We took the ferry from PEI to Nova Scotia and drove on up to Cape Breton where we had a hotel booked for the night. We knew it was going to be a rainy day so decided to make the best of it on our first day on Cape Breton by not sleeping in the van in the rain. It turned out to be a good call as the place we booked, Hunter’s Mountain Chalets, was a gem! Our host’s parents had built it on the hills outside of Baddeck with a cabin-in-the-alps kind of feel. Our spacious accommodations included a kitchen and living room, so we were able to spread out a bit – a nice change of pace for us! The view from our room was just lovely and we really appreciated the giant king sized bed. Deluxe!
Once settled, we enjoyed cooking dinner like normal people before heading over to the little town of Bedeck, where we had heard they have a Ceilidh (pronounced Kay-lee) every night. This is a gathering where you get to hear some authentic Cape Breton fiddling. As it was a week night, we assumed that this gathering wouldn’t be too busy, but as we pulled up to the little church hall it is held in, we found that it was sold out!!! What??? Disappointed, we took a little stroll through the town, enjoying the evening which had finally cleared out and was nice and warm. Stopping in at a little Gaelic shop that was open, we chatted with the salesperson, telling her of our woes. She asked where we were headed next and when we told her we were going to the west side of Cape Breton, she recommended that we stop over in the town of Mabou to take in some seriously good fiddling at the Red Shoe. This little restaurant is owned by the Rankin Sisters, who are part of a very well known Cape Breton musical family. It turned out that on Friday night, the former premier of the province would be playing. We asked if he was any good and after first telling us that she didn’t like his politics, she said he was a very good fiddler. Well, that gave us something to look forward to. We thanked her and headed back to our little mountain getaway for a good night’s rest.
In the morning, we drove northwest along the famous Cabot Trail. One of our original intentions was to cycle this trail as it is one of the premier cycling destinations in North America, according to many sources. However, as we drove along, we were disturbed to find that there was virtually no shoulder along the narrow winding road that makes up the Cabot Trail on this side of the island. There was a fair bit of large vehicle traffic coming and going as well, which made us realize that this particular dream would not be fulfilled – at least not on this trip. Thankfully, we had also learned that there is a nice 95 km mixed use trail going from Inverness to Port Hawkesbury. This would give us something to cycle on while on Cape Breton and made it much easier to give up on cycling the Cabot Trail (more on that later). Today’s destination was Cape Breton Highlands National Park where we hoped to get in some hiking. The drive up was beautiful and we stopped frequently to take pictures of the stunning coastline. The coast here is much more like the Pacific Coast – rocky and rough, making for some great pictures of waves crashing over them.
We enjoyed a brief stop at the Frog Pond Café where we got to sample some Scotch Oat cakes. It is interesting to see how much influence the Scottish people who moved here have had on the culture of Cape Breton. In addition, the little town we were in, Cheticamp, is also home to a thriving French culture, making this a very interesting place to check out.
Our snack stop over, we drove up to the park and booked into a camp spot for the night. Sometimes it is nice to have a picnic table and bathrooms nearby, and this place had showers as well, so bonus! As we were leaving the Visitor’s Centre, we noticed a sign for the Skyline hike at sundown. This was the hike we were most interested in doing as it it high up on the escarpment and open to what looks like a fantastic view of the ocean. The weather had been changing and we were hoping to to the hike the next morning, but right at this time, it seemed to be learning and the thought of catching the sun doing down from that view really struck us as a good idea. The park offered a guided walk and we decided to sign up for it as not only would we get the great view, but some insight into the park as well.
That decision made, we found our camp site and made an early dinner, knowing that we would have to be up at the beginning of the hike at 5:40. Unfortunately for us, we found that our camp spot was REALLY buggy and we ended up eating in the van – oh well! They still had nice showers! At 5:00 we drove out and up up up to the head of the Skyline Trail. When we arrived, of course, the weather had taken another turn and it looked as if we might get drenched while on the hike. It was pretty cold and windy up there so we made sure to bring extra layers before heading out with our park guide, a very informative young woman who reminded me of my own Annie – so knowledgeable in interesting to listen to. As we walked along in our group, we stopped to talk about the Canadian Boreal forest, of which this park is part. It was interesting to learn about what types of vegetation grown here and of the reintroduction of moose into the area some years back. This has been a trial and error process, with the small heard of moose quickly ballooning from a few hundred to five thousand in just a few short years, due to the lack of predators. And of course, with the overpopulation of moose came over feeding and loss of important habitat. So, the solution that they came to was to have limited hunting in the area until such time as the moose population returned to a more sustainable level. Now, they are flourishing along with the forest and all is well. We really hoped to see a moose on our walk, but nope, not this time!
