You'll tak the high road, and I'll tak the low road, and I'll be in (New) Scotland afore ye"

		Nova Scotia VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Nova Scotia is the third and last Maritime Province of Canada that we visited and is located half way between the equator and the North Pole. Nova Scotia originally included New Brunswick. We were surprised to learn that Nova Scotia is not an island as is PEI, but rather an isthmus extending from New Brunswick and the Cape Breton Island. The French claimed this area in 1605 with the first French establishment in North America in Port Royal naming it Acadia- “peaceful land”. Interesting name since it was anything but that when they were subjected to a great upheaval by the British. The territory (renamed Nova Scotia; Latin for New Scotland) was given to Sir William Alexander by King James VI in 1829 and there are many Scottish roots still today. Musical traditions are still very much alive and quite lively, with fiddles, guitars, & keyboards, and dances as the Scottish strathspey, Acadian jigs (think Riverdance), Celtic lively foot-tapping beats, step-dancing, and Hornpipers.

Alexander Graham Bell had a summer home and laboratory here. Other famous people include Hank Snow and Anne Murray. In 1901 Marconi sent the first transatlantic wireless message from Glace Bay to Cornwell, England. (Do you think he was ordering Cornish Hens “to go”?). Transatlantic cables were put on the ocean floor and maintained from cable ships in Halifax. Due to ocean floor geography, weather, & movement of the ocean floor, these cables proved to be more reliable than those laid further south (US to Europe).

The Cape Breton Highlands National Park has the famous 185 mile long “Cabot Trail” which has jaw-dropping gorgeous views of rugged coastlines, steep hills, and quaint, isolated villages. The road hugs the steep tree-covered hills, winds around the Highlands, and is reminiscent of windy, steep roads with large drop offs along Big Sur California and the narrow, curvy Road to Hana Hawaii that come so close to the water. Nova Scotia has craggy coastlines of massive granite ledges and few beaches, unlike PEI. There are 4,600 miles of coastline even though you can never be further than 45 miles from the ocean anywhere in Nova Scotia. That is amazing since the province is only 374 miles long and 60-100 miles wide. There is an abundance of hardwood forests, bays, fishing coves, lighthouses, churches, & seafood. Lobster, today’s delicacy, is so abundant it was once considered cheap food only the poor would eat.

The capitol, Halifax, is a thriving commercial seaport with much history. The Citadel here is one of four that Britain depended on to keep the trade routes safe and free running. Most notably for us, it was the closest seaport to the Titanic disaster and they sent ships out to recover the bodies. There were 209 bodies taken to Halifax, which they numbered along with a description of clothing and effects, then eventually matched names to many of them. First class passengers were brought ashore in a casket, 2^nd & 3^rd were in canvas bags, and the crew on open stretchers. They used a Curling Rink for a temporary morgue. Fairview Lawn Cemetery is where 121 Titanic passengers are buried, in a curve shape to mimic a boat’s hull. This includes violinist John Law Hume, an unidentified baby whose headstone symbolizes the entire tragedy, and J. Dawson (who is not the Jack Dawson from the movie but people like to think that it is.) All gravestones say “Died April 15, 1912” and their ID#. Halifax citizens were so involved, they held church funeral services, determined that the victims would not be alone in their departure to the beyond. Also, the sailors from the rescue ships paid for the infant's grave themselves as they were so moved. All floating items found by these sailors were retrieved, not for money or for themselves, but in honor of the lost ship. These items are in a museum here.

We were impressed that there are so many brightly-painted, multicolored homes and shops, as you can see from some of our pictures, as well as bright color schemes in their Adirondack chairs, boats, and even the lobster pots. We especially enjoyed our stay at Peggy’s Cove. We rented a little house that was on a hill overlooking the ocean. It stood off by itself and had a view of the lighthouse, the cliffs, Atlantic Ocean, and town. Peggy’s Cove is a picturesque fishing village, often foggy, with probably the most-photographed lighthouse on the rocks and quaint fishing cove where tour buses pull up all day long. We visited many similar fishing villages and scenic coves all along the shore, but without the tour buses. The fishing industry is greatly diminished from overfishing. Timber and mining are also reduced in production. We were, however, surprised Nova Scotia is 4^th in film (television and movies) production in Canada.

Upcoming is the Bay of Fundy which has the largest tides in the world (over 50 feet change in height and ½ mile in length). Therefore it seemed like a good idea to open the first tidal power plant in 1984 at the Annapolis Royal. More on these tides in our next posting.