Bay of Islands

Our second day in Newfoundland brought us to the town of Lark Harbor and Bottle Cove.

A well maintained trail brought us to the top of the cove and a beautiful view.

                        Captain Cook was here, but we did not see him today.

                                However, we did see a lot of nesting gulls--

                                         --and some very pretty flowers.

                                            Our night camp was far below.

                      We had a peaceful night in Bottle Cove as the fog came in.

Newfoundland Ferry

 We spent the night at the ferry terminal in North Sydney and were first in line to board this morning.

   With several cargo levels and much more passenger room, this is a much larger boat than the ones we used in Alaska.

Cargo trailers were being loaded throughout the night  and we parked right along side for the six hour ride.

With propane tanks off and the parking brake set , we went up to the lounge to enjoy the ride in foggy and rough seas.

   After landing at Channel-Port-aux Basques, Newfoundland, we headed to our night camp in a Provincial Park near Millville.  This is a nesting site for the endangered Piping Plover.

Piping Plovers only nest on sandy beaches, which are being destroyed and disturbed  by development and beach-goers.

 We learned that a storm here a week ago destroyed two of the three nests that were known.  There are also many nesting Common Terns here.

Newfoundland is known as “The Rock”, and that is basically what it is. In many areas there is little soil.

Power poles are often anchored to the ground in piles of rock supported by timbers. It is often very windy in this area, sometimes blowing large trucks and even railroad engines over.  We stopped to tie down our awning before continuing on.

 Our first impression of Newfoundland is wonderful.  Snow still on some mountains.  Roads are much better and the terrain is much more mountainous.

 It is much more mountainous than Nova Scotia.  Hopefully, we will find a part for our exhaust brake, which has not been working for over a month now.  We have not been able to find a part so far.

 Low clouds and heavy fog produced this very different “sunset”.

Fortress of Louisbourg

 Fortress Louisbourg is the largest reconstructed 18th century town in North America.  It took 25 years to complete, with scientific research  still ongoing. 

Excellent archived records and drawings in France gave exact details for  the village reconstruction.

 The village is very large and yet represents only 1/4 of the original buildings.

It is a fortified French colonial town that twice endured sieges by the British.

 A fort is a military stronghold, whereas a fortress is an actual town with some fortified protection.

  The French came here in 1713 after losing territory to the British in Newfoundland and Acadia.

 Based on a thriving fishing industry and trade, this site became France’s most important stronghold and seaport in what is now Atlantic Canada. 

Once again the re-enactors are excellent, bringing the sights and sounds of the 18th century alive. 

                              Homes, exhibits and gardens are all carefully displayed.

Visitors stroll the village streets and waterfront among the citizens of Louisbourg  as they bring life to this busy seaport of the past.

                     Today it is one of Canada’s most prominent national historic sites.

 We enjoyed an 18th century lunch at a village restaurant and had all our questions answered by our knowledgeable waitress.

Tomorrow we leave Ron and Betty as they continue on in Cape Breton Island and we take the short ferry to Newfoundland.  They are a wonderful couple, a delight to travel with and we will miss them, but as Betty says,"The world is round" and we will meet again somewhere in our travels.

We spent the night overlooking the ocean at Fort Petrie, an important site in both World Wars.

                To learn more about Louisbourg go to:  www.pc.gc.ca/louisbourg

Cape Breton Island

                            We left our night camp overlooking Chedobucto Bay--

--and followed the coastal road to the Canso Causeway where we left mainland Nova Scotia and began to cross to Cape Breton Island. 

 Cape Breton Island is part of the province of Nova Scotia .  The landscape and climate here has been compared to Scotland.  It reminds us of northern Michigan.  The coastal roads lead to small, remote fishing villages. 

 The interior is heavily forested, mostly pine, with low scrub bushes.  Roads are rough and pot-holed, as we found all over Nova Scotia.  There are several narrow bridges--

                                           --and a river to ferry across.

                             Lakes are every where, with few homes or villages to be seen.

                                        An occasional fishing boat is seen.

We stopped for the night near the lighthouse in the very small fishing community of Gabarus on Gabarus Bay.