Eventually we reached the end and once out in the open, the wind was crazy! It felt as if we might be blown right off the wooden platforms that we stood on! Very carefully, we made our way to a spot where we both sat and enjoyed the most wonderful view. The fierce wind just made it that much more exciting as far as I was concerned. Although there were a few platforms below us, we chose to stay near the top, but it was fun to see people make their way down, having to sit down occasionally because of the wind. What a great way to watch a sunset! It is an experience we will not soon forget!
The following morning we did a much shorter hike near the bottom of the park along a salmon stream. It was quite pretty and we couldn’t help but think about how beautiful this area would be in another few weeks as the trees began to change colours – so many deciduous trees. It will be glorious! We can only hope that wherever we are we still get some of this fantastic show as it is one of the reasons for being over in the east at this time of year.
After our hike, we headed out, stopping in Cheticamp to get some laundry done before heading to the Mabou area. Hurricane Dorian was due to make itself at home here over the next few days and we were actively looking for where to stay while it blew through. We didn’t want to fool with Mother Nature by staying in the van in a hurricane – didn’t sound like a great plan to us! We also knew that we wanted to be in Mabou for Friday night to catch the fiddling then. So, the plan was to stay in the area for a few days, get a hotel for Saturday and Sunday through the worst of the storm and go from there.
On our way down, we were able to stop in at Glenora Distillery, the only single malt whiskey distillery currently selling single malt whiskey in Canada (there are a couple of distilleries on Vancouver Island, but they have not been around long enough to have whiskey to sell). We learned all about why it is called single malt and not Scotch (only whiskey distilled in Scotland gets to be called that), what the brewing process is like and then had a little sample! Although we both thought it was interesting, we weren’t so enamoured that we wanted to put down the $70.00 for a bottle, knowing that we would not drink it often enough to make it worth the purchase. But it was fun and I think I liked their single malt better than any Scotch I’ve had before – I haven’t tasted a lot, mind you, but still, that’s something!
We headed down at the end of the day, past Mabou, in search of a place to overnight. We found a great little spot at a marina far from the main road. It was perfect! So quiet and with a great view of the water. We enjoyed another lovely Cape Breton sunset before turning in, hoping for good weather in the morning to cycle in.
When we got up and ate, we left our little marina and went in search of a trail head for the Celtic Trail Coastal Trail. We literally drove about .5 km towards the main road and boom! There was the trail! We had inadvertently parked almost right next to it! We pulled off the side of the road, hoping the van would be ok there while we cycled and then took off down the trail. A short while in though, we realized we had forgotten the drone, so back to the van we went. This turned out to be fortuitous as while we were getting it out, a truck pulled up and AR MacDonald introduced himself to us. He owns the property next to where we were parked and offered the use of his other driveway for us to park our van in – awesome! What wonderful hospitality. He also suggested that we ride in a different direction, saying it was much more scenic the other way. With his advice in mind, we moved the van and took off, this time heading north instead of south. It was a lovely ride, through trees that would soon be changing with occasional glimpses of the ocean nearby and farmlands. As a rail trail, once again we were steadily heading uphill, but at a grade that was barely noticeable. There were some sections of the trail that were not in as great shape, but overall, we found it quite enjoyable.
Eventually, though, we came to a detour. Not knowing the area, and having seen how difficult some of the section we had ridden through were, we didn’t want to tempt fate by ignoring the sings, and so headed off onto a quiet gravel road. Unfortunately, the road soon connected up with the main road, a much busier road with no shoulders. We didn’t know how far down we would have to ride before catching onto the trail again, and so made the decision to cut our ride short for this day.
Near the end of the ride, we saw signs for Sandeannie’s Bakery and Café. One thing cycling always does is give us an appetite, so we determined that once we picked up the van we would stop in for a second breakfast. Bikes packed away, we quickly found Sandeannie’s, a small restaurant but with a very friendly staff. Since they serve breakfast all day, we did order eggs and were so glad we did. For each breakfast comes with a small helping of Skirlie, a kind of oatmeal stuffing dish that was just out of this world! We both so enjoyed the Skirlie, we wished we could have more!
Second breakfast done, and the day getting on, we headed up to Mabou to check out possible places to stay overnight after we attended the Red Shoe festivities. We didn’t want to have to drive, since we more than likely would have a beer or two, so it was important to know ahead of time where we could park. We went for a little drive out away from town and although the scenery was very pretty, it was much too far and winding to want to drive late at night after a beer. So, we dropped by the Red Shoe to ask if there were a place within walking distance and sure enough, the hostess suggested that people sometimes park overnight at the post office, two doors down. Perfect!!! We checked it out and it looked great. That decision made, we had some time to kill before heading back for dinner and the show, which didn’t start until 9:00. We were still looking for a place to weather the storm headed our way, and so stopped at a couple of local hotels. The first, although in a great location and in a wonderful older building, had no back-up generator, so we thanked them and went down the road a bit to the Mabou River Inn, where we found the perfect spot. They had a big generator and breakfast was included in the room rate. We chose the less expensive queen sized room (with its own bathroom, but across the hall – kind of weird) and made reservations for Saturday and Sunday night. With our plans for the hurricane now in place, we had the rest of the day to enjoy and so headed to the little beach just south of town where we enjoyed a lovely walk along the water before retiring to the van for a quick nap, since we knew we would be up much later than usual on this night.
