Travel Destination: Bras D’Or Lakes, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia

One of Canada most spectacular travel destinations is Cape Breton’s rolling heartland, where the highlands meet the lowlands, along the shores of the islands' beautiful inland sea - the Bras D’Or Lakes. The lakes have a scenic drive called the Bras D'Or Lakes Scenic Drive, that encircles the most of the main lakes, along shore line roads that offer ever-changing panoramic views of woodlands, a patchwork quilt of rolling green farmlands, villages and the beautifully stunning Bras D’or Lake, at each turn. The area has roads and trails that are ideal for walking, hiking, cycling and birdwatching. The region is a major nesting area for the American Bald Eagle, with hundreds of mating pairs, these impressive birds can often be seen soaring aloft or perched high up on the tree branches. Also found on these quiet walks are the white-tailed deer, osprey, herons, foxes and raccoons.

Experience the daily life of the early Scottish settlers at the living museum, Nova Scotia’s Highland Village museum, which re-creates a 200-year history of Scottish settlement on Cape Breton Island. Learn about quarrying for marble in the 1800's at the Marble Mountain Museum. Discover the Orangedale Railway Station Museum and take in the special means of travel, in the late 19th-century trains and train travel. On the south east corner of the Bras D’or Lakes, Nicholas Deny, French Merchant adventurer and owner of the fishing rights of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, had built a fort and a road across the isthmus in 1650, to enable the passage of boats into and out of the Lakes. But in 1668-69, there had been a fire the destroyed the trading post that had built up around the fort, financially ruining the Seigneur. A museum now exists at St Peter’s to commemorate an important piece of North American history.

Of course no trip around the Bras D’Or Lakes would be complete without stopping to see the museum of the late Alexander Graham Bell, on Baddeck Bay. Although this little town is not strictly on the scenic route around the lakes, it is settled on one of the beautiful lakes that can be found and the famous inventor must have also agreed, for it is here that he built his home, which he named, the Beinn Bhreagh, Gaelic for beautiful mountain. Parks Canada has built a National Historic Site around the inventor with the aid of the family, who generously donated many of their famous fathers' pre-inventions, which had not previously been made public.

Of the many attractions of Cape Breton, there is none so uplifting as the Gaelic music and story-telling culture. Cape Breton is rich in music and culture of the Scottish highlands. At the Father John Angus Rankin Cultural Center in Glendale, discover the story behind the resurgence of the traditional Scottish music in Cape Breton. Stop at acclaimed singer, songwriter and recording artist, Rita McNeil’s tea-room at Big Pond and enjoy the heart warming collection of awards, photographs and memorabilia from the famous singers distinguished career.

National Historical Site : Fortress of Louisbourg

One of the most popular historical sites in North America is the Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Park, in Nova Scotia. It offers a wide range of activities for the whole family and makes learning history, a great pleasure for all. It is on the eastern seaboard, on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia and is the site of the challenge, set between the French and English cultures for the domination of North America in the mid-eighteenth century.

At the Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Park, the enactment year is 1744, the year before the battles began. Dozens of costumed animators become the reconstructed town's residents for the summer. There are the Kings bakers, the Governor and his kitchen help, blacksmiths, foot soldiers and many others, who act the part of the population of the day. Surrounded by ramparts, the King's Bastion is a fort within a fortress. The Bastion Barracks is the largest building on the site and in its day was one of the largest buildings in North America. Within its walls are the Chapelle St. Louis, Louisbourg's garrison chapel. Artifacts found during 20 years of archaeological excavation are on display in the building. Talk to a soldier, a baker, maid or a smithy. You'll find them happy to tell you about guard duty, living conditions, armaments, security, food, a soldier's life and the lives of the people in general.

If lucky, the unsuspecting visitor could accidentally come across an archaeological dig, in progress. At the beginning of the 2007 season, a body had become unearthed in a section of the old part of the ruins, not yet restored. As it turned out, archaeologists from several universities found thirty bodies who had been buried in a common grave under the dirt floor of the foundation of a building. As of yet there is little information as to why these bodies were placed there, in such a fashion. This one was headed by Dr. Bruce Fry of the University College of Cape Breton (UCCB).

At its peak, Louisbourg was a town of several thousand inhabitants and since the cod fishery was the foundation on which the economy of Louisbourg and Île Royale (Cape Breton) was built, the local fish merchants dry and display their merchandise, while life around the town bustled on. It was both an inshore and offshore fishery and organized into two seasons, which dominated the colonial economy and was of great international significance. Fish, preserved by salting and drying, was an important foodstuff in Europe. Competition for fish stocks often led to international rivalries. The per capita value of Île Royale's dried cod exports in 1737 was about eight times greater than the value of Canada's fur trade, during the same period. Major export markets were in France and the West Indies.

Thanks to its spacious, ice-free, well-protected harbor, its lucrative fishery, and its near-perfect location on the Atlantic edge of North America, Louisbourg quickly developed into an important center of merchant trade. Ocean-going vessels from France, the West Indies, and Canada - and coastal ships from New England and Acadia - used Louisbourg as a trade and transshipment center. An average of 150 vessels a year sailed into the Louisbourg harbor, making it the busiest seaport in New France and one of the busiest in North America. Louisbourg's importance as a trading center was demonstrated by its many warehouses, its careening wharf, admiralty court, the harbor defenses and what was Canada's first lighthouse.

In 1961 the Government of Canada began a $25million project aimed at reconstructing approximately one-quarter of the original town and fortifications. Within this area the buildings, yards, gardens and streets are being recreated as they were during the 1740s, immediately preceding Louisbourg's first siege.

