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A typical look of Atlantic Canada: Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia, June 20, 2016 |
Atlantic Canada is a Canadian region with Nordic landscape, European heart and American soul. Surroundings here, small windowed colorful buildings, red topped lighthouses, rocky coast, scenic fishing villages, green hills, or even the chilly foggy weather, all spread strong Scandinavia flavor. Large cities like Quebec or St. John's, looks more European than American. The only thing distinguishing from a European country is the mixed culture, where French and English are living side by side to each other, jointly influence the region from past till now, a peculiarity to immigrants formed Canada where multiculturalism has been long encouraged.
This region is where Canadian history begins. The human history of Canada is usually thought of as starting around the 17th century with the arrival of European colonists. But before that, American Indians actually populated parts of Atlantic Canada roughly 7,500 years ago, and so did Inuit 4,000 years later. One of the most amazing historical episodes is the short visit by Vikings around A.D. 1,000, they sailed all the way down from Greenland and reached northern tip of Newfoundland, 500 years before Columbus 'discovered' America. Vikings abandoned the site only ten years after without leaving any blood. Portuguese and Italian fishermen respectively landed Newfoundland and Cape Breton in 15th century, followed by their French and Irish counterparts. The French established the region's first permanent settlement in 1,605, marked the beginning of first wave of European colonization. Since then English and French each on and off ruled the region for some years until in 1867 Canada was created an independent nation and endowed equal right of both.
Over time french settlers split into regional communities and each evolved towards different culture dimensions. Most settled down in western Quebec, nowadays so-called Quebecers; rests live discretely across Atlantic Canada called Acadians, speaking a slightly different french. A small group of them immigrated to Luisiana in States, developed a distinct culture and language, and been called Cajuns. Today, Acadia Canada remains frenchmost of North America, proved that Canadian French is one of the best to preserve their past.
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Acadian Ladies, Cabot trail, Nova Scotia, June 28, 2016 |
In a Canadian's mind Maritime provinces can be best described by what surrounds them: the sea. Indeed, you never far from tremendously beautiful blue Atlantic when driving across there. All major highways carry you alongside it, to and from it. It is a land with immense beauty, activities and destinations come from always, and the deeper you dig, the more experiences you find.
If you ever travel around the globe, you may argue that Atlantic Canada lacks of world class attractions. True, but this region has no shortage of one-of-a-kind experiences that make you see the world anew: Kayaking around icebergs, watching whales, rafting an actual tidal wave, or driving across some most beautiful trials, etc. There are simply too many cool sites to visit, and thus in the end I decided to only pick several selected tastes to highlight the very best of this amazing land.
In June 2016 I took 17 days to drive across Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, counting almost 10,000 kilometers. Strictly speaking Quebec is not an Atlantic province, but I think it's apparently too European to be counted into English Canada. I skipped PEI to save time and budget for Newfoundland. I have a feeling that Atlantic Canada is good for nature lovers. If you prefer historical sites or modernized large cities, I suggest you go to Europe or States. After all Canada is a country with short history & low population and not much artificial work left to see. All in all I think Maritime is a convenient destination for Canadians to spend their summer vacation, if you don't mind long drive, and money is not a concern.
The fun part of my trip begins from Nova Scotia. This region is all about lobster traps, rocky coast, colorful houses, green hills, cool weather and friendly people. All I can say about this place is, scenic and cozy. The coastline from Halifax to Yarmouth is absolutely picture-perfect, pines on your right hand side and beautiful Atlantic on the left, dotted by lovely villages, historical towns and national parks. My fist pause is the lovely lovely Peggy's cove, where bright painted houses standing beside the calm blue water, lobster traps on the road side, and beautiful lighthouse in the background. This small fishing community perhaps is one of the most well-known sites in Canada, especially the lighthouse. Luenburg was just fine. Looks better from far. East side of Nova Scotia lays the Cape Brenton park, famous for Cabot trail. I drove it only because it's so popular, but honestly nothing impressed me. Am I too picky?
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Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia, June 20, 2016 |
Newfoundland is my favorite. Basically it is the upgrade version of Nova Scotia, with higher hills, cliff coast, end of the world type fishery towns, frigid and windy weather, icebergs, and very nice people. I gained great experience on this remote, bleak, yet spectacular island. This is a place sometimes you have to put your winter jacket on in summer; people dry their laundry by hanging them on a clothline in backyard; locals cut timber for fire to warm their house; sunset after 9pm; icebergs near shore; and spring flowers bloom at the end of June.
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Classical view of Newfoundland, Viking Village, Newfoundland, June 23, 2016 |
Newfoundland is a place to chase giant icebergs roaming on the sea; watching various bird species and whales from close; witless the first sunlight of a continent; strolling around fishing villages; see viking sites... just so much to experience!
As for New Bruswike, nothing unique but Hopewell flower pot. Quebec? Capital city, whale watching, plus the Perce Rock. 4-5 days should be good enough to finish both.
