Nova Scotia. You think of what first? Tall ships, succulent lobster, wild horses. Sidney Crosby, maybe. (If you’re Canadian.) You may think of its capital, Halifax: a fantastic port city with an art college, symphony orchestra and indie music scene. (It’s one of the few places in the Maritimes where the adjective “hip” makes sense.)
But at some point, if you cock an ear to the wind, you hear the pipes.
It’s no coincidence that the name of this southernmost Atlantic province, one of Canada’s original three, means “New Scotland.” There are times you’d swear you were in Scotland. Driving your golf ball into the teeth of the wind at a links course by the sea. (SCOREGolf and Reader’s Digest called Highland Links the best public golf course in Canada.) Quaffing whisky at some great pub and hearing… is that Scottish Gaelic? The ancient language is actually still spoken fluently by more than a handful of Nova Scotians—some estimates put the number in the thousands. A lot of them are on Cape Breton Island, which sits atop Nova Scotia like a candle flame, and these days is a mecca for sailing, whale-watching and scuba diving.
All fun stuff. But being in Nova Scotia for any length of time conjures longer thoughts. Disasters footnote the province’s history: the Halifax Explosion, mine collapses and cod-stock shocks, the distress signal of the Titanic beaming onto shore. There are two ways to think about all that. It’s plain bad luck. Or it’s the best luck ever. A message that tells all from Nova Scotia and all who visit: you are still here. You were spared. Reach for someone you love, and raise a glass.
Nova Scotia in a nutshell:
Local heroes: Sidney Crosby, Ian Miller, Ellen Page
Local tipple: Alexander Keith’s India Pale Ale
Photo-op cage match: Lighthouse at Peggy’s Cove vs. fishing docks of Lunenberg (Old Town Lunenburg is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site)
Written in stone by: Alistair MacLeod
Soundtrack by: Stan Rogers, Hank Snow, Anne Murray, Rita McNeil and innumerable fiddlers named Cameron and MacDonald
Backup singers: Natalie MacMaster, Ashley MacIsaac, Leslie Feist, Blou
Jacket art by: Alex Colville
Mascot: The Bluenose (on the back of the Canadian dime)
Must-do excursion: Drive—or better yet, cycle—the Cabot Trail
Iconic meal: Lobster dinner at Hall’s Harbour in the Annapolis Valley
Summer festivals: Lobsterpalooza (end of each summer month, Cape Breton), Lunenberg Folk Harbour Festival (August), Halifax International Busker Festival (August)
Morbid, but historically interesting, day trip: Titanic-victim graves in Halifax
Souvenirs: Nova Scotia crystal, folk art (especially rug hooking)
Museums: Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site and Museum, Cape Breton Miners’ Museum
***Nova Scotia Day at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games is Feb. 16.
http://novascotia.com
video:
Alexander Keith’s Brewery in Halifax
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qskCN9ScRgY
Halifax International Busker Festival
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fs65II9_AH0
Lunenburg Folk Harbour Festival
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFUXrz2ZVuQ
Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gxXacyYjaw
Musée maritime de l’Atlantique
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26VMcXDvbk4
Read about Canada’s 13 provinces and territories
