July 11 - Halifax, NS to Whycocomagh, NS - 275 miles

Yes, it is a Cape Bretton Island, Nova Scotia, native name that means "Headwaters of the Great Island" (or something like that).  And it was our destination today.  It actually sits beside the biggest salt water lake in Nova Scotia (and that really says something, since there are many big ones).

We started from Halifax in heavy fog, and it was relatively cold (60^oF or so).  Getting through Halifax, a city of 115,000, at morning rush hour, and over a toll bridge, was pretty tough.  However, we made it, with no scrapes or bangs.

We took the "Eastern Shore" road, so that we could see as much of the shoreline as possible.  The only problem was that it was so foggy we had visibility of only 200 yards to a quarter mile most of the time, and up to a half mile infrequently.  This lasted for about 175 of the 275 miles we traveled today.

However, we could see some of the detail of the many, many inlets from the larger bays on the Eastern Shore.  It was still pretty and rugged sea shore, mostly rocky, with the tree line coming right down to the water.  There were numerous pretty rivers and creeks that emptied into the inlets.

These inlets are harbors to lots of fishing boats, and also are home to quite spread-out fish processing businesses to go along with the fishing boats.  There were several places with lobster traps and their bobbers set out, and one place which was a "farm" for mussels and clams.  One of the fisherman from a past life took pity on Norm and let him sit in the boat.

The most fun and unexpected part of the day was when we had to take a small cable ferry. 

We were going along the coast road when we saw a sign about a ferry.  When we stopped and looked at our maps, we said "Uh-Oh there is a little gap in the line for the road we are on, and it looks like that is the ferry.   Shall we take the chance that it will be operating today?  If not we'll have gone 40 miles out of our way."  We decided to chance it, and were rewarded with a small ferry that took us across a one-half mile wide inlet.  The background in the photo is just what it looks like - fog that was thick enough that we couldn't see across the one-mile inlet.  However, since it was a cable ferry, the fog didn't bother the ferry operator.

Then, after most of the day in the fog, we hit the northeast area of Nova Scotia, and the day turned perfect - sun and broken clouds.  The larger bays in that part of the Nova Scotia peninsula were absolutely beautiful in the sunlight.  We wished we had had similar light down the coast, but we had seen lots of scenic views anyway, so we were satisfied.

Tomorrow we'll ride the famous "Cabot Trail", and see what makes it so famous.

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