Carpe Diem

Barry’s knee is recovered enough to ride safely and we seize the opportunity to ride the 360 kms to North Sydney where the ferries to Newfoundland are experiencing all kinds of problems due to a fire aboard one of the ships last week. We have been unable to get through by telephone and the ferry website is not helpful. Taking advantage of both the good weather and Barry’s endurance we ride straight through, stopping only for coffee and bathroom breaks. We’re riding the TransCanada highway as it is the most direct route to North Sydney. Once over the Canso Causeway the scenery is very picturesque although we’re not even stopping for photos today.
We observe that much of the signage in Nova Scotia is bilingual as it was in New Brunswick, however, rather that English and French, it is English and Gaelic. There are many intriguing place names in the Maritimes and our favourites to date are the country general store called “Me and the Missus”, the village of “Diss Hill”, and the economy of “Five Houses Road”. The English language is spoken quickly and with a pleasant lilt in the Maritimes which Barry slips into easily. Both Barry who has been “lang away” and Marlene who is “from away” will have difficulty understanding some of the spoken English in parts of Newfoundland. As a teacher Marlene is always confounded by how little influence the school system has had on grammar in the Maritime when one can sit in the Emergency room and listen to a young man in the next chair saying into his cell phone “I’m over the Emergency room, me tot I’m died”.
Our first destination is the Marine Atlantic Ferry Terminal in North Sydney where we’re told our ferry for the next day might depart at 11:30 am, (certainly not before) rather than the originally scheduled 8:30 am. This is not good news! It entails changing at least two hotel reservations over the next two days as we can’t ride at night in Newfoundland because we will not risk an encounter with a moose. We decide to find our accommodation, Heritage House B&B, and are delighted to find an elegant older home, right on the bay, with a chatty sympathetic landlady.
Sipping red wine on the veranda looking out to sea helps ease the tensions of the day and we reflect that our later departure will enable us to enjoy a leisurely breakfast with the rest of the guests in the morning. Our landlady recommends an excellent bistro, The Blackspoon, for dinner, after which we stroll along the waterfront and enjoy a small ceilidh (maritime entertainment with lots of fiddle music). North Sydney has some lovely older homes and a very interesting harbour. There are many people about, both locals enjoying the fine weather on the waterfront and travellers waiting for ferries. Some people (without reservations) have been here for days waiting to cross to Newfoundland.