Figuring out how to visit and tour the island of Cape Breton took a little research. Most of the population here is along the coastline, and there’s a scenic drive that circles the island.
Many people park their RV in one spot, then day trip along the Cabot Trail, which is what the scenic drive is called. Others tow their 5th wheel all the way along the trail, stopping along the way to explore. We made our final decision after talking with someone we met at Peggy’s Cove. He sat down with us with a map and gave us his opinions.
From Cheticamp on, the Trail gets very steep and windy. It’s not that we couldn’t tow it- we could, but it would be slow going, and not a lot of fun, plus we wouldn’t have been able to pull over if something caught our interest.
So, we drove as far as the town of Cheticamp, parked in an RV Park, and we have spent the last few days exploring the northern portion of the island.
The first thing I was anxious to do is hike so we headed to one of the most popular trails in Cape Breton Highlands National Park- the Skyline Trail. It’s about a 5 mile loop out to a scenic lookout.
The trail was fairly easy, without too much elevation gain. A lot of people don’t make the full loop-they hike out the “left” leg of the loop, which is the shortest and easiest path to the view, and then turn around.
We wanted to hike the whole thing anyway, and the ranger told us that the more difficult side is where the moose are- so that clinched it. And, luckily we were rewarded with a close up view of a female moose.
We spent the rest of the afternoon oohing and aaahing over the views along the trail.
Later in the day the wind was kicking up quite a bit and so were the waves. With the binoculars, we saw what looked like a small boat that was in trouble. The swells were big enough that the small Zodiac kept disappearing- and another boat was clearly making a beeline for it. When it got there though, the Zodiac took off, and we realized they were whale watch boats, stopped to look at whales.
We went down into Pleasant Bay harbor to watch the next boat head out. I don’t know, we’d have to be pretty desperate to go out on a small boat when the seas are that rough.
Another day, another hike. This time we hiked the Acadian Trail, which also ends with quite a view, but this time there was about 1000 feet of elevation gain to get to it.
After our hike we headed to Meat Cove, at the northern end of the island. There are a couple of small restaurants at the cove, and a beautiful beach. If I’d had my suit with me I would have gone for a swim. It was just hot enough to make the water look very inviting, especially since the water isn’t that cold.
This year is the 150th anniversary of the Antigonish Highland Games. Before I arrived in the town, I said Antigonish incorrectly. I pronounced it An-TI-gone-ish. It only took a day or two to pronounce it like a native. For my Boston friends, think in terms of Peabody. Not pronounced Pee-BAWDY, but PEE-budy, with barely a vowel sound. Well, Antigonish is pronounced Any-gu-NISH but its said very quickly, with no lingering on the vowels.
Two things about this post. First, I wrote it in a rush, because I have to take advantage of the Wi-Fi we have today, and second, there are several videos, but I put still shots for those who have limited bandwidth.
So, anyway, with that out of the way, the games officially opened Friday night. After the pomp and circumstance there was a concert and fireworks. The three day weekend was chock full of events to attend. You can buy tickets for one event, one day, or you can do what we did and buy the Passport, which let you into everything for the entire weekend.
We were glad we did it that way because we wouldn’t have gone to several things if we’d had to pay separately and we really would have missed out. As it is, we are completely exhausted, but we had one of the best times we’ve had in a long time.
After the fireworks, the action moved into the large tent, for the first of several ceilidhs. A ceilidh is a social gathering where they play Scottish or Irish music. It’s pronounced Kay-lee. This one was over the top!
We probably stayed later than we should have because we were really enjoying the music. Saturday morning we had to get up early and get back to Antigonish. The closest RV park we could get a spot in is about 30 minutes away and the parade started at 9 am.
This town is very proud of its Scottish heritage, and kilt wearing was the norm on this weekend. Even the cop directing traffic wore his kilt!
We managed to find a spot to park the beast and make it to Main Street in time. The parade was actually pretty good- with numerous piping bands and floats, it lasted quite a while.
The weather Saturday was perfect for being outdoors all day and watching competitions.
All day long the Highland Dance contest took place on the main stage. We could see that from the grandstands where we were watching the field events.
The athletes had the main field, where they competed to show off their physical abilities. Several new World Records were set this weekend.
The events included the 22 lb Hammer Toss. These guys twirl around several times before throwing the hammer as far as they can.
With the Farmer’s Walk, the contestants carry two tubes, each one weighing 204 lbs. They have to walk 100 feet down the track. Whoever has the fastest time wins. 7.8 seconds won that contest.
The 56 lb weight “for distance” is another contest. These guys spin around and toss a 56 lb weight as far as they can.
The most popular individual contest is the Caber Toss. A caber is basically a small tree trunk that weighs about 150 lbs. The idea is to run with the caber, and toss it so that it lands directly in front of you at a 12:00 position. It has to flip over, end over end, to count. There are only a handful of people who can actually do it
.
Here’s a video of someone actually flipping the caber:
My favorite athletic event was the Tug of War. There are men's teams and women's teams. The first thing they do is dig their trenches so they can dig their feet in, to keep from sliding.
When they first start, they lean back and almost casually pull on the rope. The announcer said it would be an 8 minute “pull”, with a 1 minute overtime if there is a tie. My first thought was, so, what, we watch them all lean back for 8 minutes??
After a few minutes I could start to see the strategies. They pull down low to put the opponents off balance, for instance.
