Just on the other side of the Canso Causeway in Nova Scotia was a beautiful visitors welcome center. Although it was closed for the evening, its parking lot provided a great water view with the full “Welcome to Nova Scotia”  rainbow and the fierce incoming storm as a backdrop. “William batten down the hatches while I make us a light late dinner!”. What a view ☺  These two storm chasers sat quietly eating dinner while the rain and wind swirled around Betsy.  We would have happily settled here for the night but the lack of washroom facilities put us into hunt mode. The small McDonalds up the street filled the washroom and Wi-Fi void as we lowered the bed for the night while Betsy continued to enjoy natures best car wash.

Day 3 – June 27, 2016

Now that we are well rested the first order of business today was hitting up the Tim Horton’s for fuel……to clarify,  not Betsy fuel but William’s fuel of choice! We are excited to explore the well-known Cape Breton’s Cabot Trail.

Riding along the western coastline enjoying the sandstone rock formations, the view of the open blue waters, windows down, sun shining we stumbled upon a small little cafe called the Dancing Goat.  In the middle of nowhere the parking lot of this café was packed with people quickly bustling in and out. Stop the car William!

The Gypsy decided to treat this duo to a good old fashion breakfast. Guess she was a bit tired of instant oatmeal. Bacon and Eggs all around! The food, service and ambiance was fantastic. If you are ever in the area please be certain to check it out. P.S. They sell homemade TREATS!

Treats in hand the hunt for the remote Egypt Falls ensued. Armed with only the latitude and longitude we ended up on an isolated dirt road and we noticed a little hand written cardboard sign that said “Egypt Falls”. We found it! One catch the very large sign next to it that clearly said DANGER ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK – Private Property. The gypsy was a bit nervous about this quest (she feels she is just too cute to go to jail) but with a bit of coxing, we were happily heading down the steep incline directly towards the loud sound of the rushing water. Everything was okay until we hit a steep cliff edge with a one foot ledge that was only equipped with old tattered ropes tied to the trees to keep us from falling off. The gypsy kindly reminded William that he is NOT her life insurance beneficiary as she nervously proceeded.

Once at the bottom the view was breathtaking.  We were directly at the base of a 60’ wide waterfall falling some 25’ overhead.  The cool spray from the falls was dancing off our tired but happy faces.

We were completely alone which added to the mystical feel of the experience. All to ourselves we sat and just enjoyed being surrounded by rushing water and the tranquility of the moment.  If the water wasn’t so frigid we would have taken a dip or maybe even jumped off the top of the falls into the plunge pool.

Then as we were ready to go reality set in. The hike back up, who are we kidding it was more like a climb.  

We couldn’t begin to describe the comical events that occurred while tackling the steep incline up. Note to fellow hikers, two nomads cannot be climbing on the same section of rope while tackling said incline….OOOPPS!

 

Further up the Cabot Trail an irresistible scenario presented itself and William just had to climb down the sloped rock face and place his toes in the Atlantic Ocean, just to say he did it.

Now that William was done playing in the water it was time to visit the Skyline Trail. This trail came highly recommended by pretty much everyone, so we had to see it for ourselves. When we approached the head of the trail there were two options to choose from, the straight direct route or the scenic long route with three extra viewing areas. Well we picked the 9.6 km scenic route with the three extra views. Who wouldn’t!!

Well lets just say that after walking 6 km and not seeing much of anything except for trees and grassed covered hills we slowly came to terms with the fact we chose wrong…lol . We finally reached the main scenic lookout and we were both exhausted.   Knowing we still had another 3.6 km to hike to get back to Betsy, we took a quick look, rested, and then started back at it.

We finally made it back to the head of trails and gave a bit of advice to another couple standing there thinking about taking the scenic route.  We were hot, tired and bit disappointed by all the hype of this trail, but that was all forgotten when we ran into a real MOOSE!!

Standing just a few feet off of the trail in front of us was a large moose eating in the grass. This was another first for us and we needed to get a picture. Making sure not to to disturb the moose, we snapped a shot and got out of its way.

After a long day of hiking and sightseeing these two nomads needed to replenish their food and ice supply, driving along we came across a local Co-op. Replenish COMPLETE! Next mission, what’s that smell??? Yup time to find a campsite, end of day 3 and we both needed a shower and to do laundry. A quick search on the internet told us we were close to the Hideaway Campground & Oyster Market. The Campground was perfect! Clean showers with WARM water and a water view to sleep by.

