Monday, June 16, 2008

Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia












































Once we had packed up all our stuff and loaded up the car, we drove over to Joe and Marilyn’s apartment, literally the next building, and joined them for breakfast. Afterwards, they very kindly took us on a trip to Peggy’s Cove. It was quite an emotional scene, being the site of the Swiss Air crash some years ago. We saw the memorial to the passengers on the plane and all of the people who had tried to find the survivors, and help the families. It is a bleak, fairly remote part of Nova Scotia. Lots of smooth rock and stubby plants on the shoreline, now made into a park area. Then we drove into the tiny hamlet of Peggy’s Cove (see the pictures); a very picturesque fishing village with lots of brightly coloured wooden houses and lobster pots. It must have been very dramatic for the villagers. All of the fishermen got their boats out into the sea looking for survivors. There are some very sad stories of the emotional trauma that many of them are still having to live with. The other side of Peggy’s Cove is not so humane – it’s the commercialism that has come with fame. Nonetheless, we had lunch in the small restaurant and sat looking out over the bleak ocean. Then it was back to Halifax, help sort out Joe’s computer and loading some music onto CDs for Marilyn, then we set off for North Sydney.

The drive was easy and quick – about 4 hours – along very excellent highway. Nova Scotia in this part is very typically Canadian with lots of evergreens and long, slowly winding roads through the hills. It was quite pretty driving along the north shore of Lake Bras D’Or, but otherwise, nothing spectacular. We pulled into North Sydney around 8:00 p.m. I had booked a B & B – Heritage Home (the second picture on the blog) which is literally 2 minutes away from the ferry. We were a little skeptical at what we might meet, but it is truly charming. Spotlessly clean, and very comfortable. The main street of North Sydney is a little dischevelled; most stores are empty; obviously there is some attempt to liven up the area, but I think it must be very hard to live here and make a living. We walked about 20 minutes along the ocean to a recommended restaurant for dinner, only to be told when we walked in that it was “closed”! So we ended up in a small Chinese/Canadian restaurant, and truly the food was not bad! Can't get used to everyone talking to you - yes I mean everyone! As you walk along anyone who passes you says"hello" - or some Nova Scotian phrase which means the same. Also, if you come to the corner of the road, the cars stop, and anticipate you going to cross. Caught us off guard every time! So polite compared to Ontarians who will run you over before stopping!

Now, back to our charming room, to bed.

No comments: