Nova Scotia Bicycle Tour - Day 4 Yarmouth to Barrington

Nova Scotia Tour

Day 4 Yarmouth to Barrington

Canadian Flag, Acadian Flag and the Nova Scotia Flag
Canadian Flag
Acadian Flag
Nova Scotia Flag

I wish I could write about how I woke up in my cabin refreshed and ready to start my big adventure. Unfortunately, I never really fell asleep in that noisy cabin. I gave up the struggle and got up from my bunk around 5:00 AM. I got dressed in my cycling clothes, put on a jacket and went for a walk around the ship.

I stepped outside to have a look at the weather. What I saw did not look encouraging. A thick fog blanketed a gray sea. A light mist was falling. It looked like my trip was off to a rainy start.

I am not a functional human being until I've had my morning coffee. Lack of sleep exacerbated my condition. I wandered about the ship in a futile search for coffee. Finally the PA system announced breakfast was being served. I made a beeline straight for the main dining room.

A waiter came by my table with a coffee pot. I eagerly held out my cup. As he poured, he noticed my cycling clothes. He told me he was from Costa Rica. We chatted with me for a minute about bicycling in his country. Then he said, "We have a saying about cycling in the mountains". He leaned close to me and whispered "It takes cojones". We both had a good laugh as he left to pour coffee for other passengers. Most of the crew members on the ship were from Latin America. My heart sank when I saw water beating against the window next to me. After a couple of seconds, I realized it wasn't rain. The crew was hosing off the ship.

Shortly after breakfast, we arrived in Yarmouth harbor. I got my first glimpse of Nova Scotia. The shore line appeared green and lush. We passed the Cape Forchu Light. I went down into the belly of the ship to prepare my bike. The door opened and I followed the cars to customs. Canadian customs was a piece of cake. "American?", "How long are you staying in Canada?", "Have a nice trip?". I stopped at the large Nova Scotia visitor's center across the street from the ferry terminal to get an updated weather forecast. It wasn't too bad. The rain had ended with clearing expected later in the day. While in the visitor's center, I saw a display for the Yarmouth County Museum. I decided to check it out. When I got there, I found that it was closed.

I had some difficulty finding my way out of the city onto Route 3. After stopping several times and asking directions, I found it. I noticed that all the houses were extremely well kept. Bryan and several other people from the boat recognized me and waved to me as they passed. Once I got outside of Yarmouth, the vegetation was low scrub. The road was narrow with no shoulder. This wasn't a problem as traffic was extremely light. Highway 103 carries all the through traffic.

Bienvenue

An Acadian Welcome

As I rode along, I began to notice signs of the Acadian heritage. I passed mailboxes with French names. I began to notice Acadian flags. The Acadian flag consists of a French tricolor with a yellow star in the upper left hand corner. The Acadians have a unique heritage that is quite different from the Quebecois.

I stopped for lunch at a little pizza shop in the town of Pubnico. When I sat down to eat my sandwich, I noticed a thick black grease on my windbreaker. I suspect I brushed up against some thing on the boat.

After lunch, A nice tailwind pushed me South along the coast. In the small town of Woods Harbour, I stopped at a memorial to fishermen lost at sea. The memorial consisted of a light house with books on either side. Pictures and names of entire boats and crews were engraved into the base of the lighthouse. The books on either side were engraved with the names and dates of individual fishermen lost at sea. Had I been flying by in a car, I would not have even noticed the monument.

Woods Harbour Fisherman's Memorial

The sky eventually cleared later in the afternoon. The wind was blowing hard out of the North. I abandoned my plans to visit Cape Sable. Going there would have meant fighting strong head winds to get back to 3.

I passed several stores as in Barrington Passage. I didn't stop because, I planned to buy groceries in in Barrington. Big mistake. I stopped in the visitors center in Barrington to ask where I could find a grocery store. I found out that the nearest supermarket was back in Barrington Passage. I picked up some noodles and a can of chicken in a convenience store and continued on to Bayberry Campground just outside of Barrington.

I arrived at the campground. The owner Barbara, told me the campground was empty. Therefore, I could have any site, I please. We got in her van and she drove me around the place. After cycling 60 miles with a full load, it seemed strange to see someone get in a car to drive less than a half mile. I picked out a very beautiful site right on the water. We returned to the office where I registered and paid my fee. I bought a box of firewood and loaded it into Barbara's van. I followed her on my bike to the site. As I unloaded the firewood, Barbara said "Don't forget your fire extinguisher". I started searching the inside of the van for a fire extinguisher. Barbara reached in and handed me a one gallon jug of water. She said "this is your fire extinguisher. Please put out your fire before you turn in for the night."

I cooked my dinner. The noodles were OK. But the canned chicken was lousy. I made a mental note to buy my groceries early because a lot of the small towns did not have grocery stores.

My first waterfront campsite

After dinner I sat by the fire and jotted down my notes for the day as I watched the sun set over the bay. The tide crept in to within a few feet of my tent. I wasn't worried because the site was clearly above the high tide mark.

The sun didn't finish setting until almost 10 PM. By that time, I was struggling to stay awake. I was exhausted from the long ride and lack of sleep on the boat. I crawed into my tent. I listened to the waves gently breaking behind my tent as I drifted off to sleep. My total mileage for the day was 66.6.

Continue to Day 5.