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Peggy's Point Lighthouse, Nova Scotia, June 20, 2016 |
Most of the top maritime towns are along the coast. They evolved from, or still are, past fishery sites. Atlantic Canada has long been fisherman's paradise, and as such region has no shortage of Scandinavia style fishing villages, with wooden houses brightly painted against rocky coast, red topped lighthouses overlooking a perfect small bay, and green hills connect deep blue Atlantic.
Together with these charming villages are some most impressive lighthouses. Exploring the numerous lighthouses along the coastline of Atlantic provinces is the fun part of my drive. Lighthouses are an iconic part of Canada, many are lovely and beautiful, and some of them are world famous. Mostly replaced by electronic navigation system, Canadian lighthouses are rarely in use today, but widely recognized as a symbol of past. They are the maritime heritage and form an integral part of Canada's history and identify.
There are hundreds of lighthouses stand still today, and Nova Scotia has the largest number of them of any province in Canada, given its thousands of kilometers long coastline. Of them, Peggy's Cove perhaps is the most well-know and pictured lighthouse in Canada. It was build in 1915, on top of giant rocks to mark the eastern entrance of St. Margarets Bay. This lighthouse makes Peggy's Cove looks elegant and beautiful, especially when waves crashing in. See image above.
Peggy's Cove is a quiet and very scenery coastal village. I say quiet, only because I arrived before dawn and left early to escape massive crowd. It's actually one of the most popular tour site in Canada, a must go for all Atlantic Canada visitors.
Except the world-famous Peggy's Point lighthouse, Peggy's Cove in itself is the most well-known coastal community in Atlantic Canada. The tourists free Peggy's Cove looks tremendously beautiful, with bright painted houses standing atop rocky coast, lobster traps pile on the road side, and colorful boats bob in calm blue water. Every sight is picture perfect.
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Classic view of Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia, June 20, 2016 |
Simply strolling around Peggy's Cove makes you feel incredible. Time is early, and the village is still sleeping; nothing jammed into this beautiful viewing.
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Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia, June 20, 2016 |
I enjoyed few hours pause in Peggy's Cove and left when I saw the arrival of first tour bus. From travel guide I learned how crowded this place will be during business hours, especially in a sunny day. The giant empty parking lots in the village confirmed my concern. I am not surprise if this place is overwhelmed by buses of tourists during holiday seasons, since Peggy's Cove is tiny, and as such capacity of all tour services is limited. Anyway, I like this place.
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Peggy's Cove with lighthouse in background, Nova Scotia, June 20, 2016 |
Trinity is a hidden gem in Bonavista. Back to 17 centuries, this now tiny hamlet (less than 200 permanent residents) was the business hub on fishing trade to Europe, once had more population than St. John's. The rise of Trinity marked the booming fishing economy in Newfoundland. For more than 3 centuries, Trinity was well-known for its wealthy, until modern age when highway replaced boat to connect everywhere. As time passed, this place lapsed into a small village later on.
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Trinity bird view, Newfoundland, June 26, 2016 |
Today, you can still see the lingering traces of the town's glorious past, from a number of elegant architectures and the white picket fences.
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Trinity, Bonavista, June 26, 2016 |
Fishing remains a way to make a living...
... while tourism also brings in hard dollars for locals. A culture tour takes place at the church square every day.
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Trinity Church, Trinity, Newfoundland, June 26, 2016 |
St. Anthony is the type of place that you won't say it's pretty, but attractive and with a rough charm. Located at the northern tip of Newfoundland island, St. Anthony is a chilly remote town with tundra landscape. Mossy barren coastal hills with bright colored houses on top; calm blue water float white icebergs nearshore; lovely red topped lighthouse against blue sky.
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St. Anthony bird view, Newfoundland, June 23, 2016 |
On top a coastal hill I got a mesmerizing view of beautiful blue Atlantic and St. Anthony Bay.
St. Anthony is my first stop in Newfoundland. I have to stay in town overnight before continue my trip to Viking village, beyond that I didn't have any preconceived notions about what to expect. Before leaving locals point me to the Fishing Point where beautiful lighthouse stands. Fishing Point and surroundings are the best part of St. Anthony.It is the meeting place for locals or tourists alike, and I spend several hours there before I know it.
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Fishing Point birdview, St. Anthony, Newfoundland, June 23, 2016 |
I arrived lighthouse before dawn. It's a small yet good looking lighthouse, still in use, with 4 light keepers. Nearby buildings are seafood restaurant, gift shop, Viking house replica, and a tiny museum. Cool.
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Fishing Point Lighthouse, St. Anthony, Newfoundland, June 23, 2016 |
When I was hiking the whale watcher's trail for a better view of the ocean, first thing come into my sight was couple of giant icebergs waiting for me quietly in a small bay. Iceberg viewing is a first time in life experience for me, while it happens in a least expected way. It looks absolutely gorgeous!
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Icebergs in St. Anthony, June 23, 2016 |
Bergs give St. Anthony a barren yet scenic feel. Fishing Point is a great place to view the open ocean, whales or spring icebergs. Up hundreds of stairs to the top of Fishing Point Head, a coastal hill right beside the lighthouse, I found multiple bergs grounded near shore. June end is spring time for St. Anthony, and thanks its chilly windy weather, icebergs last longer than most sites in southern Newfoundland; consequently iceberg spotting still is pleasurable experience. Have to say that temperature is lower than I thought. Some hills remain snow covered.
