Taigh Mairi - House of Maria (Cape Breton Island)

View from the porch of the Taigh Mairi Bed & Breakfast. (click on any image to make it bigger) This one you can see a rainbow.

Ron Gow, owner of the B & B, is from Scotland. Along with his wife, Maria, they run the Inn together, yet this week she is visiting her pregnant daughter and has left him in-charge. Ron has prepared gourmet breakfast for us each day with fresh fruits, home-made jams and yogurt, french toasts, eggs benedict. The dining room table is set with European china and we have a tiny glass of Cape Breton breakfast juice (half and half cranberry and orange juice). The morning sun comes through the dining room window off of the bay creating a sparkle on the tea cups and silver. Not being a big fan of the concept of a B&B I have now completely changed my mind. We have great conversation over tea in the afternoon with the other guests and enjoy their travel stories at breakfast. It's a civilized way to see the world and meet interesting people along the way.

Codroy Valley - Newfoundland

This is the view I woke to at the Cape Anguille Lighthouse B & B. The Atlantic Ocean! Oddly enough I had a strange, creepy dream the last night I woke up here. Maybe the lighthouse is haunted. An eerie feeling stayed with me all day.
The Codroy Valley is a poor fishing village. The people live very simply off the ocean.
"You just won't understand,

Till you've been to Newfoundland!"

This little poem helps with the proper pronunciation of Newfoundland

The emphasis is very slightly on 'land' and it sounds like NewfinLAND
when the Newfies say it.

The only moose we have seen so far....stuffed in a museum. They are huge!
Sadly, the only Puffins I have seen are in the museum stuffed as well. Once mating season is over the puffins lose their colorful beak and disappear. One local lady even said - "I can't imagine me poor puffin without it's beak."
A few pictures from around the lighthouse.




A mile or so down the beach from the lighthouse I discover some ship wreckage that has probably been there for many years.
The lighthouse is off towards the left of this picture near the beach front. This is the little four room house next to the lighthouse where we slept.
I spent a lot of time walking the beach... This is not your typical tourist destination, yet a number of interesting guests came and went at the lighthouse.
The land is rugged and scrubby - rough bushes and stubby trees are a result of the salt air and harsh winters.
My final look at the ocean from the Newfoundland vantage point.

Gros Morne National Park - Newfoundland

The view of Bonny's Bay from the top...
Lighthouse on Lobster Cove - Newfoundland
The fjords...
This area is very interesting from a geological standpoint.
About the only place in the world where the earth mantle

has pushed it's way to the surface due to colliding continents.

The local boys of Norris Bay, Newfoundland checking the lobster traps
I hiked down, down, down to reach the beach of the Wild Cove
It was a breath-taking view

I ran across this sign about half way down....1560 what? Not kilometers...maybe feet??
Joe - the guy who spent some time in the wilds of Canada may be able to help me out.

Cape Anguille - Newfoundland

We stayed just three nights in the Codroy Valley of Newfoundland at Cape Anguille. The lighthouse sits on the western coast of the Atlantic Ocean. The people of Newfoundland (Newfies) are friendly and curious with travelers.

The only sound is from waves hitting the rocky beach. There are so few people here - no sounds of cars or voices. Occasionally you can hear a farmer working the fields or talking to the cows.

The lighthouse and attached B & B are have been completely renovated with beautiful hardwood floors, comfortable beds, hot shower and tea in the morning. The view from our window is of the Ocean. About the only thing you see is a passing ship or seal sunning itself on a rock.

This is what "peaceful" looks like!
The rocks are very slippery when wet so I had to be very cautious climbing down to the water.

I left a bit of my heart behind in Newfoundland. The people, the sunsets, the culture was unlike anything I had ever experienced. I don't trust 'first impressions' anymore as after a couple of days I really began to understand this way of life. It's so simple that it left a profound impact.

The trip across the Atlantic to Newfoundland

The MV Leif Erickson is a 500 person ferry.

The ship took us from North Sydney, Nova Scotia to Port aux Basques, Newfoundland

We wait in line to board our car.

Looking back into North Sydney from the top of the Leif Erickson
Saying goodbye to land
We are at sea... I spent the entire 6 hours on the top deck
whale watching and journaling. Watching the ocean for whales
is a bit like looking for a needle in a haystack. I was
fortunate enough to see three feeding spots and whales jumping
in the distance. I was in a state of euphoria for 6 hours
on the top of that ship. Most of the 300 passengers onboard
spent the time watching tv or listening to the live entertainment in the lounge
Many Newfoundlanders, especially truckdrivers make this trip weekly.
The Canadian flag is a reminder that Newfoundland is a providence of Canada.
My first glimpse of Port aux Basques

The landscape is barren and brown...at this point I am
wondering what we are doing here. Nova Scotia and Cape Breton Island
in particular, are so striking that this seems like a wasteland. To say this is
beautiful is too simply - it's only after you are slowly introduced to the
mountains and the rugged ocean shores do you truly appreciate this place.

Nova Scotia - tidal bores

The water slowly empties from the bay near Truros



It will take 8 hours before the water will fill back in.

Nova Scotia - the people

We have discovered that the locals in Nova Scotia are friendly, chatty and curious. In one day alone we met so many interesting people who were curious about our travels while talking in rapid-fire pace about their own families, lives and customs. Our first encounter was with a woman at the Alamo car rental who talked on and on about her father who won't use a telephone.

We couldn't resist the yard sales that seem to spring up in various places along our path. The brother/uncle of these ladies paints tree fungus...Yes, mold that grows on trees. Apparently he hikes in the woods, finds the fungus, cuts it off and then discovered a way to paint it. The kind of local Folk Art I love to find.





Mr. Gordon Boss has been tracking tides and tidal bores for 45 years! He is the self appointed 'welcome wagon' and shared personal stories, pictures and even a time sheet he made up himself as to when the tides would be coming in and out. He would say things like 'yesterday the tide was 8 minutes late). His grandchildren love to play in the muddy slick left behind by the out pouring of the water and then chase it back as it comes in. The water will rush back in at about 3 miles per hour. Fascinating phenomenon that I don't exactly understand.

Nova Scotia - Cape d'Or (Cape of Gold)

We spent most of the day inland in Nova Scotia and drove out to the Bay of Fundy this evening. It's about three hours from Truro and we were told it had a great view. We were not disappointed. The light at this hour of the day created a shimmering copper glow on the cliff and the bay sparkled.

The sun is splitting the rock - (means it is a beautiful day to a Nova Scotian)
Around 5:00 p.m. looking out onto the Bay of Fundy
The lighthouse behind me, I am facing east towards Halifax




The Cape d'Or Lighthouse

Established in 1922

The currents from the Minas Basin and the Bay of Fundy meet here.

It's only about a 2 minute walk down to the lighthouse, with a steep 10 minute walk back up.
I don't have children or animals with me to take pictures of....so thought I would take a picture of tree fungas painting I purchased at a yard sale today.