Bay Saint Lawrence - Port Hood

The night the wind whistled over the motel perched on a hill, but it didn't bother me. It was more like a lullaby. When I wake up, the world unfolds in front of me in radiant sunshine. I have never stayed in a motel with such a phenomenal view. But also never this expensive. I make a pot of coffee from my water bottles, as the water is bacterially contaminated. I better take a bottle for brushing my teeth, and I'll skip the singing in the shower too.

Although it's hard for me to tear myself away from the view, the second part of the Cabot Trail lies ahead of me - and it's challenging. Yesterday I thought that it couldn't be surpassed, but today it goes even further. I can't count how many times I stopped and the pictures I'm posting here can only approximate what my eyes beheld. The beauty of this road is unique - and anyone who does it all in one day is doing something wrong. The night in between was just right. The soul can't absorb it all so quickly.

At 11.30, I take a lunch break at 'Rusty Anchor'. I sit outside on the terrace and treat myself to oysters and chowder. The oysters are small but incredibly tasty, and the best I've had so far was in Ireland. The chowder is a bit disappointing, but that is compensated by the place where I eat it. The menu is full of delicious treats - if I lived here, I would eat myself poor.

Even after the culinary break, the trail gives everything again, and images from the internet now open up before my own eyes. And even though there are more tourists at the numerous lookout points compared to yesterday, it's never crowded. I can't even imagine what it looks like here during the summer holidays.

After 5 hours of constant stopping and enjoying, the trail then becomes flatter and not as spectacular. It gives you the peace to process what you have seen while driving at a comfortable 80 km/h towards the goal, in my case Port Hood.

Just before reaching it, I pass by Glenora Distillery, the only place in Canada where Scottish single malt is distilled purely from malt. I'll skip the tour of the distillery, as I have already visited several distilleries in Scotland, and in the end, they all do the same thing. But admirable is the beautiful estate left behind by the founder Bruce Jardine, who died in 1999. A gem where you can also eat and stay overnight. I know someone with whom I would love to do that.

Port Hood is famous for its beaches, which you can walk on a wooden boardwalk. Tonight, I have them all to myself - there's no one here. And my lovely host Mary-Claire pointed out to me during check-in that the sunsets are particularly beautiful here. Mary-Claire didn't exaggerate.