Our flight from Calgary, Alberta to Halifax, Nova Scotia was a bit tiring as it was a 4.5 hour overnight flight combined with a 4 hour time difference. It was made worse by a medical emergency before we took off which meant coming back to the gate, unloading the passenger and his luggage and refueling before we could get going again an hour later. There was also bad turbulence throughout the flight which meant the lights kept coming on and announcements being made so we got no sleep. We did however arrive safely, if a little bleary eyed. We collected our hire car and followed Google directions to Roy’s house, which miraculously were accurate and easy to follow for once!
We were met with a warm welcome, a cup of coffee and breakfast before we apologetically headed to bed for a few hours kip. Roy, his wife Anna and their energetic young poodle Bella live in a lovely house beside a lake, about 20 minutes outside of Halifax. Having had a long sleep we were feeling somewhat more social which was good as Roy’s friend Peter had just arrived. NB. Le Roux met Roy and Peter on his Nahanni canoeing trip last July/August.
Le Roux and I decided to take advantage of Roy’s canoe and the lake and headed out for a paddle to get some air and exercise before dinner. The tree-lined lake was lovely with very little development to spoil the remoteness of it. While we were out paddling, Roy was busy preparing a fabulous Atlantic lobster dinner.
The lobsters were enormous weighing about 5lbs each but they tasted so good simply boiled we all scoffed every morsel! To wash the lobster down we were drinking some of Roy’s homebrew – he has made both beer and wine from kits and Le Roux loved the beer and I thought the Chilean Merlot was very drinkable. After some reminiscing over their canoeing trip down the Nahanni we headed to bed as we were still pretty tired from the journey across most of Canada.
We were keen to explore the local area so the next day we all headed out for a hike along the coast at Duncan’s Cove. Bella was very excitable but not sure of the route on the way out so she kept getting under the lead person’s feet but on the way back she could smell the way and effectively took me for a walk! She was great fun to have around once I’d got used to her friendliness and enthusiasm. Having worked up an appetite we went into Halifax for some snacks at the pub and then a delicious icecream at Cows while we explored the waterfront.
As Peter knows a bit about photography, Le Roux was grilling him for some tips and ended up chasing Bella around the garden trying to get some movement shots, some of which weren’t at all bad. Roy was cooking again, this time rotisserie chickens with roasted veg and salad, followed by chocolate cake. We have definitely been eating well while staying with friends! Later on we had a campfire in the garden with Roy and Anna’s next door neighbours which was nice. The next morning after a posh breakfast of smoked salmon and cream cheese bagels, we said our goodbyes and drove off towards Cape Breton.
Unfortunately we’d not had time the previous day to visit Peggy’s Cove and as it was in the opposite direction to Cape Breton we didn’t make it there in the end which was a shame. We did see some lovely photos of it when we were on the waterfront in Halifax though, so we had to be content with that. We took the scenic route along the east coast from Halifax to Whycocomagh on Cape Breton. Along the way we passed a McDonalds that was advertising the McLobster which surprised me somewhat as you definitely don’t associate McDonalds with lobster! However, here on the east coast it is Atlantic lobster season and they are actually quite affordable. I’ve not yet had a McLobster but I have to admit to being tempted! We also passed the smokery where Roy had bought the smoked salmon we’d had for breakfast so we decided to pick up some hot smoked salmon and some smoked mackerel.
Accommodation on Cape Breton is not the cheapest but we managed to find a little B&B run by an old lady who was an absolute sweetheart. She even let us cook dinner in her kitchen as it was raining and we really didn’t fancy doing it outside. Before dinner I went for a walk as I needed to stretch my legs after a long day stuck in the car. I’ve got in the habit of taking the camera with me and I came across some lovely blossoming trees as well as a pretty white wooden church and some hummingbirds – not bad as I only got about 10 minutes from the B&B before it started raining!
We woke up to find that the rain had worsened and visibility was almost nil – a complete white out! This was not good as one of the main reasons we’d come to Cape Breton was to appreciate the coastal scenery on the Cabot Trail and to do some hiking – humph. We drove up the east coast, stopping at Neil’s Harbour for some warming seafood chowder, but it wasn’t worth getting out at any of the viewpoints as we couldn’t see much. We finished the day in Meat Cove, the most northerly point on Cape Breton. After another day in the car we decided to go for a walk along the river to the beach. What we hadn’t realised was that most of the boardwalk had been washed away last August in a freak flood so there was no path or bridge which meant we had to boulder hop across the river – not easy and Le Roux slipped and ended up with a wet foot, much to my amusement given I’m normally the one with no balance! Luckily we found an easier way back so my feet remained dry!
