booked but still seems quiet here. Canadians are very friendly and polite. There is zero trash anywhere, roadsides, beaches, campgrounds. Canadians don’t litter.
We drove to the Southern tip of Prince Edward Island to board the ferry to Nova Scotia saving us many hours of backtracking and a long days drive. We arrived at the port 2 hours early, we were the first in line to board. The ferry was huge, more an open ocean going ship than a ferry. It was easily several times bigger than Nantucket ferries. The ship loaded a couple hundred cars and dozens of tractor trailers onto 2 decks, the lower one for cars, the upper one for bigger vehicles. We loaded 2 vehicles abreast speeding things up , it was a well orchestrated process. We were not permitted to stay in our truck. The 3 upper passenger decks we’re comfortable and spacious with spotless bathrooms. The trip took 1.5 hours. This ferry service ends in December when the ocean freezes solid for the winter. We loved Prince Edward Island and hated to leave but looking forward to Nova Scotia.
Continue reading “Ferry to Nova Scotia”The small harbor near us is a major port for off shore Tuna boats which surprisingly still catch these giant fish on rod and reel. These small boats access the open ocean thru a narrow man made channel out thru heavy surf. The in coming / out going tides sweep through this narrow opening causing very strong tidal currents, a very dangerous passage for the fishermen. The rewards must be great as there are a couple dozen boats calling this home port .
We are camping at the Eastern tip of the island, a point of farmland jutting out into the open ocean. The campground is almost empty, our ocean front site is secluded yet near bathrooms and laundry facilities which’s nice . We arrived under blue skies but a storm blew in off the open ocean and it began to rain sideways, the winds are howling.
We drove to a fishing harbor nearby and ordered takeout at the only restaurant within 20 miles. Food was great.
The indigenous natives here are the Mik Mak tribe. They seem to hold a lot of the service jobs, waitresses, store clerks, etc Many of them have remarkably Asian features, Inuit ? They converse in their native tongue. It’s refreshing seeing an intact Native culture that’s survived the white man’s onslaught . Tribe members performed a ceremony near on campsite one sunset, we enjoyed watching/ listening.
We reached Prince Edward Island via an 18 mile long bridge. We were immediately impressed by the thriving agriculture activity here, the neat and productive farms extending right to the shores of the ocean . The island is very scenic with little sprawl and dotted with nice small towns. We are currently staying at a coastal National Park that was hard hit by an intense hurricane in September 2022, the damage is still seen everywhere. We are one of the very few Americans here, and have been surprised by the French culture here, a lot of people speak no English.
The empty beautiful beaches are everywhere and the water is surprisingly warm, about like Nantucket. There are zero seals here. Food and gas are crazy expensive but our exchange rate helps. Gas is almost $8 / gallon, yikes !
Tomorrow we head to the other end of the island to a new campground. Our new camper is pure luxury to stay in, we’re comfy and dry .
The province of New Brunswick is huge, it took us 8 hrs to get to the coast. We passed thru a couple good size cities but mainly drove across vast thinly populated forested areas with lots of abandoned farms.
. The Fundy coast is spectacular even in the pouring rain . The 40 foot tides stranded huge fishing boats pulled out at the high tide line waiting for the next launch. The National Park was nice but facilities were crude and dated compared to our Park System. Cell service is rare and WiFi nonexistent, I’m writing this at Lobster Shack with rare connection. Tomorrow we head to Prince Edwards Island.
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