2.10.18 Across Cape Breton to Meat Cove

The room at the Midtrail Motel in Pleasant Bay is 12 degrees when I get up at 7 am. I've been awake since 5:30 am and can't stop moving because of the cold. The salvation is the hot shower. We should have done that last night - then we might have slept better. We wouldn't have had dry towels today, but maybe we would have managed without a shower. In the bed next door, the person is wearing a woolen hat. The walls of the cabins are not insulated, nor is the sliding door to the balcony. You can't really live here anymore with these outside temperatures. However, the hotel is fully booked as many workers from the road construction site live here, some of whom have arrived with huge machinery.

We decline the offer of breakfast here because the small restaurant area where the reception desk is located smells so strongly of fryer oil that you wouldn't want to eat French fries here, let alone have breakfast, which is available here from 8 to 11 am.

At just after 8 am, we drive to the Mountain View Hotel, a kilometer down the road, and enjoy a warm dining area, warm oatmeal, a cinnamon raisin bagel, and hot coffee. The toilets in this restaurant are worth seeing. There is a ladies' toilet with two stalls, one of which only has a curtain that ends about 30 cm above the floor :-D.

At 9:30 am, we get in the car and drive back down the Cabot Trail - through the long construction site that delayed our arrival in Pleasant Bay yesterday. It was already so dim last night that you could only vaguely see the beautiful views of the coast and the bays. Shortly afterwards, we enjoy a magnificent panoramic view under a blue sky. The sun is laughing on this otherwise cold morning. With two fleece jackets, a hat, a scarf, and gloves, you stand in front of the car at the viewpoints and take pictures while enjoying the seat heating in the car. At around 11 am, we can start taking off our layers as it slowly becomes 'warm' at 12°C.

We drive past the parking lot of Benjie's Lake again, expecting to see tourists standing by their cars, visibly excited about a moose sighting. But there are no people there. We turn around and drive back to Pleasant Bay. This place - it has 150 inhabitants!! - consists of 1-2 closed restaurants, 2 accommodations that are still partially usable (our motel was only partially usable), and a few closed mini-shops and private houses at this time of year. That's why the entrance sign to the town that we pass is so amusing: 'Pleasant Bay - The Jewel of the Island'. For us, Pleasant Bay will always be associated with a large dose of irony as 'The Jewel' or the 'Jewel Hotel' describing our stay in Pleasant Bay until the end of this trip.

Nevertheless, Pleasant Bay is one of the hotspots for whale watching along the Cabot Trail, and even today, on this cold, sunny day in October, two providers offer tours at the small harbor. They charge around $45 per person for a trip. We start talking to one of the providers and learn that you now have to go at least 8-10 nautical miles out to possibly see a few larger whales. Only they are still here, but far out in the deeper, colder water. When we originally planned our trip in April of this year, we actually planned our overnight stay here because of the possibility of whale watching, but we have since discarded such a boat tour. Not only because of the low chance of sighting, but also because it would be too cold to sit on a (mostly open) boat for at least 3-4 hours in 12 degrees on the water in the wind.

So we leave the 'Jewel of the Island', hear an eagle scream without actually seeing it. Just past Pleasant Bay, the Cabot Trail now runs across Cape Breton to the east. Almost the entire route still belongs to the national park. We reach an altitude of 400 meters on the North Mountain, so it's not really mountainous here, because it doesn't go any higher. The road is easy to drive and well maintained. However, I can't imagine what it's like here in July when probably one RV after another drives around. Except for a few chipmunks and squirrels that sometimes race dangerously close to us across the road, we don't see any animals.

We are worried that the needle forest is completely gray in some places, as if the trees have died. A bleak image. On the other hand, the deciduous trees are becoming more and more colorful, and in the sun, some slopes sparkle in fantastic colors, from yellow to orange to bright red. Now, when the nights are cold, the foliage color begins to intensify.

We look out over the Aspy River Gorge, a 40 km long gorge that is believed to be an extension of the Appalachians. From up here, we can't see the small river, but we can see the hills' faults all around us, which drop down into the gorge. As far as the eye can see: forest!!

