Cabot Trail - Cape Breton

July 16
Had a great night in Cape North and carried on our way around the Cabot Trail this morning. The weather couldn't have been more perfect! We made it down to Pleasant Bay and had breakfast there and then went to see the fishermen unloading crab at the dock. A beautiful little harbour and lots of whale-watching boats going out. From there, we carried on down to Cheticamp. This stretch of the Cabot Trail was our favourite - absolutely stunning views of the winding road as it twists in front of you along the rugged coastline. We climbed over a couple small mountains and apparently this area looks just like the Scottish Highlands (hence the name of the park - the Cape Breton Highlands National Park). They must get a lot of rain here because it's like temperate rain forest - densely packed, thick green trees like a carpet up steep mountains and into deep crevasses. Gorgeous.
We stopped in Cheticamp and the Acadian culture is very noticeable here - from their bright colourful folk art wood carvings to their classic hooked rugs and, of course, the Acadian dialect of French. We spent some time in a carving shop which was fun to see and then had lunch at the Co-op Artisanale Restaurant Acadien - a lovely little place that (we're told) is the only place left on Cape Breton you can get truly authentic, traditional Acadien food. I had their meat pie and thought of my mom, who still makes the best "Tortierre" in the world. This little place is a must see if you come through Cheticamp - they have a traditional craft co-operative which has beautiful rug hooked pieces and more and today, we were lucky to be able to watch one of the women working on one. They also have a little museum and, of course, the restaurant. Great food, very good prices and friendly staff in traditional long skirts and bonnets. www.cheticamphookedrugs.com
From here we hugged the coastline and took route 19 down to the Canso Causeway which connects Cape Breton to the rest of Nova Scotia. This was a LOVELY drive and the countryside opens up into lowlands and rolling farmland along the water. Lots of beautiful little farms and small villages, green hay fields and red barns. Fabulous route to take.
Once over the Causeway, we got onto the the Trans Canada and zoomed along, making some fast miles. We decided to try to find a place near New Glasgow. After turning off there, we stopped at a gas station and a fellow there told us the only place he knew to camp was in Pictou, a small town a few miles down the road. We headed that way and off we went to Pictou, a FANTASTIC little town we would have otherwise totally missed. Sometimes, the random chances lead to great experiences and this was certainly true of our experience in Pictou! We found the Harbour Lights campground (selected soley based on the name!) and when we found it, it was a sea of RVs! OH NO! Good grief - totally NOT what we were hoping for but by then, we were tired and didn't care - it was only for one night.
We went to the office and there found Cameron, the owner. What a character! He said he thought he might have something quiet for us and walked us past all the RVs and lo, down a little hill and right beside the water was a beautiful little green treed meadow all quiet and secluded. Unbelievable. You just never know!! After setting up camp, we headed back into Pictou to wander around the waterfront. Pictou has a great history - the first load of Scottish immigrants arrived there back in the early 1700s aboard the "Hector" - a replica of this sailing ship is in the harbour there. This first landing marked the beginning of the Scottish presence in what would go on to be Nova Scotia and the Scottish culture is alive and well to this day. After having some great food at Sharon's Place, we took photos up and down the streets - gorgeous heritage buildings everywhere. As we wandered, we could hear bagpipes and drums which led us to the deCoste Centre, down on the waterfront. There, a fantastic pipes and drums group played for an hour, free for all to watch. I don't know what it is about pipes and drums - I'm French and Italian but somewhere in my genetic makeup, maybe there's a little bit of Maritimer because I hear them and I get teary-eyed!
At a break, we went into the Center and what a place! They host a weekly series called "The Summer Sounds of Nova Scotia" and each week, they have different musicians, storytellers, dancers etc. from Nova Scotia come and do performances or traditional Ceilidh (pronounced Kay-Lee) - a Nova Scotian "Kitchen Party". For $15 (they give discounts to people staying in local accommodations) you get an incredible night of top rate entertainment. Last night we had singer/songwriter  Jimmy Sweeney doing old time stories and songs, some lovely highland dancers, a wonderful harp duo - Ardyth and Jennifer - and an incredible fiddler, Fleur Mainville, who played with a guitar accompanist. What a show!  For more information on the incredible job the deCoste Centre is doing to support and preserve Nova Scotian culture, check out their website - www.decostecentre.ca
We love Pictou! What a wonderful little town - like so many others, we wish we could stay for a few more days but alas, tomorrow we're off to Halifax. We'd like to stay and see all their concerts! They're all first rate - in the past they've had Rita McNeil, Stompin Tom, Mamas and Papas, Natalie MacMaster, Liona Boyd, the Rankins, Valdy, the Barra MacNeils - the list is impressive! Definitely a must see...
Yesterday's post is missing... Sorry about that. I wrote it and it got stuck in save mode... Not sure what the issue is but will try to post it later. It was a great day in Baddeck visiting the fabulous Alexander Graham Bell museum and then heading up the first half of the Cabot Trail, visiting our friend Sarah Beck at her awesome pottery studio, Wildfire Pottery.