Nova Scotia - Cape Breton 1

After a day of touring Antigonish and environs, we did a jaunt up the west coast of Cape Breton.  I've heard so much about Cape Breton over the years, the beauty of the coastline, the Highlands National Park, the little lobster fishing villages, the Cabot Trail, the music, and it did not disappoint.  

 The sleepy, green (and mowed) countryside

 This is a mountain of gravel that is being excavated and shipped to PEI across from the causeway to Cape Breton.  A strange sight amidst the otherwise bucolic scenery.

 Looking across to Port Hood Island and its pastoral landscape 

We drove up into the south end of the Highlands Park and did a short hike there,

then explored the fishing village of Cheticamp nearby.  

Lobster traps

Crab pots     

Lobster season was over, crab season not begun so things were pretty quiet but scenic nonetheless.  Unfortunately, our timing didn't work for seeing any music on that trip necessitating a return trip.  

One feature of the landscape that struck me was the elaborately mowed spaces around many of the houses.  It's not lawn exactly, just the natural growth  mowed to putting green standards and sometimes covering acres.

You don't see a lot of decorative plantings, or trees or decks around the houses; just a huge swath of lawn.  
  
And, of course, every town has at least one church such as these.

Some typical Nova Scotia style homes

See you down the trail

Nova Scotia - Antigonish cont.

In July I flew to Nova Scotia to visit my friend, Nancy, and to have a look around the province.  I've heard so much about Canada's "ocean playground" and I was happy to have an opportunity to see it.  It definitely lives up to its reputation as an exceptionally scenic place.  I was struck by how sparsely populated it is and, consequently, how quiet.  There are around a million people in Nova Scotia and almost half of them live in the Halifax area.  So there's a lot of nature and sparsely inhabited spaces.  Nancy lives in Antigonish, a town of just over 5,000, home of St. Francis Xavier University. "The university brings together 5,100 students from across Canada and around the world in arts, science, business and information systems. It is a member of the U4 League, a group of primarily undergraduate universities in Eastern Canada."

The campus is also home to the Coady Institute a: "world-renowned centre of excellence in community-based development and leadership education" and is worth knowing more about: http://www.coady.stfx.ca/coady/

 A chapel on campus with interesting modern decor.

 












Next was a tour of downtown Antigonish

                                   City Hall

A memorial park for Scottish clans.

Pomquet Beach Provincial Park
near where Nancy lives.  Seemingly
endless.  A great place to walk.

Peace By Chocolate, this little chocolate business was started in Antigonish by a family from Syria and has been enthusiastically embraced by the community.  A thriving little business and great chocolate.





I'll be back soon with more Nova Scotia.