Today we cruise the Cabot Trail without any time pressure. The distance from Pleasant Bay to Dingwall, where we will stay in a bed & breakfast tonight, is only about 70 km. Therefore, we decide to drive up to Meat Cove. From the Cabot Trail, you turn left onto Bay St. Lawrence Road in Cape North and follow it on several curves along the pretty Aspy Bay and thinning settlements along a country road to the north. Instead of hills and deep forests, we now drive along water, marshland, and see small islands. In the distance, we make out tall chalk cliffs and a dramatic coastline. The last 8 km behind Capstick are gravel roads, which are easy to drive on today because it hasn't rained. You can maneuver around the individual potholes relatively well, and since there is hardly any oncoming traffic, it's no problem to use the other side of the track with a passenger car. Suddenly, a helicopter appears in front of us, carrying construction materials for a house being built on the hill above. What an effort to realize such a project in this remote corner.

We arrive in Meat Cove in glorious sunshine two hours after leaving Pleasant Bay and have only driven about 90 km so far. Curves, slow driving, the occasional stop for a photo - that was really nice today.

Meat Cove is the northernmost settlement in Nova Scotia. Apart from the Chowder House and the campground, there is nothing here. That's why it's not even a town. We look out over endless ocean, a fantastically beautiful bay, and the inviting Chowder House with a lovely terrace where a few people are slurping their soup or other dishes in the sun.

We order a seafood chowder ($14) and coffee, sit in the sun - and are bothered by some insects. Nevertheless, we stay here for quite a while, enjoy the view, and I envy the two or three campers a little who sleep and wake up on a lawn directly below the terrace with this view.

At 2 pm, we leave our lookout point and drive to Bay St. Lawrence, expecting a beautiful fishing village. But besides a few fishing boats, this place is simply bleak, which is probably due to the time of year. Is it busier here in the summer? We can't spot any shops or tourist facilities, visitor centers, or anything else that would make the place more lively in the summer.

Shortly afterwards, we are in Dingwall and check into the SeaBreezes Bed & Breakfast around 4 pm. Joanne shows us our room, the bathroom is down the hall and huge. The room is warm, bright, and after last night in this 'Jewel Hotel', we will definitely sleep well and cozy here. The house is quite new. More guests arrive with us, and we all take off our shoes at the entrance and walk around the house in our socks. Due to the location of the room on the 1st floor, we only take a few small things out of the suitcase and leave the large pieces of luggage in the trunk. The Coral Room has no TV, is lovingly furnished, and very clean. We briefly look into other rooms, which are really nicely decorated. Who needs a TV anyway? For $144, it's only $30 more expensive than the freezer we stayed in last night - and it's so beautiful and comes with breakfast.

At 4:30 pm, we are already back in the car as we want to drive a loop that will also take us to the Chowder House in Neils Harbour. Bad weather is expected for the next few days, and if we can still take in a few nice views now, we will do so. We can't do anything in the B&B anyway, except sit on the beds. And Dingwall is once again so small and almost everything is closed that there is nothing to do there either.

The so-called Coastal Loop begins a few kilometers south of Dingwall and follows the coast to White Point (via White Point Road) and on to Neil's Harbour. There is one of those typical lighthouses of Nova Scotia, square, white, and with a red roof. Right next to it, we spot the Chowder House. It's 5:30 pm as we stop here with the anticipation of a cozy, hearty fish dinner - only to find that they close in 30 minutes (at 6:00 pm). In front of the wooden shack, there is a large lawn with a few picnic tables. The location directly above a steeply sloping coastline is still beautiful, even as the sun slowly disappears. There is probably a lot of activity here in the summer, and it's likely open until later in the evening. The mention of the Chowder House in Neil's Harbour is not missing from any guidebook.

We quickly order a lobster club sandwich ($14), which goes down in history as one of the best meals we've had until we leave Canada. Wonderful! With fries, ketchup - these sins are heavenly!

We briefly talk to one of the waitresses and learn that the lobster season in Neil's Harbour ended on July 15 and that's why they can no longer serve a whole lobster. Depending on the region in NS, lobster fishing seasons vary. We will learn more about this later.

Just after 6 pm, we are back in the car and carefully drive along the Cabot Trail starting here towards Dingwall to the north. It is now getting dark, so you have to be careful not to hit a deer or a stag, and even worse, an elk. Joanne had already reported that an accident with an elk happened on this road last week. As drivers/passengers, we have hardly any chance with a car like ours. Accidents with elk often end fatally for people when such a 400-600 kilo colossus crashes into the windshield.

We are now much further north than a few days ago, so the sun sets at 6:40 pm. It is practically pitch dark by 7 pm. We briefly search for the lighthouse in Dingwall but end up on an unpaved road with a lot of holes that are hardly visible in the dark twilight, so we drive back onto the road and arrive at our accommodation just after 7 pm.

Secure pictures, write diary, turn off the light early. So wonderfully warm!