Blankets of Red and Gold

Having just spent the past few hours at Chapters, reading and browsing various books, I can’t help but feel that now is a particularly good time to write up another post – although to be honest, I’ve been thinking about some of what’s to follow for awhile and have been meaning to write about it. Anyone who reads this blog may well be a little bored of all the Nova Scotia-themed content that’s been the focus of the past few posts – so I apologise in advance for one more (although you can take comfort in the fact that this could be the last one). To be honest, it’s partly inspired by what I’ve been seeing around me here in Waterloo that’s reminded me of the time I was out east – as trivial as it might sound, seeing the changing of the leaves here has brought back to mind the landscapes and nature of Cape Breton. Granted, I left before I could actually see them change, but I do remember really wishing I had the chance to be there when it happened, and thinking about how much of a sight those blankets of red and gold would be.

Naturally enough, if I wasn’t there in person, I could at least check out some pictures, and a quick Google search offered some pretty stunning images easily enough. While looking, I also found out about a music festival, Celtic Colours (http://www.celtic-colours.com), that takes place in Cape Breton in just a couple of days, and goes till the 18^th. If I’d known about the festival a few months ago, I might’ve delayed my trip until now to enjoy both sights and sounds, although the weather is probably a little less than ideal this time of year. Part of the reason that something like this seems so interesting is that it would’ve given me the chance to check out a ceilidh (pronounced “kay-lee”, where traditional Gaelic music is played), something I’ve mentioned to a few friends already (to mixed reactions, right MS?) – and although I gave it my best effort, I couldn’t find one while I was actually there. Still, I suppose it’s just one more reason to go back there, to try and get to the things I didn’t have a chance for the first time around – not that I should need much of an excuse to head back one day, although it’ll hopefully be during the best of the fall colours.

Thinking about all this though, along with the time I just spent at Chapters where I ended up checking out travel guides and books about people’s travels of a more personal sort, got my mind on a slightly different track – although I’ve got to admit, it’s something I’ve thought about before: namely what is it about travel that makes it so appealing. On the one hand, I guess it’s pretty obvious…who doesn’t like going to new places and leaving home for awhile? But there’s a distinction here that should probably be drawn between “travel” and “vacation”. I guess on one level, both are a kind of way of escaping – but how that escape takes place, or what the goals are, is different. I don’t mean to say one is better than the other. Both have their various draws and attractions, and one could offer much more than the other depending on what you’re looking for. For me though, I feel that it’s the experiences that travel offers that make it so appealing. In my mind, I picture vacationing as something like laying on a beach somewhere, just enjoying the sun and making the most of free time that you’ve got, and there isn’t really much sense of exploration/adventure. There’s nothing wrong with that, but I think part of the fun of going somewhere is when you push yourself to do something new or untried, or just different – talking to people, just getting out of your comfort zone. I’ve also realised that travel is something that needs lots of planning (obvious statement, I know). But in an earlier post I wrote about taking things as they come, and not having a real itinerary or plan. Looking back now though, I was way off, because I did have specific plans and deadlines, like figuring out how many days it would take me to drive around Cape Breton, how many days I should stay in each town (in addition to actually picking those towns and finding hotels in them), as well as what the best plan would for driving around the island in time to return the rental car and still catch my flight to California. As stressful or annoying as all that was at times, sorting it all out was part of the fun for the simple that I got to decide my own schedule, and I got to choose where I was at any given time. So pulling over on empty highway in order to check out a scene, was actually something I could do, when I wanted (and I definitely did more than my fair share of that). Besides that though, what made it feel all the more like travelling was the fact that I was doing it alone. Whatever challenges or problems I might face, I’d have to figure them out myself.

In the end, I guess it’s kind of a contradiction. There are so many details to be worked out when it comes to travel, but at the same time there’s a sense of freedom and choice. Even when things don’t go as planned (which they inevitably will), whatever unforeseen thing that does happen is part of what makes the experience that much more memorable.

Parks, Trees, and Trails

Okay, so I know this still a relatively new blog, and I’ve already dropped the ball on keeping up with it – but that’s hopefully not an indication of how trends for the future. In any case, today is September 15^th, so there’s lots of catching up to do. I pretty much wrote all about the highlights of my week in Halifax/Dartmouth in the last post, but haven’t gotten around to saying anything about Cape Breton, which was by far the best part of my time in Nova Scotia – and exactly what I wanted. Honestly, cities are nice and all, for their food and shops and things like that, but I’m coming to realise that they just don’t it for me. Maybe it was just my frame of mind while I was away, but for me the best moments were the ones where I could just walk around on trails or drive along highways that only had one lane in each direction. Basically, the most enjoyable things were the complete opposite of things you’d find in a large city. Some people might call it “a whole lotta nothing”, but I loved it, and I’d count the open spaces, quiet and sense of calmness as far better than what a city might offer.

Again, maybe you could just chalk it up to what I was looking for, cause don’t get me wrong, I’ve definitely had a good time in cities like New York and Chicago. But getting the chance to explore Cape Breton, a place I didn’t really know much about beforehand, and all on my own, probably made the experience that much more special. When people say Cape Breton is one of the most beautiful places to visit in Canada, it’s with good reason. Even though I only really stayed at three places, Baddeck, Pleasant Bay, and Ingonish, I did drive around the whole of the island (it’s not that large), and every step of the way is filled with scenic views. Exploring each of those places on foot was also great. If there’s anything that Cape Breton has an abundance of, its parks, trees and trails. One really great park was the Uisge Bahn Falls Provincial Park, which honestly felt a little unreal, or a little too good to be true. Like the name suggests, the trail ends at a small waterfall, which was awesome to see, but the walk to it (and the parts where you can walk along the river) was just as cool. Besides that though, even the people I met made it a memorable experience, like the father/son I came across who were trying to find a spot for fishing trout (or salmon?) – and pretty much everyone would say hi as we passed one another. Not so fun at the time was getting lost because I somehow managed to get off the trail, turning around and realising that all the trees looked the same, but looking back now even that contributed to part of the experience.

From Baddeck it was onwards to Pleasant Bay (you just have to love a place with a name like that!). Again, the drive up to it didn’t disappoint, especially because pretty much the entire way you’ve got the coastline on your left-hand side, and lots of undeveloped land on your right – just a couple of houses here and there. And as a strange of a thought it might’ve been, one thing I remember thinking about was how there didn’t seem to be a single Tim Hortons along the way. The definite highlight of Pleasant Bay was the whale-watching tour I went on, which was a blast. We didn’t see any humpbacks or anything like that (we were probably too close to the coast), but we did see pods of pilot whales, which are pretty small (anywhere from 12-18 feet), and some seals (really shy!) and bald eagles. Even if we hadn’t seen any whales though, the feeling of zipping on the water in a zodiac with the ocean spray hitting your face made it an experience all on its own. I have to admit I can’t really remember much of Ingonish – except that the room of B&B I stayed at seemed to be a converted attic or something. I did walk one final trail there, called the Middlehead Trail, which turned out to be far more dramatic in terms of its scenery than Uisge Bahn – there’s just something about seeing the cliffs rise out of the water that makes you really appreciate what Canada’s got to offer. You really don’t have to go very far to see some pretty incredible things.