I am trying to create a bucket list of Atlantic Canada, not by travel guide recommendations or where I went to, but how do I feel. Below are some activities I do enjoy:
Chasing icebergs. This is a first time in life experience for me, and is actually the most memoriable part of this trip. Every summer, giant pieces of ice break off from Greenland's glacier when temperature goes up, and this is how icebergs were formed. Sea current drift them all the way down to the south, reaching eastern Newfoundland shore after 2-3 years long distance roaming. Icebergs then grounded on the rocky underwater bank, and their life ends there. In 2 weeks, they melt away completely. Greenland icebergs are 10,000 years in the making, and in April 1912 one of them sunk Titanic at a foggy night.
When it comes to viewing icebergs, nowhere else in the world beats Newfoundland's Iceberg Alley. You may spot icebergs in various shapes and size from land, kayak, or boat in every May to July. So in a sunny afternoon I find myself onboard a small boat in Twillingate, the known 'Iceberg Capital of the World', heading north to chase the beautiful blue icebergs. There is nothing like actually seeing them. View is breathtaking. To fortify this adventure I even took a souvenir: a chunk of iceberg, size of my fist. Boat crew scooped it from sea water. That ice ended up with an iceberg tea that evening. It's fresh:)
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Icebergs, Twillingate, Newfoundland, June 26, 2016 |
Whale watching. I always wanna go whale watching, and am glad to get it done this time. Maritime Canada is the home of some most spectacular whale watching sites in the world, good for Minke, Fin, Beluga, Hampback, and Blue whales. Quebec is one of the few available places to spot Beluga.
As the largest marine mammal, whale is the king of open ocean, not only by size, but by the way they live. They take extensive migration all year round. In summer come to Atlantic Canada for food; and in winter to Caribbean for breeding. Their favorite food Caplins usually live around Arctic area, but will migrate to Atlantic Canada in summer in dense swarms. For whales, nothing beat this northern buffet. However, adult whales may want enjoy the delicious meals for as long as they want, their calves are too small to grow sufficient fat to survive the frigid sea water in northern Atlantic. So whales have to travel thousands of kilometers heading south to give birth and raise young in tropical warm water, and come back north next year.
12 of the 80 world whale species migrate to the salty water of St. Lawrence in Quebec, and one live there all year round, making Tadoussac (Riviere du loup in the south bank) one of the most famous whale watching site in the world. Beyond that, you actually have a good chance to spot whales on every boat tour in Atlantic Canada. They are simply every where.
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Blow of a Minke Whale, Witless Bay, St. John's, Newfoundland, June 25, 2016 |
I done my first whale watching tour in famous Riviere du loup, and it didn't disappoint me. The trip began with lovely Belugas, their white back suddenly surfaced water. You cannot mistaken them with any other species, the color is so unique. They came out two or three times, but too fast to camera. Next we saw a humpback jumped out of water right in front of our boat, perhaps 500 meters away; Then some Minkes emerged. For a moment there a crew announced excitingly the appearance of a Fin whale, the second largest whale species next to Blue whale; while all I could see is a flat black back far away.
In a bird watching tour in Witless Bay in Newfoundland, I got the chance to take a closer look at a Minke whale. The boat followed her for at least 20 minutes, and she surfaced several times to breath, not even 10 meters away from us. I still remember the sound of her breath, and the white spray from the blowholes. The photo above was taken at that moment.
Same in Twillingate, in an iceberg tour, a Minke whale surfaced quietly, looks fairly peaceful with iceberg in background.
Bird Watching. This is a bonus activity of my trip because it exceed my expectation. Although my original plan was to watch puffins, I was greatly impressed when visiting Cape St. Mary's ecological reserve, the home to tens of thousands of Cannets, Murre, Kitiwake, and others. This place has long been nature lovers' paradise, given it's accessibility and spectacular seabird rookeries. I have never went to any place before where you can watch birds from this close.
Cape St. Mary in itself is a beautiful place, with mossy barren coastal cliffs bearing many resemblances to Cliff Moher in Ireland. The almost vertical cliff sidewall perfectly protected nested birds from land based predators. One huge sea stack standing right beside the main body of headland, but is offshore and disconnected from the cliff; it's top become an ideal nesting site for thousands of cannets. When you hike to the cliff edge, the first thing impress you is this so called 'bird rock', together with the fish smell, noisy bird tweet, and the massive flock of lovely cannet pairs. The best thing is, they are only 15 meters from you. See image below.
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Cape St. Mary's Ecological Reserve, Avalon Peninsula, Newfoundland, June 24, 2015 |
I also visited Witless Bay for puffin. In spring, millions of Atlantic Puffin make their way home to breed, and 500 thousands of them choose Witless Bay. These pigeon sized cute birds spend 8 months a year in the cold sea water, and 4 month on the land only to mate and give birth. They return to witless bay each year to the same cliff-top island to lay a single egg. When I went to that island, everywhere becomes colorful and lively. There are lots of them.
Puffin watching is a popular activity in Atlantic Canada, partially because this is one of the last strong holds of this endangered specie. Atlantic puffin populations drastically declined in the past due to habitat loss and hunting, and even today they still are the favorite food among some northern European regions. Luckily in Canada they are still safe, after all here people approach them with cameras, not guns.
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