Canada’s Atlantic Coast - Lunenburg and surrounds.

 Lunenburg, the UNESCO listed port village, just south of Halifax is renowned for its character, charm and well, its quaintness.  I have no other word for it. It’s just quaint…quaint…quaint…...until your eyes hurt!

We arrived latish in the afternoon to our new “digs” above a deli/restaurant….The Salt Shaker Inn and Deli. There are only 4 rooms and yes, they are up stairs (22 of them) again. The actual setting is very central set right in the heart of the old town, and in a very old building, and being above a nice deli has its advantages. But the view…..that view from our windows is a stunner!

The view from our window across the harbour with brightly coloured warehouses in the foreground, the famous “Bluenose” sailing vessel on the right. The breeze off the water was beautiful.

We went over to the golf course on the the side of the harbour (which isn’t far) for this shot of picturesque Lunenburg in the late afternoon sun. The green place in the middle of shot above Adams and Nickle is The Salt Shaker Inn. Our two rooms are the windows in that green building.

It was not too busy…but buzzing a bit, with people on decks out from the restaurants enjoying their Sunday in the warm weather having a few drinks and meals together. And after a bit or a stroll around the village to orient ourselves, we decided to join them. How pleasant, how couth, how civilised !

More lobster, more beer and more cheer…..and what a setting to enjoy it in!

A walk to the golf course (yes that’s it across the water) in the morning to get a better view of  the village revealed even more more to this little place than we had imagined. No wonder it is a UNESCO site. The following are just a few shots from our wanders around the town but in no way can they capture the essence of this place. They provide just a hint of what can only be really appreciated when seen for real.

Someone’s  house just walking along the street. Many of them in town have plaques with the year and who built it…..often some successful “master mariner.”

Shops in the street.

An art gallery.

A couple of sheds down beside the wharf where the fishing boats tie up. It is still a working port with  fishing boats, sailing vessels, chandlers and warehouses an integral part of the scene

The “Bluenose” is a famous sailing vessel moored at the wharf right in the centre of town.
It is still a working “tall ship” taking tourists out for a taste of old travel under sail.
It was fascination to watch the crew clamber up and down the rigging of those very tall masts.

We spent an exploring day in the town (so much to see and many, many ladies shops) and then ventured out to the local area ……to Mahoney Bay and Peggy’s Cove.

It was quite a bit further than we thought (who knows why?) but it was worth the drive. Mahoney Bay is a village in a cove…..with three churches no less…all vying for the tallest spire, but it was Peggy’s Cove that has the reputation for being very photogenic. And it is. But not the lighthouse so much. 

True it is located out on an impressive rounded rock headland (with no guard rails, but warnings that people have died on said rocks) but I couldn’t understand why so many people were focussed on this light house…and its not a very big one at that.

Peggy’s Cove lighthouse…not all that large….or interesting.

I found the tiny little fishing cove nestled between the rocks and the inlet much more interesting. With it’s Nova Scotia style houses tucked right into the shore and the cove, and its working fishing boats entering and leaving to cove, the fishermen fixing their pots and working on their dinghy’s…..it was quite a fascinating short while that I spent there trying to take it all in. One of the fisherman was unloading baskets of fresh lobster on the dock an selling them to passers by. Talk about fresh!!

Pictures of this little cove with its Nova Scotia buildings and fishing boats and rocky shoreline….much more interesting!

Not the type of coastal scene that we are familiar wth.

That red vessel is heading out in a few minutes…..going to either lay or collect lobster pots. The one behind at the end of the wharf is unloading his catch…with an audience.

So our visit to the Atlantic Coast, and Nova Scotia is coming to a close and the time has come to move on ……tomorrow. And probably it is time, because the wind has picked up tremendously and there is smoke from the quite serious bushfires blanketing the view of our beautiful harbour. We had a brief but fleeting experience of this maritime state and its images and experiences will stay with us for a long time.

Vancouver here we come!