Canada: Nova Scotia

Long story short, we’ve fallen for Nova Scotia, the province where no place is more than 40 miles from the ocean. Gritty fishing villages with their colourful boats, lobster pots stacked up in their dozens, cute cottages perched beside beautiful lakes on the South Coast, dramatic coastal drives around Cape Breton, lighthouses in all shapes and sizes, welcoming inns and bnbs, lobster and Digby scallops the likes of which we may not taste again…unless we return (and that’s definitely on the cards); it’s all so good here in Nova Scotia.

These pics are of our 300 kms drive around Cape Breton.

Halifax caught us by surprise. Rome wasn’t built in a day but this capital city is trying its hardest to prove it can be done. Downtown is dominated by construction sites as chrome and concrete apartment blocks fast replace the older dwellings. We listened to conflicting views – some think it’s for the best as the older buildings were in a terrible state of disrepair while others bemoan the end of an historic era. We spent a few hours at the city’s famed Citadel where costumed soldiers shared compelling stories of British strength against resilient French in the 1700s and 1800s, admired the public gardens, stayed at a lovely inn and consumed some good food.

We enjoyed our stay at this centrally located inn

These next pics are of our drive south of Halifax along the South Coast. Such a beautiful drive to Peggy’s Cove, Lunenburg and Shelburne.

In Shelburne, we came across some kind firemen donating their time and equipment to wash cars as a community fund raiser. Our car emerged gleaming.

This is one of the bnbs we stayed in – fantastic chatty owner who cooked us an amazing breakfast. The room was spic and span. Thanks Heather!

Never got tired of this ‘common’ Nova Scotian food.

Check out this town clock in Digby. It shows normal time as well as tide times. The tide times are important in the Bay of Fundy area since they boast the highest tides in the world. Over a period of 6 hours the tides rise to 15 metres.

In New Scotland, British tradition is strong. This can be seen in ‘loyalist’ signage and the overwhelming number of Union Jacks fluttering from houses and businesses. French Arcadians also make their presence felt with their language, small villages, ecoles and rues. It all makes for an interesting mix of cultures and we certainly enjoyed that.

Nova Scotia is on our ‘return to’ list. A cottage on a lake for a few lazy weeks and touring Newfoundland will be on the itinerary.

We are almost at the end of our Canada road trip. We’ve clocked up 11000 kms driving from British Columbia to Nova Scotia. Today, we left Nova Scotia and boarded the vehicular ferry to New Brunswick, a huge ferry which is a recent acquisition from the Greek Isles. Calm seas and interesting talks with a group of Americans made for a most enjoyable two hour trip.

Tomorrow we return our hire car to Montreal in Quebec. The feet will be well and truly on terra firma for a few days and this is where I’ll write my next blog. ‘Til then, au revoir.