 The Willey Travel Guide:
Maritime Provinces (Part 2) - The Acadian Peninsula
New Brunswick and the Acadian
Peninsula:
We stayed at Hayes
House (506-237-5228), a
1910's house built by the current owners family. The house was beautifully appointed
with a second floor lounge. The twin room (C$58) we reserved was located on the
second floor (the door on the right in the photo) and faced the Bay. Unfortunately,
views of the Baie de Chaleur were limited since the house is not on waterfront property.
We found that there were
virtually no services or amenities in the vicinity of Nash Creek. We noted this on
our 15 minute drive back to Charlo to relax on the beach at Chaleur Beach Park. The
water itself was cold (despite being early August) and full of jellyfish. We didn't
realize at the time but the beach is known for the Eel River Sandbar which provides
swimmers with the opportunity of swimming in cold fresh water on one side and warmer salt
water on the other.
There was a small restaurant on
the beach but we decided to find something closer to Nash Creek. We ended out
driving about 10 minutes past Nash Creek before we began to realize that there was
nothing. It was getting late and we were hungry. Our hosts told us of the
Bonaventure Lodge a few kilometres on the road to Charlo. The Lodge was a hidden
"old fashioned" motel resort with a good view of the Bay, though we were not
able to enjoy the view since all the window tables were taken. The food was good but
not spectacular.
The next morning we awoke to an
excellent breakfast of cheese souflée, potatoes, fiddleheads, ham, muffins, cereal and
toast. Scrumptious!
About 90 minutes after leaving
Nash Creek, we arrived at le Village Acadien,
located 10 km from Caraquet on the Acadian peninsula. Le Village Acadien is a
faithful recreation of a typical Acadian village in the middle of the 18th century, around
the time of the forced expulsion by the British colonial rulers of the day. The
Village reminded me of Upper Canada Village in Morrisburg, Ontario though it appeared to
be smaller in scale.
The costumed staff are very helpful and
provide commentary in both French and English. I personally liked the Robin house
(see photo at left) where you can try your hand at fish net mending, like Christopher did
or you can taste salt cod, which I did. I also liked the area near the Gristmill and
the Church. We spent about 3 hours visiting the site and we were able to see
everything without feeling rushed. Arriving at the far end of the site around
lunchtime, we ate at the food services area located in a small building. However,
the food was mediocre and was essentially fast food warmed up in microwave ovens.
There is a cafeteria in the visitor reception centre and there is also a small restaurant
in one of the buildings that serves authentic Acadien cuisine though you need to make
reservations and the wait appeared to be long when we passed by the building.
Leaving the Village we headed
down the road toward Truro, Nova Scotia, some 400 km away. We made good time since
the highways in the Maritimes are in good condition and even the major two-lane highways
are quite often "controlled access". The speed limits are generally 10 km
higher than in Ontario and Québec.
First Taste of Nova
Scotia:
We stopped at the Nova Scotia Welcome Centre at the border. The staff were very
helpful and are ready to provide advice along with maps, brochures and the "Complete
Guide for Doers and Dreamers". There is also a nicely stocked souvenir shop.
Our accommodation that night was Ann's Farmhouse (toll free
800-603-7887) located in
the country, south of Truro. The farmhouse was a charming but isolated building at
the end of the paved portion of the road from Hilden. We had called ahead to let our
hosts, Ann and David Pullen, know that we would be arriving around 6 pm. Mr. Pullen
wisely suggested that we stop for supper in Truro since there were no restaurants close to
the farmhouse. This tip saved us about 30 to 45 minutes of return travel
time. The Pullen's made us welcome and invited us to join them and the other guests
(a young couple from North Carolina) for tea that evening. We had reserved the Loft
(C$50) since this had twin beds. However, the Loft was not as nicely appointed as
the other rooms and was very hot, despite a fan running continuously. Breakfast
consisted of fruit salad and plenty of blueberry pancakes.
Continued
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