Good things come to those who wait...

From beautiful Cape Breton, our path led us back to Truro. When we arrived, we were informed by Robert (the salesman) that the takeover of the camper van on Friday was on track, but we had to take care of insurance first. Friendly as Robert was, he had already inquired with his insurance company about who we could contact. The next morning, we headed out to quickly handle the insurance paperwork. However, after being presented with the outrageously expensive insurance offer, we spent half a day visiting other insurance agents in the area to find a cheaper insurance. As it turned out, no other insurance office was willing to sell us insurance. Without a residence in Canada and without a driver's license from Nova Scotia, it seemed impossible to get any help. So, we had no choice but to go back to the first insurance office and bite the bullet. After several inquiries, the insurance amount was finally lowered a bit, so it didn't hurt as much. We had to pay immediately, but credit cards were not accepted. We needed cash. Not so easy when almost all the ATMs in the city only accept Visa and we only have Mastercard. After roaming around for a while, we finally managed to find a Mastercard ATM and were able to deliver the money before the store closed.

After that, we headed back to Halifax, where we had to return the rental car on Thursday morning (if we had returned it in a different city, we would have had to pay double the rental price). Feeling energized from our continental breakfast at King's College (comparable to other university accommodations, but a bit tidier) - we were served some sticky muffins, a bagel, and a few toasts - we returned the car and embarked on our next mission. We still had to pay for the camper van and Robert wanted the payment in cash. Luckily, finding a Mastercard ATM in Halifax turned out to be very easy. When we had gathered a little over half of the amount, the ATMs informed us that we had exceeded our daily withdrawal limit. We had discussed our plans in detail with our bank in advance and had increased the limits, so we assumed that there must be a daily withdrawal limit. We planned to withdraw the rest the next day. So, we had the opportunity to explore Halifax a bit more. After a tour of the city, starting with the waterfront with nice restaurants, pubs, and small shops, then through the hilly downtown area, and finally up to the Citadel (a remnants of the military), we took the bus back to Truro in the afternoon.

Then came Friday. The day of the takeover. Robert kindly picked us up at our reliable accommodation in Truro and drove us to the bank where we wanted to withdraw the remaining money. Unfortunately, the ATM still displayed the same message as the day before. Another ATM also rejected our request. During a phone call with our bank in Germany, we learned that there is indeed a limit for cash withdrawals... but it is for a month, not for a day as we thought. We were told that this limit could not be increased. Hmm, what now? We explained our situation to Robert and discussed the possibility of an online transfer. Since Robert had no idea about such things, he wanted to discuss everything with his bank first. When he arrived there, a bank employee confirmed to him that online transfers are indeed secure. He was convinced, so we went to get our laptop and our TAN generators because he wanted to make the transaction at the bank. Back at the bank, we were greeted by a different bank employee who wanted to speak with Robert alone. Afterwards, she asked us for a conversation in which she informed us that she had advised Robert against an online transfer for his protection because he would have to wait too long for his money. It was a blow. From the seller's point of view, it was completely understandable, but for us, it was just awful. If everything fell through now? After all, we had already arranged everything around this vehicle, made a down payment, and paid for that stupid insurance. Feeling quite stressed (it was already afternoon and we hadn't eaten anything yet), we went through all possibilities. A few phone calls later, we got our salvation. We managed to get the required amount of cash after all and could now officially take over the camper van at the registration office. Completely relieved, we prepared ourselves for the journey after a short briefing from Robert (poor guy, it seems he had imagined everything differently).

Finally... after a quick snack and getting some basic supplies in our Trudy (that's what we named our camper van on the fly), we set off to the west. Our first destination was Hopewell Rocks National Park. However, we spent the first night in our Trudy more or less sleepless at a rest area on the highway next to trucks that kept their engines running all night. When we arrived at Hopewell Rocks, we took some rest first and then explored the national park with renewed energy. It is located on the Bay of Fundy, known for its strong tides. During low tide, numerous exposed rocks are revealed, which display impressive rock formations (some referred to by sailors as women with hats or flower pots). Unfortunately, due to this sight, the national park is very touristy, but still worth seeing.

From Hopewell Rocks, we continued to Fundy National Park, where we struggled a bit to find a place to sleep. On Sunday morning, we first took a smaller trail where we met a group of super nice and still very fit Canadians, who even shared their provisions with us despite their age. After that, we had a general washing session (long live free drinking water). Driving away, sparkling clean, we continued to Fredericton, the capital of New Brunswick, where we treated ourselves to a birthday dinner to celebrate the day.