The work at Louisbourg has required an inter-disciplinary research effort. Archaeological excavation has yielded millions of artifacts as well as the ruins of fortifications and buildings. Some 750,000 pages of documents and 500 maps and plans have been copied from archives in France, England, Scotland, the United States and Canada. The historical evidence reveals much about life at Louisbourg and provides an excellent base for the study of the French in North America. The Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Park is the crown jewel of the Canadian Park Service and is the largest historical reconstruction in Canada.

In taking a self guided tour and asking questions to the various tradesmen and women of the town, one can enjoy many hours of living history. There are historical games and activities where children can come and play with the interpreters, making the trip a learning experience for the whole family. A guided tour is given, so that all the information is presented in order, but there are many places that are not covered in the tour. Authentic meals and refreshments can be had at one of two eating establishments, one for the lowly folk and another for the more well-to-do class. It is a full day of activities at the National Historical Site of the Fortress of Louisbourg, so be prepared to have good walking gear.

Great Ecotourism Destinations: Brion Island

Ecotourism is the new wave in vacation hotspots around the world. There are many who would not even consider the traditional vacation anymore, but rather have the exercise and learn as much as possible about areas that they have never been to. Brion Island, part of the Magdalen Islands, Quebec, Canada is one such place, but it is one of a few places which has limited access - only one thousand persons a year, including the guides for each separate trip they make. Needless to say, the limited reservations are taken almost before they can be given. Most of the reservations are taken as a first come, first serve reservation.

Going to the Magdalen Islands includes a five-hour ferry trip across the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. On arrival, accommodations are taken. On the correct date, the ecotourist presents themself at the wharf in Grosse Isle North, on the far northern eastern end of the islands. There is now a kiosk in place for the ecotourists, where they can pay to land on the island. They board upon either zodiacs or fishing boats, depending on whom they have their reservations and sail the hour voyage to the island. Usually, the zodiacs will take a tour around the island first, while the tour guide explains the life that took place on the island and its history and processes as to how Brion became Quebec’s twentieth Ecological Reserve. There is always a stop at the Seal Rocks on the eastern end of Brion and watch the young seal cavorting amongst themselves between the rocks while the older, more majestic Harbour and Hood seal lounge on the tops of the jagged edges of rock, sunning themselves in the beautiful weather. A full explanation is given for the reasons that the eastern tip of Brion is left entirely to nature and no human intervention is allowed. Only the occasional biological study group may set a foot on this section.

As the tour continues, the towering cliffs on the north side are examined at close range. The marine bird populations that nest on the capes are intriguing to watch and are a delight for bird-watchers. The razorbill that looks like miniature penguins, and the Atlantic Puffins in all their splendor, can often be approached while they are sitting on the water, because they are sometimes too heavy from feeding to lift off. There are Large Cormorants that are as black as can be imagined and blacked-legged Kittiwakes with their interesting calls. The birds are so numerous that when in flight, they cover the sky and block out the sun. The capes on the north side of Brion are also an excellent opportunity to view the stages of the evolution of the islands and of the Saint Lawrence basin because the eons are clearly etched into the rock walls. As the tour moves on, the caves can be looked at and how the many shipwrecks saw their last days on the rocks of Brion Island. The sight becomes living history of the evolution of navigation and its reasons for being.

The zodiac part of the tour ends, when the boat rounds the western end of the island, except for the return voyage to the wharf in Grosse Isle. Here the passengers disembark beside an old fishing wharf, that is now nothing more than a hazard, and they walk up the hill to the Brion Island Interpretation Center, which was the cookhouse for the fishermen, who would come to the island in the early spring and stay until late fall, harvesting the fruitful waters, back in the 1950's and 60's. A tour of the cook house and the surrounding outbuildings - the foundation of the saline or salting factory, the boat-haulers building, the fishermen’s camps, the outhouses are all part of the tour. Up over the savage campground hill to examine the now fully automated lighthouse and understand why lighthouse-keeper spent many nights in lonely watch for the ships that would pass in the night, hoping that it wouldn’t be the night that one would come up on the rocks. A climb down onto the sandy beach for a couple of hours of swimming and relaxing is made before the return to civilization.

As a separate part of the tour there is the long trek to the area known as the deserted Dingwell property, house and the Saddle. This trip is done on foot over the top of the northern capes, up hills and down in valleys, for a five-hour hike, which is not recommended for the physically weak. The trip can only be made with a registered Brion Island tour guide, who is in contact with the mainland and is trained in life saving techniques. The guide continues the tour with more comprehensive information of the peoples of Brion Island, how they came to be there, how they lived in such isolation and the reasons for their departure, since the island once had a thriving, rich culture who cultivated its fertile soil. A more in-depth study of the shipwrecks is given and local folk-lore of the days and nights that passed on this island. More bird-watching is possible from the tops of the capes.

By the time the ecotourists are ready to board the zodiacs or fishing boats upon which they came, they find they are weary and completely convinced that it was worth the trouble and expense to get to Brion Island. The photo opportunities were stunning to say the least. The guided tours were comprehensive in the two official Canadian languages. The presentation of the information was colorful and intimate and the people, whom they met friendly and helpful to a fault sometimes, making the trip an eventful one, but as safe as possible. The sail back to Grosse Isle is usually quiet. They pass the navigation buoys that the ships in the shipping lanes use while going to and from the St. Lawrence river, and see the occasional Atlantic dolphin or Minke whale. The ecotourists are reflective of what they came for and what they were returning with.

For more information about Great Ecotourism Destinations : Brion Island, see http://www.excursionsenmer.com