It’s Friday

By Peggy Walker, R.D.

It was nearly two in the afternoon when we started our drive around the famed Cabot Trail in northern Nova Scotia. Our time on that Monday was dictated by our 11 a.m. flight out of Halifax the next morning and Halifax was three hours south of where we were.

Our day started out in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island with an hour’s drive to the Northumberland Ferry on Wood Islands which would take us across the Northumberland Straight into Nova Scotia (NS).

The huge vessel held 200 vehicles and we had made reservations for the 9:30 a.m. trip so not to miss the boat.  The ferry ride took 75 minutes and we still had another two-plus hours’ drive to get to our intended destination on the eastern side of NS. We stopped for a quick sandwich and a fill-up and then a 20-minute delay at a drawbridge.

Finally, we arrived at Baddeck, NS, the recommended starting place on Cape Breton Island for the promised spectacular drive yet to come.

I knew our time would be tight, but being so close, we couldn’t not go, so we rushed.  DW was driving. Our rented ride was a roomy and comfortable Ford Flex. Friend Dennis rode shotgun and navigated.  We girls looked on from the back and tried not to be accused of being back-seat drivers. Luckily, the guys couldn’t hear our conversations.

The NS travel guide recommended at least one overnight stay for a “quick” two-day trip up to a week to do justice to the trail: stopping at all the overlooks; hiking some of the 26 trails; whale watching; exploring waterfalls, caves and beaches; soaking in the Gaelic and Acadian cultures; checking out local artisans; visiting the historic harbors and villages along the way ;and catching one of their famed sunsets. We could have spent our entire time just right there.

I knew we were in trouble at the first overlook when a friendly motorcyclist greeted us with “it only gets better.” He and his father, who were from Niagara Falls, were taking their second motorcycle trip around the drive and we encountered them several more times along the way.  He was right.

Nova Scotia means “the New Scotland” and the maritime province juts out in a north easterly direction into the Atlantic Ocean.  It’s here where the Cabot Trail makes a circle around the northern end of Cape Breton Island. The trail has been designated as the best scenic drive in Canada and the Cape Breton Highlands National Park as the Best National Park in Canada.

The 300-mile (186 km) drive was named after explorer John Cabot who landed, though, in what was probably Newfoundland, to the north, in 1497. The trail was made into a roadway in 1932.  And just as a side note, famed telephone inventor Alexander Graham Bell (AGB) died at his Cape Breton vacation home in 1922 and there are museums in NS dedicated to his world changing discovery. Born in Scotland, Bell moved to Canada before becoming a US citizen.

We took the counter-clockwise route so we could end with a beautiful sunset on the western coast. Little did we know, that this direction was recommended for “the brave driver” because for much of drive, there is hardly any shoulder on the passenger side with hairpin curves and steep, rocky cliffs and rugged terrain which fall off into the Atlantic Ocean.

But DW motored along just fine, not sure, though how much of the view he enjoyed.  And the views were just like our motorcycle friend promised, more dramatic as the road climbed higher, actually breathtaking….

From our lofty vantage point, I think we could surely see Newfoundland in the distance and we did see a whale, though it looked more like a dot on the blue water. Balsam and fir trees, wildflowers, and colorful rocks filled in along the route.

It was truly a beautiful sight to see.  And once on the western side of the Cape where our jaunt along the trail ended, we chased the sunset to capture the most beautifully appropriate picture to close out our trip.  We arrived in Halifax just before midnight, and left the next morning for home, happy we had not missed the Cabot Trail.

The four  of us recommend that you take the trip and take your time!  And to quote AGB who had seen the Canadian and American Rockies, the Andes, the Alps and the Scottish Highlands, “but for simple beauty, Cape Breton outrivals them all!”