By the way, the screens we made for the front windows of Betsy worked great at keeping the bugs out and letting the fresh air in.

Day 4 – June 28, 2016

The next morning we packed up Betsy early, took a quick second warm shower and hit the Cabot Trail running. We stopped at a lookout point called Green Cove.

The rocks were formed from molten lava from beneath the earth’s crust and cooled in rounded mounds. What a great place to sit and have breakfast. The fishing boats were checking the lobster traps while we sipped our hot tea and pringles.

Our next stop was the Mary Anne falls. Mary Anne waterfall is located some 7km into the bush along a winding dirt road. While on route we were blessed with a live sighting of Laura’s spirit animal; the majestic owl.  Laura equipped with her camera just had to capture the essence of her magical creature on film but the soul staring owl made it difficult for this gypsy to focus. What am amazing experience. The first wild owl sighting for either of these two world travellers will never be forgotten.

Once at the falls the engineer insisted that we needed to get a closer view and that we could walk across the water with the help of a few rocks. Shoes off and pant legs rolled we skipped across the rocks and we were enjoying a fantastic view of the Mary Ann falls. Mission accomplished!

Time to enjoy another little slice of hidden heaven…enter The Bean Barn Café located on the east side of the Cabot Trail. We pulled in and the place was packed, surrounded by everything from very large bikers to young families we waited in line for a coffee, chai-tea latte and a few baked treats. Sitting outside on the patio we enjoyed the best “whoopee pie” and date square ever as we decided Halifax was calling our names.

On the road heading towards Halifax and it was time for lunch. We pulled off at the very next exit called Big Cove Road. We followed to road around the curves and it lead us to a private entrance to a YMCA camp which appeared to be closed. A perfect spot to set up camp and enjoy a peaceful mid-afternoon lunch, Betsy’s doors open waterside.

We all have family scattered around the world and William is no different. William has an Uncle Louis living in Halifax, who we needed to stop in and say hi too. So day four ends with a great family visit, homemade dinner and another hot shower.

Day 5 – June 29, 2016

Up early as always and eager to get back on the road, this traveling duo said their goodbyes and headed into Halifax. It was a foggy morning with a light mist of rain, which we learned was the perfect setting to explore a harbour.

First order of official business after we crossed the Halifax Bridge and started to explore the harbour was coffee, tea and a meat croissant at Two by the Sea Cafe.

It was early and still raining lightly so the harbour was relatively quiet during our adventure. We should clarify…quiet except for the fog horns! With all the restaurants and vendors one could easily see how the pier could be a very happening place on a warm summer evening.

The Maritime Museum is located right along the waterfront and came highly recommended.  As we took in the exhibits we noticed the display titled “The Great Fire of Halifax”…we both looked at each other and said “what fire??”.  Sadly neither of us knew anything about this Canadian tragedy. The museum also hosts great displays in honour of Franklin’s Arctic Expeditions, the history of the steam engine and the Titanic.

Unbeknownst to us there was a local cemetery where the recovered bodies of the ill-fated Titanic are buried.

The Cemetery itself is very large but the Titanic grave memorial was very simple and elegant to respect the memory of the people who died during this horrific disaster.

The next spot on our map was Peggy’s Cove. Not really sure what to expect since it made the list as a recommendation from the bank teller in Windsor just before we left on our trip.

Peggy’s cove is a small fishing village with its own lighthouse and many local artisan shops. Classic east coast feel. The cove itself was created from molten lava coming up from the earth’s crust and cooling rapidly forming mounds and hills of solid rock. Beautiful to walk on and look at but it is very dangerous due to unexpected waves crashing on the rocks with enough force to sweep you out into the cove. Stay off the black rocks William!

Back to Betsy and we quickly realized that with all the travelling under our feet Betsy was starting to look a bit messy. A quick stop at a local carwash was a must. We rearranged the inside of Betsy and gave her a good old vacuum cleaning from head to toe. Much Better!

With our visit to Nova Scotia coming to an end we decided to turn our sights towards Prince Edward Island. Back on the highway heading towards the island we stumbled across this beautiful east coast fishing village. Couldn’t ask for a more vibrant ending to this beautiful Canadian province.

Stay tuned for more Maritime adventures as we cross the Northumberland Strait to explore the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island.