John Cabot, the French explorer during the 1500s, landed on the tip of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. The beautiful Cabot Trail, circling Cape Breton, is named for him. On August 26, 2018, we drove the Cabot Trail.
There are dozens of scenic hikes along the Cabot Trail, and we chose just a few of them.
We drove the Cabot Trail clockwise, from our home base in the Acadian town of Cheticamp. The road tracked the sea, with many turnoffs to catch spectacular views.
We paused by a Canadian war memorial, which read, "They will never know the beauty of this place, see the seasons change, enjoy nature's chorus..."
We spent an hour at the Whale Interpretive Centre, learning about the many different types of whales that swim through Nova Scotia's waters. A busload of tourists arrived while we were at the museum and buzzed close about us like worker bees in a hive. I was so glad we were independent travelers!
We paused at several craft galleries. This one was particularly high end, with beautiful hand-carved wooden bowls, as well as $1000 quilts.
We searched without luck for Cabot Point. Near that historic spot we passed this peaceful fishing village, with traps stored near the fishing boats.
The Cabot Trail is a prime tourist area, so there are many spots, like this one, to fill up on Nova Scotia treats.
I chose a raspberry square, but I was also tempted by the blueberry scones.
Mountainous, remote Cape Breton hosts Scottish and Acadian ethnic communities.
I was tempted to buy this Scottish hat, just like the one my father used to wear.
Our favorite hike wound for a few miles through a forest and then along the sea, framed with red boulders.
We knew Acadians had settled this area when we saw one of their distinctive churches.
We paused for supper at an elegant resort near Ingonish. We became aware that B'n'Bs with two bathrooms for four couples was not the only way to see Nova Scotia.
A flyer advertising a "lobsterman's tour of the sea" caught our eye. The tour was one of the highlights of our trip. Our tour guides roared up to the pier in a huge black pickup truck. They motored their boat out into the bay and pulled up their traps to show us how they catch lobsters. They also told us the economics of lobster fishing, such as that a license now costs $500,000 and that the most perfect lobsters are shipped to Japan and China, where they bring premium prices.
I looked this fellow right in his beady black eyes.
Seals bathed near these rocks in the bay.
This guide dropped a baited line into the sea and pulled up dozens of mackerel. He then let me lower the line with bait and pull it up with fishes wiggling on each hook.
We woke up early in Cheticamp on August 27, 2018. We grabbed some French pastries at La Boulangerie and then raced for Halifax, where we would fly home the next morning.
I was adamant about visiting the Canadian Immigration Museum at Pier 21. It is the Canadian version of Ellis Island, where thousands of immigrants to Canada were welcomed and processed.
My Hamilton ancestors emigrated from Ireland to Nova Scotia in the first decades of the 1800s. They moved on to Ontario, where they were baptized by early Mormon missionaries. They then took the "Nauvoo Road" (still named that in Ontario) to Nauvoo. The Pier 21 processing center doesn't date back to the early 1800s, but I wonder if the Hamiltons arrived from Ireland in Halifax.
Our last sightseeing spot was the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia.
The museum spotlighted a primitive Nova Scotia painter, Maud Lewis, who created great art despite her disabilities.
I loved the many paintings of the sea--waves lapping against beautiful beaches, haunting shipwrecks, boats covered with snow. The Maritimes are shaped and defined by water.
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