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Open ocean view from Fishing Point Head, St. Anthony, Newfoundland, June 23, 2016 |
St. John's. In Canada St. John's is a big city, rich in culture and with long history. This is one of the oldest cities in North America, heritage lives here. Walking across the colorful streets in downtown St. John's, the charming Victoria style wooden houses keep reminding you what life was like 300 years ago.
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Downtown St. John's, Newfoundland, June 25, 2016 |
Like most Atlantic Canada towns, St. John's has a beautiful lighthouse too. It looks lovely from atop Signal Hill:
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St. John's Lighthouse, St. John's, Newfoundland, June 25, 2016 |
Another lighthouse I like is the Cape Spear Lighthouse, all white, perched on a barren cliff at the most easterly point of our continent, 20 minutes drive from downtown St. John's. Visitors like to come here to be the first person to spot the sunrise of North America.
Looks absolutely gorgeous in a sunny day.
A very similar lighthouse in Newfoundland is Cape Bonavista Lighthouse, landmark of Bonavista town, standing at the tip of Bonavista peninsula.
Bonavista town looks no different from any other coastal communities in Newfoundland, while it's rocky coast is quite unique. The rugged shoreline features many sea stacks and caves, forming a great view along side a 2 km trial on the eastmost of the town, connected park Dungon and the lighthouse.
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Rocky coast of Bonavista, Newfoundland, June 26, 2016 |
Another well-known attraction is the dungeon rock, a large sea eroded rock with two sea caves side by side. The rock is over 600 million years old, looks from above like a giant skull.
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Dungeon Rock, Bonavista, Newfoundland, June 26, 2016 |
Lunenburg is a UNESCO world heritage site famous for plenty of well-preserved wooden buildings dated back to 18th century. The beautiful Lunenburg waterfront was once an important fishing harbor to call and a ship building center during the days when sailing ruled the sea; Today, from those splendid buildings you still can imagine the town's glorious past.
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Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, June 20, 2016 |
Most buildings in downtown Lunenburg are victoria style wooden houses with German, Swiss and French details, a reflection of the town's multicultural demographics. These brightly painted old buildings are now gift shops, restaurants, museums or motels, but maritime tradition remains. Lunenburg community carry on the ship building and replication business, and it won them the reputation internationally among mariners.
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Historical buildings, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, June 20, 2016 |
Like many other coastal towns in Atlantic Canada, fishing as an industry in Lunenburg is on its way out, largely replaced by tourism activities from walk tours, horse drawn carriage ride to some fancy stuff such as sailing and gulfing.
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Sailing boat in Lunenburg Bay, Nova Scotia, June 20, 2016 |
In Twillingate, visitors' desire for chasing icebergs overwhelmed everything else. It is too famous for bergs. The town was so called 'Iceberg Capital of the World', since when Labrador current carry in bergs to Newfoundland shore, they have a good chance to pass by Twillingate first given it's geographical location.
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Twillingate, Newfoundland, June 26, 2016 |
Every summer from may to June, tourists from all over the world rush to Twillingate to get a closer look at the bergs. You may spot icebergs from shore but boat tour makes the viewing more interesting.
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Twillingate icebergs, Newfoundland, June 26, 2016 |
Twilingate town has retained much of its original beauty. This end of world type small townwas one of the oldest fishing port in Newfoundland. Rocky, hilly and treeless Twillingate island dotted with well-preserved wooden houses, lying at the edge of iceberg allay to overlook bergs & whales coming every spring.
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Twillingate, Newfoundland, June 26, 2016 |
Icebergs came in various shapes and size, but all are incredible in their own way. No two icebergs are identical. Once they grounded near shore, their shape vary every day.
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Twillingate icebergs, Newfoundland, June 26, 2016 |
Long Point Lighthouse in Twillingate is the landmark of northeast Newfoundland. This is a lookout point for visitors to enjoy panoramic view of Atlantic, and in spring, numerous icebergs.
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Long Point Lighthouse, Twillingate, Newfoundland, June 26, 2016 |
In Quebec City you are able to unravel what life was like for Canadian early settlers. Founded in 1608, this Canada's oldest yet most beautiful city delighted visitors for centuries. Dominated by elegant Chateau Frontenac, Old town Quebec spreads strong French flavor. It was build in 17C on a rocky hill jutting in to St. Lawrence rive, occupied by splendid architectures.
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Le Chateau Frontenac, Quebec City, June 14, 2016 |
Navigating Old Quebec almost like a time travel. The charming architectures retained every historic character, reflecting the city's role as a military and administration center in the past. Old market place now turns restaurant and gift shops; former garden becomes charming Place Royale square; ship building center now museums... This is the most french city in America, granted an UNESCO's World Heritage site in 1985.
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Place Royale, Quebec City, June 14, 2016 |
Every building in Old Quebec has a story to tell. Although most houses were restored by local government since 1970, some with solid construction survived bombardment during the civil war age and stand still beautifully till today. See the one below.
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Maison Chevalier, Quebec City, June 14, 2016 |
History lives here. Old Quebec is the best remaining example of Canadian French architecture & life style 500 years ago. You can spend all day here to fully enjoy the distinct French atmosphere.
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Old Quebec, Quebec City, June 14, 2016 |
These are the maritime towns I visited and recommended after my Atlantic Canada trip. Hard to tell which one is the best, though.
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