Menu
At last, the wind had died during the night. The temperature was a bit cool but in the sun it was perfect. We had a fully packed day today with our whaling tour at 4:30pm for 2.5 hours, dinner reservations at L’Abri in Chéticamp at 8:30pm.
We started our day after having breakfast in our cottage. Our plan was to tour the East side of the Cabot Trail and then drive back to our cottage from the West side – that is, doing the entire loop of the Cabot Trail.
We started the Cabot Trail on the South-East side to join the East side of the Trail at Baddeck. The drive was very pleasant even though there were not as many ocean views as on the West side of the Cabot Trail. However, it was still a diverse scenery, driving through forests with vistas of the Atlantic Ocean from time to time.
Since it was a federal holiday today in Canada (due to the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II), a lot of places (and restaurants!) were closed. We finally found a local restaurant called Chowder House by a lighthouse in Neils Harbour. We were not the only ones there as other tourists were also looking for a lunch place.
The weather was becoming more ominous – dark clouds – and unfortunately, our whaling tour was cancelled once more (still a bit too windy on the ocean? Not enough people?) and we couldn’t rebook it on account of leaving the next day. Too bad that the weather (we heard that it might rain in the afternoon) was not cooperating as we were really looking forward to seeing some whales – a popular place to actually see whales fairly close. Another time, I suppose.
After lunch, we explored Neils Harbour as it was a tiny, picturesque fishing village. We took some photos of the lighthouse and walked on the port that was deserted. The lobster season was on a hiatus and will resume in November.
We drove back to the edge of Neils Harbour to do a short hike to a sandy-rocky beach. The hike was part of the Coastal Trail but we couldn’t go past the beach due to fallen trees on the trail.
From the Coastal Trail, we had beautiful viewpoints and the light was constantly changing as the clouds flew across the sky. It was becoming windier. A good thing we wouldn’t be on a boat this afternoon… it would have been way too unstable.
Click on the first photo to view each photo as a slide show
We then continued our journey North on the Cabot Trail through Cape Breton Highlands National Park. But before leaving the Park, we had enough time for another short hike called the Buttereau.
The trail goes through a spruce forest, old fields and foundation ruins on a “buttereau” (small hill) overlooking the Chéticamp River and Gulf of St. Lawrence. Wildflowers, trees and shrubs have invaded these pastures that were once tilled by the Acadian pioneers. Along the trail, there are several plaques that explain the history of the former Acadian homesteads. It was a very pleasant and informative hike.
We continued back to our cottage stopping at l’Abri restaurant in Chéticamp. We asked if they could take us for dinner now (it was 6:00pm) instead of 8:30pm. They were able to accommodate us and we had an earlier dinner than planned. A good thing since Cheticamp is 30 minutes away from our cottage.
Back our cottage we chilled, getting caught up with our photos but the Internet was so slow that there was no point for me to do any blogging. Another very good day… we both fell asleep very fast.
© 2022 Voyage bien. All Rights Reserved
Website development – Profit Web Ideas