Camping wasn’t really an option given the weather, so we found ourselves a quasi hostel high on the hill above the village, which had amazing views of the ocean. We were the only people there so we had the run of the place and having cooked dinner, we sat looking out at the view from the warmth of the kitchen, catching up on our blogs and photos as despite the remoteness we had wifi.
We hoped for a change in weather and planned an overnight hike for the next day, but it wasn’t to be as the weather got worse and we literally couldn’t see anything. We decided to cut our time on the peninsula short and head south. We stopped at a short boardwalk over a bog in the hope of spotting a moose but our luck really wasn’t in and there was nothing of interest, only rain, wind and cold! We stopped for a late lunch in Cheticamp, a French town, where we tried some typical Acadian food on a sample plate which included a fish cake, blood pudding, meat pie, beef stew, prawn & scallop skewers and baked beans.
After lunch we continued the drive south, calling in at the only whisky distillery in the state at Glencora. We had to pay $7 each for the tour which lasted about 10 minutes and included one small taster of a 10 year old whisky which was really watery and pretty disappointing. They should leave it to the Scots! As accommodation was so expensive we continued to Port Hastings in the hope of finding a cheap motel for the night. Well, Port Hastings is a hole of a place with lots of awful motels to choose from. The first two we tried were deserted and the following three were nowhere near as cheap as the guide suggested so finally on our sixth attempt we found one that was just about acceptable.
We were glad to be leaving Port Hastings the next morning and we headed off to the port at Caribou to catch the ferry to Prince Edward Island. Le Roux managed to do the journey in double quick time so we had an hour to kill and a coffee seemed like a good idea given the cold weather. However, I hadn’t bargained on getting the worst cappuccino I’ve ever had. I should have been suspicious when she asked me which flavour I wanted – French Vanilla or English Toffee, but stupidly I ignored this warning and randomly went with English Toffee. When we got our drinks there was no foam and it tasted more like a hot chocolate than a coffee. Definitely not one to be repeated and I can’t understand why Tim Hortons is the biggest/most popular coffee franchise in Canada!
We boarded the ferry without a hitch, but as there was no view due to yet more fog, we stayed inside in the warm and read our books. On arriving on PEI, the fog lifted and the sun came out which was a very pleasant surprise! After stopping in at the visitor centre we drove east towards Murray Harbour. Our first port of call on the island was the Rossignol Winery, which the Lonely Planet suggested. We made the mistake of trying their wine as well as the fruit wine mentioned in the book – some of the worst watery wine I’ve ever had! The fruit wines such as blackberry mead and rosehip liqueur were interesting, although none were worthy of actually purchasing.
Our tummies were rumbling at this point so we drove on around the coast to Murray River for a seafood lunch of lobster chowder, a lobster burger and fish & chips. We also decided to try poutine which is a local specialty of chips, mozzarella cheese and gravy – not bad, although very unhealthy and I prefer my chips crispy not soggy from the gravy. Worryingly you can get deluxe poutine which involves hamburger chunks among other things! After our tasty and very filling lunch we drove onto Montague where we found another B&B run by an eccentric old lady, Zita.
We’ve not had the chance to do much cycling on the trip so I was keen to fit some in before the end and my reading of the guide book on PEI suggested that this flat island was prime cycling country. We managed to find a bike hire place that was actually open – the season doesn’t really begin until late June bizarrely! - and we headed out along the stretch of the Confederation Trail which links Montague with Georgetown on the east side of the island. The mosquitoes were out in force due to the recent rain and as soon as we stopped for a rest we were swarmed by them, therefore we kept pedaling! We made it to Cardigan in record time and discovered that there wasn’t anything worth seeing there so we continued onto Georgetown where we’d planned to have lunch, only it was not even 10.30am and nowhere was open! We pootled around the town for a little bit, exploring the harbor where we came across some fishermen cleaning and sorting mussels before they are put back into the sea in nets to grow for another 8 months. We decided to try our luck at the only decent looking restaurant in town at 11am and the lady kindly let us in and gave us a coffee even though they didn’t officially open until 11.30am. While drinking our coffee we browsed the menu and decided that we had to have an early lunch there as it all sounded so good. We were not disappointed as the crab cakes, breaded fried clams and curried mussels were so tasty. You can’t beat fresh seafood!
Instead of cycling back the same way along the trail, we decided to take the road but what we hadn’t bargained on was the hills and the wind, instead of the mosquitoes! The last section back into Montague was a bit of a struggle and we were glad to make it back to our car. We loaded the bikes into the back of the Jeep and headed north to St Peter’s. Accommodation there was pretty pricey so the campground was the only sensible option, but it turned out to be closed until the 15th June (it was the 9th). Luckily the staff were there completing renovations and we persuaded the lady to let us stay for the night.