Later in the day, we finally headed back into town and parked behind the now closed post office. We still were a little early for diner (we were aiming for 7:30), so went for a little walk to check out the town. We passed the Red Shoe just as another couple was coming out. When they saw us checking out the menu, they told us the food was excellent and we fell into a conversation. It turned out that they were also wanting to watch the fiddling that night but had not realized it started so late. We told them that if they came back later, they could sit with us. They were from Alberta and we shared some travel stories, also discussing the coming hurricane. We told them of our plans to stay on Cape Breton and they shared that they were heading to Halifax, hoping to avoid the worst of it there (oops! Turns out that was a very poor decision as Halifax got hit much much worse than Cape Breton). We chatted a bit more and then went our separate ways. They never did come back to the Red Shoe, but we hope that they found a good safe place in Halifax – yikes! We finished our walk, picking up a few more groceries for our hotel stay (there was a little kitchen we could use) and dropping them off at the van before finally heading to the Red Shoe.
We found a table not too close to the piano where the performance would be, but plenty close to see and hear. While awaiting the entertainment, we enjoyed a pitcher of beer and some appetizers before ordering dinner. We don’t normally eat or drink that much, but we had some time to kill, so figured we would stretch it out by eating. The food was great, the beer was cold and we had a great time! Eventually the fiddler showed up, along with his accompanists – a pianist and a guitar player. By the time they got started, the room was full and there was a buzz of excitement in the air. When they finally began playing, it was hard to sit still as song after song was played. The tunes were lively and so fun to listen to. Eventually, an older fellow hopped up and started dancing, doing a dance that is unique to this area, Cape Breton step dancing. It is a variation on Irish step dance, but different. The guy who started off the dancing had to be in his late 70’s, but that sure didn’t slow him down! The crowd cheered him on and after he finished, a young lady jumped up and then later several more danced, each on their own. Later, this group got up and danced some square dances (different from the western ones I learned as a child). They just looked like they were having so much fun!!! What a great way to pass an evening, listing to such fantastic music and watching these folks dance with such joy. Oh, how I wished we knew some of those steps, but they looked pretty complicated! The evening finally drew to a close and we wandered back to the van, thankful that we didn’t have to drive.
The following day we knew the storm was approaching, but had hoped to get in a bike ride in the morning before things got bad. Unfortunately for us, the rain had begun and the winds were picking up, so we abandoned that idea in favour of heading back to Sandeannie’s for breakfast and some more Skirlie, which we enjoyed just as much as the day before. After breakfast, we drove further south, hoping to check out the Celtic Interpretive Centre, about 10 km south of us. If we had bothered to check their website, we would have saved ourselves the drive, as when we got there they were closed due to the impending storm – rats! Well, we would be driving by this way on Monday, so we hoped we could check it out then. They have some great displays of Celtic instruments that you can actually try out, and also teach step dance and Gaelic, so I was pretty keen to go there – fingers crossed!
As we headed back towards Mabou, the weather was quickly deteriorating. Although it was early to check in, we decided to head to our hotel and beg for mercy, knowing that the room we had booked was empty the night before. When we arrived, they were very happy to let us check in early, as people were now trying to get places before the hurricane hit. We put our things away and managed to catch some college football on tv – something we haven’t been able to do a whole lot of on the trip so far. Later, feeling lazy, we decided to order pizza from the restaurant in the hotel, and so went upstairs. There we found several people waiting for their orders. It appeared that most restaurants in the area were closed and this was one of the only places still serving. We ordered our pizza and then chatted with another couple who had driven down from Cheticamp. They were headed a bit further, but knew their motel didn’t have power, so were picking up pizza on the way. Boy, were we ever thankful that we had chosen this hotel! Not only did they have the generator, which was now running, but they had great pizza! We returned to our room to enjoy our dinner before watching a movie on the laptop. As the evening went along, the wind could be heard outside, getting stronger and stronger. We felt safe and protected where we were and so fell asleep as the hurricane raged on outside.
