Sunday, July 13, 2014

"All vessels in distress are welcome in this harbor"

The tiny harbor, four lobster boats, had the usual blue and white Marine Nova Scotia sign with its long list of rules and regulations, fees and fines. At the bottom was a handwritten sign that read, "All vessels in distress are welcome in this harbor".
 
After entering Nova Scotia on Monday, we headed for the Northumberland Strait and settled for the night near the village of Pugwash. Our campground, on a high cliff overlooking the strait, had lots of wind and beautiful views. We used it as a base to explore the coast road as far as Pictou, stopping to walk the beaches and look for sea glass. In 2008 we caught the ferry from Prince Edward Island to Pictou on our way to Newfoundland so we had already been along that coast to Cape Breton Island. We especially enjoyed the Chatterbox Cafe in Pugwash. It is a combination deli, used bookstore, and hangout for the locals. When they made fun of us being from Sopchoppy, we told them they had no room to laugh.
On Wednesday we towed west to Truro and southwest  to Annapolis Royal using the limited access highways. They are not always four-laned but they do allow a faster speed and are usually in better repair than the secondary roads. We chose to stay at Fundy Trails Campground in Delaps Cove because we wanted to have good access to the coves and villages along the Shore Road on North Mountain.

North Mountain is the 100 mile long ridge that forms the north wall between the Bay of Fundy and the Annapolis Valley. It is a huge basalt ridge with palisades, coves, beaches, sea caves, and little villages grouped around small harbors. The Shore Road sort of runs along the crest but is narrow, often unpaved, and sometimes ends abruptly, forcing you to drive around looking for another road to continue. The coves may have a little harbor for four to six lobster boats and access to the Fundy shore.  Not only is this area stunning beautiful and surprisingly remote, but the rock hunting is wonderful.

Butch and I started here at Delaps Cove and worked our way north to Keatings Beach today. We met a young fisherman at Port Lorne who gave us directions to a beach we would never have dreamed of finding on our own. It had everything; a long cove with acres of deeply pebbled beach, a palisade of basalt columns, and sea caves with waterfalls. It was absolutely magical! We collected some great rocks, a little bit of sea glass, and took dozens of photos.

Delaps Cove, where we are staying is lovely too. It's little harbor has six lobster boats and we have enjoyed watching them come and go and visiting with the lobstermen. Last night we bought fresh lobsters and cooked them at our campsite. ($6 a pound). We plan to continue our exploration of the coves on the shore road tomorrow.
 
 

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