As our cycle ride was shorter than we’d expected, we had the rest of the afternoon free and decided to walk around Greenwich, PEI National Park. It was a nice sunny afternoon but I have to say we were a bit disappointed as the park was nothing amazing, compared with most of the others we’ve seen across the USA and Canada. However, we did see a cute rabbit chomping on dandelions just by the side of the path. We’d worked up a thirst though so we found the only place in town serving alcohol and had a couple sitting on their deck in the sunshine, before our smoked salmon dinner back at the campsite. The only issue with the campsite was that they’d forgotten to turn on the boiler so it was cold showers for us – our 2nd in North America!
Our 2nd day of cycling did not go to plan. Firstly it was pretty cold and windy and secondly Le Roux got a puncture when we were 4.5km from the nearest town! The bike guy had sent us off with a puncture repair kit, but not a pump so we were a little stuck. Le Roux ended up walking back to the town while I raced ahead to try and borrow a pump from somewhere. I didn’t have any luck so Le Roux finally made it to the petrol station where he pumped up the tire. It only lasted 2.5km of the 9km back to the car so I ended up walking the bike back to Morrell again, while Le Roux took my bike and cycled on to get the car so he could come back and pick me up. By this point we were pretty cold and hungry so we had some more chowder and a piece of battered fish at Rick’s Fish n Chips in St Peter’s which was excellent – a good recommendation from the LP!
Having returned the bikes, we drove to Charlottetown the capital of PEI. One thing we noticed as we drove around the island was that everyone has enormous lawns, and with no fences between properties, the houses look a bit random sitting in the middle of huge expanses of grass with nothing else around. Because of the amount of grass we saw loads of ride on mowers, 30 in 2.5 days to be precise as Le Roux kept count! Charlottetown is a nice little city and we found a great hostel in the centre. Our room was absolutely tiny, but as long as we weren’t both trying to stand up at the same time it was fine! We explored the city centre and then Le Roux was lured into the pub by the prospect of some beer tasting. He tried 8 different samples before plumping for a pint of his favourite. For dinner we decided to splash out on the best restaurant in Charlottetown, Lot 30, as recommended by the lady at the seafood place in Georgetown. It was amazing and worth every penny, although we ended up not paying for a chunk of the meal as our waiter very kindly gave us 2 glasses of wine, 2 glasses of dessert wine and one of the desserts for free (about $65!) as he knew we were backpackers – result! The food was delicious and we enjoyed every mouthful of our rib-eye steak and marinated pork belly, followed by molten chocolate puddings. After dinner we headed back to the pub to watch the hockey game – the 4th in the final series. We rolled back to the hostel later a little drunk and fell into our bunk beds.
As we were slightly worse for wear the next morning, we had a slow start, but as we only had to get back to Nova Scotia it didn’t matter. We took the 13km long Confederation Bridge back to the mainland rather than the ferry this time and having got lost in New Brunswick as we didn’t have a map, we finally made it to Nova Scotia. We had a bit of an issue along the way finding a cash machine that would give us any money as it was the weekend and the computer systems weren’t talking to one another. After about 7 failed attempts we finally got some cash which meant we’d be able to pay the campsite fees!
We were headed for the east of province where the coastline is known for its rocks and fossils. As Le Roux used to collect rocks as a young boy he was keen to see what he could find. We camped at a little place called Five Islands which was a beautiful spot on the coast with a view of 5 islands, unsurprisingly! The only downside of the campsite was the number of biting insects. Despite lashings of insect repellent and long sleeves and trousers, the damn bugs found the only place left to go for, my face! I ended up with a golf ball sized lump on my forehead and a swollen cheek that made me look like a one-sided chipmunk – not attractive! After a morning of chores we drove further west along the coast to Partridge Island near Parrsboro. We spent a happy hour hunting for interesting stones and fossils before climbing up to the viewpoint on top of the island.
We woke up to pouring rain at 5am as it showed no sign of stopping by 9am we ended up packing a very soggy tent and beginning the drive across New Brunswick to Maine. Peter had recommended a stop at Hopewell Rocks on the south coast of NB, so we called in on the way past. The weather was still terrible – I really object to having to wear gloves in June as it is so cold and wet – so it was a quick visit. The rocks were interesting as they’d been worn away at the base by the sea and were funny shapes, but I have to admit that after the amazing rock formations we saw at Bryce Canyon National Park, these really didn’t compare. We ended the day in a cheap motel just outside of Saint John as we’d had enough driving for the day. We continued the drive into Maine the following morning.
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