Cape Breton

Sunday:

No one can claim that we are here on a luxury vacation ;). After a night at Dalhousie University here in Truro, we were brought back down to earth. The room had the charm of the 70s and smelled accordingly. Washing facilities and toilets were found in the hallway. Here in Canada, there are often no separate toilets and washing facilities for genders. However, a fun fact is that the urinals in the men's toilets were enclosed with a wooden partition, while in the unisex toilets, the urinals were directly next to the sinks... Women will surely enjoy seeing fit men's bottoms while washing their hands.

After we had sorted ourselves out a bit and stocked up on food for the day, we headed to Cape Breton. We hoped that this would be the highlight of Nova Scotia and we would not be disappointed. After about 150 km, we reached Cape Breton, a huge island connected to the mainland by a 700 m long causeway. The nature on Cape Breton changed suddenly. It became hilly and one could notice the sheer abundance of water. After about 20 km, you reach Lac d'Or. This lake accompanies you with its arms along the way before you reach the Cabot Trail. The Cabot Trail winds 300 km along the northern part of Cape Breton's mountainous landscape.

A brief stop was made at the North River Wilderness Area. We didn't just want to sit on our butts, so we took a short trail that led along the south side of a wooded mountain. The path was not very spectacular, except that after about 5 km we couldn't go any further because the path was blocked by a destroyed bridge. However, we now had a wild and romantic mountain stream in front of us.

The rest of the way followed along the breathtaking coastline. Here, you drive alternately along the sea and on cliffs over 300 m high. The scenery is accordingly spectacular. We even had the cheeky luck to be accompanied by the low-standing sun, which conjured beautiful colors into nature. The remnants of snow from the last winter also sparkled in the sun. The climate here is a bit cooler. We chose our destination, Ingonish, without any prior knowledge on the map. A direct hit!!! Two bays, mountains, beach, sunset, what more could you want. However, in the evening it got quite cold. The cold front for the next day was announced.

Monday:

We were now able to experience Cape Breton's abundance of water firsthand. Water from all sides: front, back, top, bottom. What are we doing here? The sky opened its floodgates at 3 degrees. And we had plans to hike on a trail in the mountains. It took a bit of convincing until all participants of the trip were convinced of the plan, but then we were ready to go. In short, we took a very beautiful path, but we did not have a view in the distance. It poured down, it was cold, the fog became denser and in the end we quickly walked back to the car. Nevertheless, we had our fun. Now we just wanted to quickly get to the hostel for the next night.

However, the Cabot Trail is so beautiful that this plan was abandoned. On the way to the accommodation, we had to take a short trail, including a climbing passage, to a beautiful but not spectacular waterfall. The path then led us further to Pleasent Bay. Here we booked two beds in a 10-person dormitory. The hostel is located directly on the Cabot Trail. When we arrived, we were greeted by a better wooden partition. However, after a first inspection, the hostel turned out to be a really cute gem. It had two small, Spartan kitchens, several common rooms, etc. Since the hostel had opened for the season on our arrival and the demand was accordingly low (we were only three people), we were upgraded to a private room for an additional fee of two proud dollars, so that we could sleep in a small double bed.

Tuesday:

The next day, we wanted to be back in Truro in the evening. Unfortunately, this had logistical reasons. We would have loved to stay longer in the most beautiful corner of Nova Scotia. On the way south, there were two more worthwhile trails that we wanted to hike. Unfortunately, the weather still didn't play along. Showers of rain alternated with thick fog, with visibility sometimes dropping below 20 m. Fortunately, the fog cleared for 5 minutes when we stood on a lookout platform 300 m above the sea. After taking a few pictures, the fog rolled in again and the entire return trip was characterized by a ghostly white.

Since we didn't want to push our luck and the weather was getting worse rather than better, we cancelled the second trail. The drive back to Truro became somewhat less time-critical as a result.

We can only partially recommend a trip to Nova Scotia. The coastline is nice to look at, but whether you have to fly here for it is another story. The inland is relatively boring. However, the Cabot Trail and the Cape Breton Highlands National Park are absolutely worth seeing and very beautiful.