Besides my regular vacation I take in Mid-August, the long weekend during the first week of August is one of my favorite parts of summer because that's when I usually head to Margaree with friends and stay in the area for several days hiking, swimming and enjoying the peace and quiet of the country.
This year was a little different because someone who had never been there came along. An international student from the big city who wanted to get a taste of authentic Cape Breton rural life. Since he had never been outside of the urban area of the island, I decided to take the long way around the Cabot Trail to get to Margaree.
We left early to make it to Ingonish in time to have a bite to eat for supper and than drove onto Pleasant Bay and Cheticamp while it was still light enough to enjoy the scenery. Of course, we made a few stops at some key locations along the way. There was sightseeing at The Point and Ice Cream at the lighthouse in Neil's Harbour.
I love showing off my beautiful island to new people. This trip was extra special as the person was young and super excited to be seeing something new. Watching his eyes light up and his head spin around in all directions as he took it all in made me super happy. To hear someone who was so well-traveled ohhh and awww at the beauty of my little island made me realize how lucky I am to live in such a special place.
It was almost dark when we reached Cheticamp and stopped for gas and some snacks. It was quite late by time we pulled into the old country house that would be home for the next few nights.
There's something about staying in an old country home overlooking the sea. Those old homes have character! This one is well over 100 years old. Our foreign guest expressed a mixture of emotions upon discovering that there was no Wi-Fi, the floors creaked and mice were frequent visitors. I think he was culture-shocked for a bit at first but settled in quite nicely to his rural digs.
I always sleep so well in the country especially in an old house such as the one we were staying in. No distractions from modern amenities, just the sound of the wind howling outside and the fresh summer night air flowing through the windows.
Over the next few days, we made good use of our time. The first day was the only one that was hot and sunny enough to head to the beach so that's exactly what we did. We drove the 40 minutes to Inverness and staked a spot in the sand. My newfound friend-from-away grew up in a desert climate so he wasn't used to taking dips in the ocean nor could he swim. I got a good laugh watching him slowly inch his way to deeper water to duck while he shivered in the icy water. The water wasn't cold to me at all at 21 degrees Celsius but I can understand how someone from a dry, hot climate would find it cold. He finally ducked and tried desperately to mimic me floating in the salty water. It was so salty, it seemed almost impossible to sink. Alas, every time he tried, he sank beneath the waves. I gave him credit for venturing into the water at all let alone trying to swim!
The second day, we did some hiking as it was too cool for swimming. We drove to Cheticamp first for morning coffee and breakfast at Evangeline and a scenic drive along the Cheticamp Back Road in search of an elusive look-off we were told about at Plateau.
Since we were in the area and were making good time, we decided to take a hike into the Gypsum Quarry. Although it was too cool for swimming, it was too warm for hiking. We found that out about 20 minutes into our hike when we felt like turning around but had gone that far, we might as well go all the way to the quarry.
Our plans to be out of Cheticamp and on the way to Egypt Falls for a hike were delayed when we got caught in parade traffic. I always forget about the parade for the Festival de l'Escaouette that happens on the long weekend every year! So we didn't find the look-off but we did get to see part of the parade before hitting the road again.
The last time I went searching for Eqypt Falls, I had a hard time finding it. That was a long time ago and this time I had a GPS so we found the trailhead to the falls pretty quickly.
It was a about 12 or 13 years ago the last time I did this hike and I remembered it being difficult but very short. It's funny how the memory works. It took about thirty minutes to reach the falls and the trail was much harder than I remember! There were very slippery spots and ropes had to be used to get down some of the more steep areas. To make matters worse, I didn't have the proper footwear for such a hike.
Slowly but surely, we made intact. One thing that stayed true to my memory was the beauty of the falls. And once again, our foreign friend was in awe at the natural beauty around him. He kept talking about all the open spaces and trees!
Our last day in the country was not a very nice one. Rain, rain, rain. We packed up, cleaned up and headed back to the city. Back to our routines and jobs...until the next long weekend.
No comments:
Post a Comment