Cape Breton

Sun 27th Sept
The reconstructed fortress of Louisburg was windswept but interesting. Actors in period costume, stationed in many of the buildings interacted with the visitors. (Back in the mid 1700s Louisburg was a big and important harbour to the French because of the cod fishing).
Local food sampled: Seafood chowder (C) and hot beef sandwich with mashed pots and gravy (P). The Canadians do seem to like their carbohydrates!

Mon 28th Sept
Excellent museum at Baddeck where Alexander Graham Bell lived in the latter part of his life, had exhibits covering some of his many interests and inventions. Bell initially worked as a teacher of the deaf - married Mabel who was one of his pupils - using an alphabet system called Visible Speech based on how the sounds are produced by the vocal organs. Apart from inventing the telephone, he co-founded the National Geographic Society, was co-designer of the plane that made the first powered flight in Canada, was co-designer of the hydrofoil boat that set the world marine speed record in 1919, and did research on increasing multiple births in sheep, amongst other things!!.

Cape Breton (pronounced 'capbreTAN' by the natives) has a very indented coastline as well as a large sea loch in its middle (which almost cuts the island into two), so there are lots of pretty views out over water. The hillsides in the Cape Breton Highlands National Park are turning colour and would have been very pretty if we had had sun instead of heavy rain on the drive north.