On to the Mainland

The suite in Ile aux Morts turned out to be quite nice....we even got to watch a bit of t.v., and caught up on laundry, while it poured rain outside. In the morning we headed into Port Aux Basques, to get some banking done, exchange the books we'd finished reading (at a used-book store), and even found a deal on a belt for Linda, as she seems to be losing a bit of weight, as well! The public library has good wifi, so we got caught up on internet news/email....but the blog wasn't nearly ready for upload, so we left that for a bit. Then, as the day turned bright and sunny,we explored out to the end of the road to the south, visiting the Rose Blanche area, with a very nice fishing village, a lighthouse (in and out of the fog), and a restaurant with a reputation for great seafood. So we had a fisherman's platter, a huge dish of seafood, which we were able to share and still feel completely full. Then a walk around the village, and back down the road we went.


Fishing Village Rose Blanche







The town of Burnt Island was another interesting small fishing village, and we stopped and walked around there for a bit. We took a turn off to visit the "Harvey Trail", and discovered the story of a local hero, George Harvey, who had settled in the area in the early 1800's. In 1827 he, his daughter, and his dog were able to save 166 people from a foundering ship offshore. Ten years later, he did the same thing, saving another twenty-some people (lots of rocks and fog and wind in the area, making shipwrecks a fairly common occurrence in the area. George had rowed out in a 12 foot dory, in near hurricane force winds to save nearly 200 people - quite an amazing accomlishment, and he is remembered here with a very nice trail named in his honour, and a celebration (this weekend) called "Harvey Days".



I'm demonstrating how small a 12 foot dory is!







It was impossible to get any updated information on the ferry problems, as the Atlantic Marine lines were totally clogged. We were able to renew our housekeeping suite for another night, so continued to have a roof over our heads. By 11Pm I was able to get an estimated time of departure for our 0830 ferry, now rescheduled for 1300. So we were able to sleep in a bit, and still get there in time for a check-in 2 hours prior to the ferry.
The following morning (Saturday, Aug 1) it was pouring buckets, and we were grateful for the roof again. We made the ferry terminal in time for our 11AM checkin, and then waited, as the ferry got delayed several times, and finally boarded at 1530, got underway at 1630. It was a smooth crossing, and we had a very nice visit enroute, with Bonnie and her husband Rollie Thornhill. The ferry tried to make up for lost time and made the run in 4 hours, so we were able to pick up a pizza in North Sydney and arrive at Zad's home in Sydney by 2200. We had a visit with Zad and hit the sack.
August 2 was a very sunny, hot day. After helping Zad organize his bbq to his porch, we headed out to Dairy Queen for a decadent lunch. Later in the afternoon, Dave and his wife Ann dropped in, and we enjoyed a wonderful Barbecue and a visit. I'd worked with both Zad and Dave at the Coast Guard College some 14 years previously, so we had lots of things to catch up on.
Monday morning was another misty, and rainy event, but we headed out bright and early, following the east side of Bras D'Or Lake to St. Peters and then crossing the Canso Causeway back off Cape Breton Island, and onto mainland Nova Scotia. We'd decided to stay off the main roads still, and headed along the Eastern Shore road, which winds along some very scenic pieces of geography - back and forth along inlets, some of them very rocky, others covered in trees or farms. Fog occasionally rolled in along the seashore, and added to the atmosphere. Just before arriving in the village of Canso, we discovered a dedication to Prince Henry Sinclair of Orkney, who'd apparently arrived here in 1398......almost 100 years before Columbus and John Cabot arrived in the New World. His story isn't well known, but apparently is well documented. He landed with 12 ships and 200 men, and explored into Massachussets and Rhode Island, as well as the Fundy coast of Nova Scotia. Who Knew?????
I found the story quite fascinating.

Story of Prince Henry Sinclair








We did stop at Canso for a visit to the historic site (Green Island), but with the rain, decided to press on a bit, so stopped for a lunch of chowder, and then continued along the scenic Eastern Shore. By 1600 it was time to find a campsite, and picked a quiet spot in Stillwater. Then into the neighbouring village of Sherbrook for a bit of dinner, and a hotspot for wifi. The Main Street Cafe had both, and while eating our dinner, we discovered via email that we'd forgotten our precious address book at Zad's. Our friend Ambi happened to be online, and we got his mailing address, and forwarded that on to Zad....so hopefully it will arrive there in New Brunswick by the time we get there. In the meantime, I'll be suffering the Evil Eye from Linda for leaving the book out. Surprisingly, we'd put in almost 400 Km today, so after a short hike around the campgrounds and lake, we hit the sack early.