Thursday, May 4, 2023: On the Lighthouse Route with Annie Way and the gang!
Info:
Nova Scotia is one of Canada’s ten provinces and three territories. With its size of approximately 55,000 km2 it adds up to a little bit more than half a percent of Canada’s total area. It is the second smallest province after Prince Edward Island, and with almost half a million inhabitants the province with the second highest population density – again after Prince Edward Island. Geographically it is a peninsula, but there are also some islands that belong to it. Nova Scotia is surrounded by several seas: the Atlantic in the east, the Gulf of Maine southwest, the Gulf of St. Lawrence in the north, and the Bay of Fundy in the west.
Before the great error of Christopher Columbus it was inhabitated by the Mi’kmaq.
My opinion:
One of my special places on this planet are the Orkney Islands in Scotland. It was a surprise to find an area in New Scotland (= Nova Scotia) which affects me as deeply as the Orkneys. I am looking forward to my time in the area in September.
Diary:
At Montreal Airport I had already had the chance to get to know the calmness of the people in Canada. It went on in this way, just relaxed, friendly, open-minded and helpful.
I had booked a room for two nights in Comfort Hotel in Halifax, because Seabridge, the agency that had organized Annie Way’s passage, had recommended it. The hotel is only a 15-minute-walk from customs, and the office of the shipping company is in the hotel.
Same thing again: The hotel personnell completely friendly, helpful, everything was spotless, although the style was 70ies. But retro seems to be in vogue. Though … a little less of brown and orange would have been nice.
The next morning I had an early breakfast and watched the other guests who helped themselves at the buffet and cleaned up their tables afterwards. My first exploration let my heart beat faster: hashbrowns, Canadian bacon, scrambled eggs, toast with butter and all kinds of other delicious food. Canadian bacon – I had been looking forward to it! As the day would be exhausting, I allowed myself a hearty breakfast. Cranberry juice and coffee in addition. The coffee machine offered a choice between “strong”, “normal” and “light”. Thinking that normal coffee couldn’t be wrong, I pressed the button.
While enjoying the different parts of breakfast – hashbrowns, Canadian bacon, cinnemon rolls – I grabed the coffee cup and …
… returned to reality at the moment. Sugar water. Not more and not less. Brown sugar water.
A short time later I left the hotel, wearing a winter jacket I had bought in Norway last summer, and started my walk to the customs, where shipping company employee Bethanie Milner was supposed to wait for me with all the papers I needed.
Fortunately I went off before half past eight, I had to be there at nine. It wouldn’t be me if I hadn’t started into the wrong direction. Nevertheless I succeeded to come back to the right track – with the help of some locals -, and to reach the building a little bit out of breath but on time. Miss Milner was waiting for me in a comfortable chair near the entrance. Some people from Germany, who I had got to know in the breakfast room, had told me that people picking up their mobile homes had been scheduled every fifteen minutes. I went into the office with three papers, the lady took them, handed me back two of them and punched a stamp on the third one. Two minutes later I was outside again.
Miss Milner had handed me a list of phone numbers, therefore I was able to call a taxi which picked me up five minutes later and took me to the harbor. Same as usual: People were completely relaxed, uncomplicated and friendly. A lady took me to the RVs in a pickup truck – there was an incredible number of mobile homes waiting for their owners.
And there she was – intact and bright – Annie Way. I had to go around her and also have a look inside to find out if everything was okay, and then I was allowed to welcome her.
Of course, the first thing I did was to free the gang from their dark cabinet. Having endured to much, Sally, Leona and Leopold were allowed to sit at the front seat next to me. They really deserved that.
My new purple cell phone told us the way back to the hotel – thanks to google maps. The rest of the day I spent with different things. I went shopping to Walmart (because you get everything there, even propane tanks), refuelled Annie Way (unbelievably inexpensive!), rebuild Annie Way from freight to apartment, etc.
On the next day I could not start in the morning.
At Walmart’s they had sold me an empty propane container, although I had insisted that it was not heavy enough. The price was okay for an empty container but it was much too cheap for a full one – even with the low prices here. It had taken me by surprise how inexpensive food and basic nessesities are – compared to Austria.
At Petro Canada I got my empty propane container exchanged, and they apologized for Walmart. And then Sally gave the start signal – the gang was still sitting on the front passenger seat, they had insisted on that.
We went south, along the coast. I had booked a hotelroom in Lunenburg for two nights. Just, because the weather was still bad, and concerning the temperature, my Norwegian winter jacket was not warm enough, I needed the really really warm one, which had come with Annie Way.
A bit south of Halifax we left the highway and turned into the direction of Peggy’s Cove. And suddenly we were in Scotland! I went hiking and visited the lighthouse. The melancholy atmosphere of the area, caused by the terrile weather, was fascinating.
In the afternoon we arrived in Lunenburg where I put my stuff into my room and then went on a long walk through the town. Beautiful, just beautiful! Lunenburgs historical center is UNESCO world heritage.
In the evening I foung out that Annie Way’s gas stove didn’t work. Something was wrong with the gas. Again.
On Thursday we went into the direction of Mahone Bay and Chester, which meant to go back on the Lighthouse Route. On the way from Lunenburg to Chester there’s Oak Island where some rich people have been trying for years to find a treasure without any proof of its existence. But their PR is so good that people pay a lot of money for guided tours to the island. In 2023 they are rebuilding something, and therefore there are no tours at the moment
There’s a road on a dam connecting the mainland with the island. We stopped before it, and I got out to have a look at Oak Island.
Then we went on to Chester. I wanted to go there because it is the location of the series “Haven” which was based on the novel “Colorado Kid” by Stephen King, and because the area looked to wonderful. Incredlble, what marvellous houses they have in Chester! By sure the homes of the Rich and Beautiful.
In the evening I tried again to get Annie Way’s propane supply to work. Close to the motel there was an Irving gas station, and the gentleman at the counter connected the tank with so much strenght an the appropriate tools, that I don’t know if I will be able to disconnect it again when the tank is empty – nevertheless the stove didn’t work. But the heating did, and this was very reassuring for me because the safety valves of the stove and the heating are next to each other below the bench. Which meant that everything was okay between the tank and that point.
Before we started off the next day, I tried it again with talking to the stove, encouraging it. Persuading it. And guess what, suddenly the flame went on! A little bit of friendliness is never in vain. And a little bit of patience as well, for the propane to find its way from the tank straight through Annie Way and up to the stove.
On this day we didn’t stay at Amherst where I had found a campground named Loch Lomond on the internet, but somewhere else. Detours are always the best things that can happen.