As a kid, I loved a book about a guy who could suck all the water out of the ocean, allowing people to run onto the ocean floor and collect lots of fish. He could only hold his breath so long, so people had a limited amount of time before the ocean filled back up. Eventually, a bunch of them got greedy and drowned.

Somewhere in Nova Scotia or New Brunswick, on Canada’s far-east coast, I swear that water-sucking guy is alive. And every 12 hours he is damn thirsty.

I wasn’t greedy for fish, but I had to take a walk on the ocean floor at low tide on the Bay of Fundy at Hall’s Harbour, NS—a really cool place to see the world’s highest/lowest tides. Six hours earlier, the water had been about six m (20ft) higher and people were jumping in for a swim. At low tide, they’d jump straight onto rocky ground. Even the massive lobster boats were sitting on the ground. Every six hours, it’s a Ripley’s Believe It Or Not moment.

Even crazier was when some local explained that out in the middle of the bay, the tide actually swings over 12 m (40 ft); that the quantity of water that moves in and out during one tide cycle is more than the combined flow of the world’s freshwater rivers. From some of the high nearby bluffs you can see the water move. I hiked to one, but was stuck in fog. Great exercise, though.

Hall’s Harbour Lobster Pound is luckily nearby and serves up lobster dinner. Walking on the ocean floor made me feel like eating a bottom feeder. And since I read the book, I got out before that mythical water-sucking guy ran out of breath.

Why I loved it: Nova Scotia’s seaside towns are all adorable, but this tiny hamlet was extra educational. Plus, there’s a winery nearby to help pass the six hours between high/low tide.

www.hallsharbour.org/index.html www.hallsharbourlobster.ns.ca www.blomidonwine.com www.bayoffundytourism.com