They are pulling so hard they take a hand off the rope once in a while and slap it on their leg to get the circulation going again.
Then, at whatever moment the coach deems right, one team makes a move. They turn over and start trying to run away with the rope.
That’s where the real fun begins, and it was surprisingly interesting to watch. These girls were definitely working hard!
In the meantime, all morning, at the Piper’s Glen, the solo pipers and drummers were putting on their best show in front of a judge.
The glen is set up so that there are multiple small areas, surrounded by trees, where the contestants could play without being disturbed by other people’s music. We could wander around listening to whoever we wanted.
Saturday evening there was an original stage production, called The Ships of 1801, that was performed at the nearby college. We were going to pass on that, but found out it’s included in our ticket, so we ended up going.
We were really glad we did. The show was a musical about 4 ships that arrived in Nova Scotia from Scotland in 1801. The music did an awesome job of telling the story of why these people made the voyage, and what hardships they endured in order get a new start.
The show didn’t get out until about 10 pm, and there was another Ceilidh back at the games site. We were tired, but after last night’s great music, we wanted to check it out. This band (American Rogues) is one of the best we’ve heard in a long time, so we were definitely glad we got to hear them. We even bought their CD. That was another case of, if we’d had to pay separate, we wouldn’t have gone.
Sunday the weather was much hotter than Saturday, making it a not-so-comfortable day to be outside all day. The temperature topped out at over 90 degrees. When I went back for my second Slurpee of the day, the guy apologized that none of them were frozen anymore. The machines just couldn't keep up with the demands. Several vendors also ran out of cold water. There were tons of umbrellas in use to keep the sun away. We used ours as much as possible too.
In the afternoon the full piping bands competed in front of the judges. There are five grades, with Grade 1 being the highest. There was only one Grade 1 band in the competition, so I guess they weren't really competing, more like practicing.
In August they will head to Scotland to compete in the World Championship. They were incredible.
The final event was the Mass Band event. All the bands come to the field and play together. At that point the awards are given out. Afterwards there was another Ceilidh, but after a few minutes we decided we were done being hot, and left to go home.
With only a couple of days left in the Halifax area, we had to choose a couple of side trips to do because we can't do everything we want. We decided to get up, get moving early, take the bikes and head to Chester, where we can catch the ferry to Tancook Island. Its a great island for walking and biking, and we a overdue for some exercise. The first problem we had was when we realized Canada has a mandatory helmet law for bikers and we don't have helmets. Oh well, we figured we'd just walk the island then. We made it to Chester, but it took us a while to find a spot to park the Beast. Once we did, we were just in time to watch the ferry pull away from the dock, of course, so we walked over to check the schedule. Bad news. The next ferry isn't until 3:00. Bummer, but hey, it was ok because by now, problem number three, or is it four, was drizzling down upon us.
We opted to keep driving down the coast, and came to the town of Liverpool. Liverpool was home to the privateers of the 1700s, and was known for its shipbuilding. Its just a small town and doesn't have the ambiance of Lunenburg, but we decided to take the walking trail that circled the harbor.
After crossing the trestle bridge, we started hearing live music. We went to investigate and it turns out that Liverpool is also home to Hank Snow, and there's a museum here with his name on it. If you ever decide to come here, come on Wednesday. We arrived just in time for the free weekly BBQ and concert. We had already eaten but we enjoyed the music.
At this point we were so far down the coast we were close to Kejimkujik National Park, which we had knocked off our list because it was too far away and its really just a beach. But since we were this close anyway......
Its about a one mile hike to the beach from the parking lot and although the sun wasn't out, it had stopped drizzling, so we took the trail. The coast was beautiful and we got a chance to see the seals hanging out on the rocks offshore.
One of the things that I have noticed up here is the recycling. Canada puts the U.S. to shame when it comes to that. All the campgrounds recycle, and even in public areas where you would ordinarily just see trash barrels, there are bins for recycling. I noticed it on PEI and I thought they were so diligent there because its an island, but Nova Scotia is just as impressive.
Our last day in Halifax was a mixed day. Practical chores, like laundry and trailer washing, reared their ugly heads and we spent the morning taking care of mundane things. After lunch we headed again to Peggy’s Cove to get a better look at it. It is very similar to Rockport, but only has a few stores and one restaurant.
The boulders were fun to climb on, but only because the rain held off!
Many people park their RV in one spot, then day trip along the Cabot Trail, which is what the scenic drive is called. Others tow their 5th wheel all the way along the trail, stopping along the way to explore. We made our final decision after talking with someone we met at Peggy’s Cove. He sat down with us with a map and gave us his opinions. 
From Cheticamp on, the Trail gets very steep and windy. It’s not that we couldn’t tow it- we could, but it would be slow going, and not a lot of fun, plus we wouldn’t have been able to pull over if something caught our interest. 
We wanted to hike the whole thing anyway, and the ranger told us that the more difficult side is where the moose are- so that clinched it. And, luckily we were rewarded with a close up view of a female moose.
Another day, another hike. This time we hiked the Acadian Trail, which also ends with quite a view, but this time there was about 1000 feet of elevation gain to get to it. 
After our hike we headed to Meat Cove, at the northern end of the island. There are a couple of small restaurants at the cove, and a beautiful beach. If I’d had my suit with me I would have gone for a swim. It was just hot enough to make the water look very inviting, especially since the water isn’t that cold.
