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August is supposed to have the best weather in Nova Scotia but as we heard wherever we went, this year was exceptional…cloudy, wet, and cool instead of sunny and warm. An unusual weather pattern of low pressure over New England was dousing us in northeasterly winds rather than the warmer southwestern breezes that would typically be associated with a high pressure over the North Atlantic. Having been delayed in our departure from Halifax, we didn’t have time to sail around the northern coast of Cape Breton and get the lads back to the airport, so we decided to visit the spectacular Cape Breton Highlands National Park by road rather than sea. We had tried unsuccessfully to rent a car when we were in Halifax and when we also tried in Baddeck, it appeared that both rental cars in the whole of Nova Scotia were booked out for the summer! Instead we signed up for a tour of the Cabot Trail with Bannockburn Discovery Tours and this turned out to be a good decision. We shared our van with just one other passenger, Eugene, a teacher of English and Drama in London, who was an entertaining and interesting companion. Having learned Gaelic in his youth in Ireland, Eugene was fascinated by the Gaelic on the sign posts in eastern Cape Breton (French on the western shore) and he pronounced and translated some of them for us.

Our driver, Walter, a native of Cape Breton provided us with many excellent stories of the area and patiently answered our endless questions. Somewhat predictably, the clouds were low over the eastern coast and we had to enjoy what views we could in gaps between the fog. But we did see the place where John Cabot supposedly made first landfall in North America in June 1497 having left Bristol, England with a crew of just 18. As we passed across the northern edge of the National Park over the highlands that are reminiscent of Scotland, it (also reminiscently) poured with rain. But on arrival at the west coast of the island we were rewarded with bright sunshine and the clearest skies we saw for many days. The impressive views of the coast overlooking the Gulf of St. Lawrence were just as breathtaking as promised and we were grateful for the timely break in the weather. Our return to the gloomy skies over Baddeck was punctuated by the inevitable stop at a gift store in Chéticamp (a French-speaking community where highly decorative hooked-rugs are traditional) and a bizarre "Scarecrow Village" (a large circle of dressed scarecrows with celebrity or grotesque masks) which I found positively creepy.

Sunday was another grey day but we took a guided kayak tour of Kidston Island (which is not distinguished on Google maps but shows up on the satellite image) which protects the Baddeck waterfront and got a good view of one of the bald eagle nests. Although we were all fairly experienced with kayaks, our informative guide, Paul, gave us good instruction on how to paddle with minimal effort and to use the rudders on the sea kayaks. During our circumnavigation we got good views of the huge Alexander Graham Bell summer home across the bay and the museum dedicated to him in town. We spent part of the afternoon visiting the latter and learned not only that Bell was a prodigious inventor of many things besides the telephone (responsible for the first powered, manned flight in the British Empire on the frozen Baddeck Bay and a record-breaking hydrofoil boat) but appeared to also be a very kind, loving family man, a good neighbor, and champion for the deaf. Baddeck, which is celebrating its centennial in 2008, is clearly and justifiably proud of this founding citizen.

Thomas and Roger treated us to a delicious dinner out that evening and on Monday morning we took them in the inflatable to the bus stop two miles west of town to catch their bus back to Halifax airport. They had long wait for the their flight in Halifax but were going to spend a day in Iceland on their way home. We had thoroughly enjoyed their stay and as perfect, uncomplaining but fully participatory guests, they have set a high standard for future visitors! The rest of Monday and Tuesday were drizzly and good for getting groceries, doing laundry, and generally relaxing as we plan our next move. As always, this will be weather dependent but we’ll probably spend the rest of August in Nova Scotia then head back south towards Boston through September and aim to be around Cape Cod in October…