CANADA
A province in the east part of Canada , Nova Scotia is absolutely gorgeous. With innumerous miles of Atlantic coastline, vibrant green foliage everywhere and a diverse and interesting wildlife, the area offers visual delights at every turn. For anyone who wants to get in touch with the outdoors, there are plenty of opportunities to do so. To miss a whale watching tour would be a travesty, what with right, gray and humpback whales nearby. Humpback breaching and feeding is a natural marvel to watch, and on days when the weather makes the water particularly agitated, the aerial acrobatic show the humpbacks put on is amazing. I was lucky and encountered such a situation, and bore witness to at least 4 full humpback body breaches (a breach is a leap out of the water), 7 or so tail breaches and at least 10 head breaches. The sight is phenomenal, and depending on the size of your boat one can actually feel the impact of the humpbacks returning to the water. This effect is even better when the whales are up close and personal, and I was lucky enough to have a whale breach fewer than 200 ft from my boat!
Not only does this place have lots of beauty, but it also has some very interesting areas to visit. One of the most famous is Prince Edward Island , which is a small bit of land just off the coast. The book series Anne of Green Gables was set in this location full of green fields and sand dunes. Oddly enough, due to the popularity of the book and the animated series in Japan , most of the signs and pamphlets for tourists on the island were printed in English, French (widely spoken in Canada ) and Japanese. The island has farms and cottages all around giving it a very homey and peaceful atmosphere. The people are also very kind and hospitable. One farmer gave us a tour of his property and allowed us to meet his new calves. But for those who want to see everything, the best way to tour the island is by bike. The island has plentiful bike rentals and amazing bike trails. When biking it’s easy to explore the large area in the space of a few hours, while by foot it would require a few days.
Lobsters and seafood abound in this area of the world. The lobster and crab bakes are infamous and amazingly wonderful to the taste. The seafood industry is important to the area, and along much of the coastline are cheerful little fishing boats equipped with the ability to go shellfishing. At most of these restaurants, you can find huge outdoor ovens where they bake the crabs and the lobsters. Some of these ovens seem big enough that you could probably bake a full-grown man in the apparatus. Near the ovens there are usually huge stacks of crab and lobster traps that are intimidating in their own right. I was pretty sure a small child could be captured in one of those if they weren’t careful.
There aren’t a huge number of people in the area and so there aren’t any huge cities like New York City or Boston , but what exists for the most part are small towns and villages that have a very rustic feel to them. The main industries are fishing and tourism, and the majority of adults are employed in one of the two industries. There are schools set up similar to the ones here, but the number of children attending them tends to be small. As a result when a child wants to go to high school they often have to leave the area, and certainly for college they have to go to one of the larger cities.
Peggy's Cove is one of the most beautiful spots in the area. The landscape, like the name suggests is a cove that opens up to the Atlantic Ocean. The area also features a gorgeous lighthouse and plenty of land for romping over and exploring. Legend has it that the cove got its name from Margaret, nicknamed Peggy, who was the only survivor of a massive schooner crash just off the coast of the penninsula. But its a fantastic place for a picnic regardless.
