ELVie Goes to Nova Scotia.....More Blog Updates from June 2013

Here we are on the MV Puttees planning our attack on Nova Scotia.  This huge ferry carries about 900 passengers with 8 lanes for cars, trucks, and campers on three huge decks.   It is like being on a mini cruise ship with several food choices, different lounges and a restaurant.  We quite enjoyed our early dinner while watching for whales.  The trip takes about 6 hours and this ship runs all year round.  The longer ferry takes 14 hours and travels between Halifax and the Avalon Penninsula but only during the busy and calmer summer season.  We can well imagine what the ocean can kick up with all that water moving in to the St. Lawrence area between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland.  They have special ties that they use to tie down the vehicles in rough weather.....it must be quite the ride?

It had been a quick survey of the western, northwestern and southwestern coasts of Newfoundland in our all too short adventure to The Rock; however it has wet our whistle for more travel when we have more time to explore.  We knew it would be a long way but it just didn't seem right not to go after being given a window of time before my next doctor's appointment.  As fate would have it we hurried home for the appointment just to be told that the testing hadn't been done and to make things worse they had to do another biopsy on me and things were delayed again.  There are both good things and bad things about our medical system and gratefully things have run more smoothly since that frustratingly slow early diagnosis period. 

Once back in Nova Scotia we had planned to do a little sight seeing on the way home.  One of the tours offered great bird watching and a pleasant boat ride to a puffin colony.  Not only did we see lots of these sea birds which rarely come to land but plenty of other birds as well as dozens of seals both in the water and on land.  It was just like being on a National Geographic Safari as the captain was ever so knowledgeable and entertaining. 

It was quite the thing to see all of these seals up close and personal.

Everywhere you go you will see lobster boats plying the waters around Nova Scotia.

Puffins are not as open to having their pictures taken as some of the other wild life.

All in all our Puffin Trip had been both entertaining and educational and besides we were on the water.

Our next plan was to drive the famous Cabot Trail in Cape Breton Island.  We wished once again that we had had more time but enjoyed our drive nonetheless.  The views are spectacular and you could stop and take pictures around every corner.  Many choose to the do the trail by bike and camp along the way.  If you weren't in shape before the trip you certainly would be after the 160 kilometres ....very little of it on flat ground!?  The next blog entry will feature The Cabot Trail.