A short film of our recent camping and hiking exploits.

Camping in Nova Scotia

Taking advantage of the ‘Atlantic Bubble’ we took a three day break to Nova Scotia with a car full of camping gear. Online registration was a breeze and passing through the New Brunswick and Nova Scotia checkpoints was equally so. We made our customary stop for brunch at the Irving Big Stop in Aulac and motored south towards Halifax.

After three and a half hours we reached King Neptune Campground at Indian Harbour. We selected the same pitch as last year and were fully set up in forty-five minutes. The camp site is simple but pleasant and mostly stacked with RVs and trailers. We were one of only half a dozen tenters.

The weather was hot and humid by day and rather chilly by night, ranging from 25C to 12C across three days. As is our custom we scrambled all across the several kilometres of granite coastline around Polly Cove and several hours of exertion and blazing sun set us up nicely for a campfire and an early night.

We lit great fires each night and watched the setting sun turn the sky shades of yellow and orange. With zero light pollution the starry night was spectacular and made getting up to answer the call of nature in the small hours an event! Sometimes during the night hours we heard a deep reverberating blast way off in the distance, not unlike a snore but coming about once a second. We pondered the possible origins and were fascinated to learn from our local friend Mimmi Henriksen that we were hearing dolphins blowing as they swam through feeding grounds.

We took a hike across the Peggy’s Cove site too and shook our heads at those edging way too close to the surging water by the treacherous black rocks. The lighthouse is a great sight but one we probably didn’t need to see on a busy Labour Day weekend when visitors were out in force. Much more satisfying was our hike on the trails near West Dover, a short drive east. From one peak in the hills we could see right out to sea. Inland there were spectacular residences cut into granite slopes, one with a seaplane moored alongside.

All too soon our adventure drew to a close and as we made breakfast on our final morning we surveyed the site to find only four pitches out of sixty-five remained occupied; a mass exodus had taken place after the holiday weekend and in time for the first day of school, resuming after a six month break.

A Weekend in the Bubble

As the four Maritime Provinces of Canada (Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador have commendably low COVID19 infection rates (PEI has no current cases) it was decided by mutual consent to open the borders between these Provinces and thereby allow short breaks, visits to relatives, shopping and other trips.

We registered online and received our authorization passes by return email. On Sunday morning we drove to the Confederation Bridge, paid our toll, and drove the 13 kilometers across to New Brunswick. Normally you roll off the bridge at cruising speeds and continue to your destination but this time a slight diversion took us past a small police presence where we waved through without even having to show our passes. Fair enough, we must have looked safe! The heat was intense - 32C and feeling like 38c with the humidity.

After a couple of hours driving we reached Moncton and stopped at Costco with a smart shopping list. Masks were recommended but not compulsory so we took a cart and navigated the almost empty zig-zag queueing system into the deliciously cool store. It's umpteen hundreds of thousands of square feet are piled high with industrial sized packs of everything imaginable. We stocked up on paper towels, bagels, cheese and various other items, in bulk.

A visit to Value Village and then we were heading back north. Before we reached the bridge we stopped for ice creams and when almost home we called ahead for a take out curry.

On Monday morning, a Public Holiday here, we set off for Stratford in the car with the bikes on board. Parking at Mount Herbert we picked up the Confederation Trail south and east and rode for 31 kilometers to Lake Verde and back. The humidity was high and the sky mostly overcast with a strong crosswind, there and back.

Somehow amid all that we found time to fit in three episodes of the Handmaid's Tale, Season 3, and two movies: Doctor Sleep and Joker.

Sunday Biking

The Rise and Fall of Musical Styles

I love these presentations by Data is Beautiful, they really show the staggering significance of things we feel we already know. Country and then Jazz soared in the teens and twenties; fast forward to 1955 and the arrival of rock 'n' roll swept all else aside in a matter of months. And how quickly styles are dropped like hot bricks, no gradual decline for the likes of ragtime, which fell like a stone in the mid-forties.

It's worth mentioning that whatever is currently in vogue is considered pop, hence no catch-all category for that. I am somewhat surprised by the tenacity of Techno but this is an American study, hence the mumbling/swearing/angry chart topper of the past decade.

People like what they like and, as in all life, a favoured minority style cannot be artificially boosted.

Outdoor Activities

Weekend movies and cycling

‘Blinded by the Light’, based on real events, is at heart a coming of age story. Javed, a Pakistani teenager, lives with his controlling father and obedient mother in Luton, North London. We meet him in 1987 as a high-schooler attempting to stay afloat on the high seas of family expectations, the lure of western music, vicious racism and girls.

His passion for writing poetry and a chance introduction to the music and lyrics of The Boss lead to an awakening of the soul and inevitable conflict with his father’s rigid ideology. Jared has formed a close relationship with an English girl and is torn between his cultural roots and the freedom and excitement of the west. Boiling point is reached when Jared wins a writing competition and insists on travelling to New Jersey (Springsteen’s birth place) to pick up his award and his father tells him not to come back.

Happy endings abound when the two reconcile after Jared gives a heartfelt speech at a school event revealing that he has ample space for both his new lifestyle and his South Asian roots. The film shows the beauty of music and love against a backdrop of ugly racism, demonstrating how an immigrant boy can learn to embrace a new culture yet remain loyal to his origins.

‘The Legend of Tarzan’; not our typical film fare but, intrigued by the trailer, we gave this a go and soon found ourselves immersed deep in the African Congo admiring the lush jungle and its wholly credible CGI beasts. The old Edgar Rice Burrows creation is retold with a nice mix of reverent fidelity and exciting action scenes. To help those unfamiliar with the tale, Tarzan’s upbringing by apes and subsequent return to a life of British gentry is shown in neat flashbacks.

In short, the thrust of the plot is Tarzan freeing Congolese men from the grip of slavery under Belgian King Leopold; an apt theme for the times we live in. Naturally our man gets separated from his feisty wife Jane but manages not only to unchain the slaves but to rescue his mate from the jaws of death.

A British emissary sent to the Congo as Tarzan’s sidekick provides some fun with self-effacing humour and Jane is played superbly by Margot Robbie. If there’s a weak point it’s perhaps the great man himself. While he looks the part, all chiselled abs and flowing locks, his demeanour is low key. Nonetheless he impresses with much effortless swinging through tall trees and wonderful relationships with the jungle animals.

           

Cycling has become our latest weekend activity. We ride on quiet, Sunday morning roads to reach the Confederation Trail where we can start loops around and through Charlottetown, steadily increasing our range. This time we reached the centre of town where the Trail ends. Nearby is the former Railway Station building, now home to the Workers’ Compensation Board of Prince Edward Island, while at Peakes Quay the former engine sheds now house a series of diners and cafes.

We spun through a deserted downtown and out to Victoria Park where a bike lane takes you past the harbour and on to sleepy residential roads. Soon we were back on main roads for a fast downhill coast on North River Road to Ellen’s Creek then a sharp uphill effort and we were home, 26kms under our belts.