"The Past Is Present"

Tuesday, May 15, 2018--Halifax to North Sydney (via New Glasgow, Louisbourg, and Sydney)

Our goal today was to reach Cape Breton Island.  On the way, we pulled off into New Glasgow which is supposed to be one of the beautiful cities of Nova Scotia.  We drove into the town one direction, went down the main street, and then drove out another direction.  It was fine, but I would not compare it to some of the more beautiful places we have seen previously on the trip.

Cape Breton is an island that has been attached to the mainland by a causeway covering the very short distance between it and the rest of Nova Scotia.  We drove up a road along the side of Bras d'Or Lake which is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.  It is a beautiful and huge salt water lake which almost cuts Breton into two pieces.  From there, we took a loose gravel road shortcut to go across to Louisbourg which is on the east (Atlantic) coast.

The winds were severely strong and cold on the coast with waves crashing up against the rocks and the sea surface churning wildly.  We stopped first at the lighthouse where we thought we might take a trail.  But it was too windy and cold for us.  We took photos and rushed back to the car.  As we drove away, we could see fishing boats coming into the port having probably given up for the day due to the wind conditions.

After driving through the town which is a typical fishing village but not a beautiful one, we approached Fort Louisbourg.  It is actually a recreation upon the foundations of the old walled French fort here which is known as the place where the French were finally defeated and Canada was left to be ruled by the British.  This area was a coal mining area for many years, and when the mines were closed, the government paid to recreate the fort as a way to provide tourism and income for the area.  Today it operates much like Williamsburg in the US with people in period costumes making demonstrations of what life at the fort was like back in the 1700s.  The theme of the plan is "The Past is the Present."

But it wasn't like that today.  The fort doesn't open until next weekend.  We knew that, but we hoped to see views of it from outside.  When we drove up to the gate, however, the man in the guardhouse walked out and asked if we wanted to visit.  He let us enter and told us where to park.  Many cars were in one area to the side, so we figured they were having training/planning sessions for the upcoming official opening for the season.

We wandered through the whole complex.  We went into buildings, we climbed walls, we went up and down the streets within the fort.  It was fantastic.  We got to see it all.  Of course it would be interesting to have been there with all the "players" doing their bits, but it was even better in some respects to be able to have it all to ourselves.  We saw only two other people wandering around like us during the 45 minutes to an hour that we spent exploring the complex.

Leaving the fortress, we drove to Sydney, the largest community on Cape Breton Island and the second largest city in all of Nova Scotia.  But that's not saying much.  It is a rather small city and a poor one.  We walked the downtown area which is unexciting and includes a number of empty storefronts.  We drove a few blocks on the north of the downtown area where only a few historic homes exist.  Then we drove out of town to the Cape Breton University campus.  It proved to be a rather modern university that probably hasn't existed more than 35-40 years.

We are staying in an AIRBNB apartment, Basement Apartment in North Sydney, NS, in North Stanley, a smaller city across the bay.  It will be our starting point for exploring the coastal areas of the western part of Cape Breton Island tomorrow.   If you remember seeing films of very remote, cold, northern coastal areas with rough seas and the water splashing hard against the rocky coast, then that is what Breton is like!