Cape Breton Island constitutes the northern part of Nova Scotia. Much of it is a national park circumnavigated by a road called the Cabot Trail, after John Cabot, the 17th century Italian explorer who sailed under the English flag and was the first known European to land here. Since the Vikings got to Newfoundland, they probably were here as well, since it is only about 100 miles, but they left no trace.
The Cabot Trail transverses a series of mountains following the coast around the head of the island, giving a series of views of steep cliffs, hillsides, river valleys, and crashing surf on both the Atlantic and Gulf of St. Lawrence sides. Along the way are a few towns, mostly very small, that cater to tourists in summer and hunker down against the winds the rest of the year. Several harbors support a declining livelihood from fishing. Unlike the rest of Nova Scotia (oddly), the culture here is staunchly Scottish. There are tartans aplenty and Scottish burrs. And a Gaelic College. The people look like they were transported from Edinburgh or Inverness yesterday. Ruddy cheeks and sturdy shoes predominate. And fiddle music. And bagpipes.
The water is too cold for much of a beach culture even in the warmest months. So the usual tourist experience is to drive and gawk. There are bus groups, mostly seniors. We overheard conversations about heroic driving days over dinner at our Inn, one of those cabins-plus-a-main-dinning-room places.
The highlight, so far, in addition to the Dancing Goat Café, is the Alexander Graham Bell Historic Site and Museum. Bell, as it happened, had a second home here and spent a great deal of time advancing various projects during the summers and even occasional winters. He formed a group of young engineers in 1907 first to build kites, and then airplanes. He is considered the pioneer of Canadian aviation. Due to a lack of good communication, he knew little of the work of the Wright Brothers and essentially reinvented many aspects of powered flight. One of his group was John Curtis who would go on to become a major developer and manufacturer of planes in the US. He then turned his attention to boats and with a member of HD-4, pictured above) with foils that went 87 mph in 1911. The foils, which look like a rack of surfboards, are below the water and as speed increases lift the hull above the surface, allowing very fast speeds and a flat ride.