In the morning, we awoke to still strong winds outside. When we looked out the windows of the hotel, we could see branches down from trees around the property. We enjoyed our breakfast (they served homemade molasses bread – oh my gosh, so yummy!!!) and then put on our coats and boots and went out to have a look around. Later, we drove out to the point where we had been yesterday to see how big the waves were. It was pretty intense and when we stopped to get out, it was hard to push the door open! We also drove down to the beach we had been to the day before to see how far up the waves had come. The wind was so strong here you could almost lean your whole body into it and still remain upright – crazy! It was a truly incredible experience and we were happy with our decision to sit tight here in Mabou and ride it out.
The next day we were planning to head back over towards Baddeck, and it turns out that this was a good plan. When we were getting our breakfast, we found out that Mabou was running out of water. Our hotel had enough to serve breakfast and flush toilets, but they were starting to run low and would be closed by lunchtime. Even though they have a generator, the town didn’t have one for the well – oh no! They let us know that this was the case for pretty much this whole side of the island, but when they phoned over to Bedeck, they found that power over there was on. We thanked them profusely for the great stay and headed off, hoping to stop at the Celtic centre on our way through. However, as you might have guessed, when we arrived, the whole town of Judique was down – rats again!!! I guess that gives us an excuse to come back this way!
When we finally arrived back in Bedeck, the first order of business was to make sure we could get tickets to the Ceilidh that night – the one that we missed out on the first time through. At the visitor’s centre we were able to reserve our tickets and at the same time, plan out a drive up the east side of the Cabot Trail. Initially, we weren’t planning to go very far up, but the woman at the centre convinced us it would be worth the trip up (about 1 ½ hours). The plan for our afternoon settled, we drove up and found the most spectacular views as we drove – the entire Cabot Trail is just astoundingly beautiful and we could only imagine how much more fantastic it would be in a few weeks as the trees started to turn colours. Along the way, we stopped in to have a quick visit with Ian, whose daughter I used to work with when I taught. He and his wife (lucky luck them!) own a cabin along the Cabot Trail and spend their summers here before heading back to BC for the winter – very sensible!
After our visit, we continued up (and I do mean up!!!!) the trail until we reached the start of the Highland Park at Ingonish. There we finally managed to officially dip our toes in the Atlantic Ocean – what a thrill it was to have done this coast to coast tour – and we still have more touring to do!!! We saw a few cyclists as we were driving along, and I have to say, I was a bit envious. This side of the trail, the road has a decent shoulder for the most part, and the cycling would be so amazing. However, this is not a ride to be done quickly, nor is it one for the feint of heart. The hill that we drove up was STEEP – it gained 765 feet in 3 km, most of it just dead straight up. No nice switchbacks here. And there are several more climbs of this nature along the route. However, if one were in the right shape, had the time and were motivated, this would truly be a glorious ride that you would remember forever. Maybe we will come back and ride it one day, but if we did, we would have to be a LOT more prepared than we are at the moment!
We drove back to Bedeck, wishing that we had more time (we have thought that a lot on this tour) to spend out here on Cape Breton. But, a Ceilidh awaited us back in Baddeck, so on we drove. Arriving back in town, we asked at the visitor’s centre for advice as to one more item on our Cape Breton bucket list – a good lobster dinner! Although we had sampled a lobster roll over on PEI, we still needed to sit down to a proper lobster feast. Thankfully, they knew just where to send us and off we went, just down the street to Baddeck Lobster Suppers where we dove into our lobster with relish, downing them with a couple of beers – what a perfect way to enjoy ourselves before the music this night!
After dinner, we walked down the road a bit and found a tiny marina with parking and no signs indicating we couldn’t park there overnight – a difficult thing to find in this town! We quickly moved the van down and then went for a leisurely stroll along the waterfront where we found a statue of Alexander Graham Bell and his wife. There is a museum dedicated to Bell here in Baddeck, as he apparently spent quite a bit of time in this little town – why not? It is truly beautiful!
Soon it was time to head to the Ceilidh. As we had dropped by earlier to pay for our tickets, we had been able to pick out our seats, which turned out to be a good thing as a busload of tourists showed up just as we arrived. We settled into our seats and soon enough the young man and his accompanist (his wife on piano) began the evening’s music. It was lively and fun and we so enjoyed how he would stop and explain bits about what makes Cape Breton fiddling so distinctive. His wife, it turned out, was also very talented on fiddle, as they traded for a bit after the break (where you could purchase tea and Scottish Oat Cakes, of course). In the second half of the evening, the guide for the tour group (who was a recently retired Irish Step Dance competitor) gave a demonstration of her art, after which the pianist demonstrated Cape Breton Step Dance. What an amazing evening! We enjoyed it so much and it was just the perfect end to this most wonderful stay on Cape Breton. While we have loved many places out in the Maritimes, we think that this place has truly taken a piece of our hearts. It is not just the breathtaking scenery that makes it special, but also the wonderful people and their rich history, kept alive through their music and dance. Hopefully we can come back and spend even more time here.
