Cheticamp

Our next destination was Cheticamp, the largest town on the Cabot Trail. We arrived in good order ready for our late lunch. We chose Le Gabriel restaurant and bar. Perfect - I had their famous chowder which I can report was divine, and he had the fish tacos, equally delicious by report. We stayed for two nights at the Silver Lining Inn. Our room was “the best” she had to offer according to our charming and loquacious landlady - and it was very nice with largest king size bed we had yet encountered. Giving us a kettle, a toaster, a couple of mugs and some cutlery as they weren’t ready to provide breakfast usually included in the tariff, she quickly disappeared and we had the place to ourselves - and no wifi password. Not a problem although I did miss access to the Great All-Knowing Google for answering random questions like “food near me?” and so on.

Cheticamp is a fishing village with Arcadian roots, so once again the French influence was strong. This translated into colourfully painted buildings, lots of inventive decorative features, and neat and tidy yards. This last was aided by a special weather event called Les Suetes, a fierce foehn wind that means that the houses have nothing in the yard that can be blown away - no fences, carports, garden ornaments and so on.

Nova Scotia ( literally “New Scotland”) generally sports many familiar Scottish names, such as Glasgow, Inverness, Glen this and that, Highlands this and that, tartans and handmade knits, ceilidh music, and so on. But it also has French and Indigenous names. It’s a wonderful melange. At dinner last night we heard the people at the next table moving comfortably and naturally in and out of French and English languages. I was envious of this ease.

Famous Nova Scotians include country & western singer Hank Snow, Anne Murray, Ruby Keeler, and Alexander Graham Bell.Read more