Obviously I posted too many photos of Uisge Ban Falls. I will try to be better at choosing but sometimes there is just so much beauty to share.
We continued on the Cabot Trail and almost immediately encountered a series of flag persons, construction and one lane traffic, even a detour. The area had suffered severe flooding early in the spring and several roads had washed out. Since those roads are the only way to get from point A to point B there has been an urgency to repair the roads so regular commerce and life can resume for the locals.
To be honest I don’t think I had ever heard of the Cabot Trail prior to this trip so I had no idea what a treat awaited me. The road lies along the coast line of Cape Breton Island with so much beauty it was hard absorb it all. We stopped at almost every viewpoint to drink in the sights and to take photos. But of course photos never truly capture the experience of “being there” and feeling the beauty.
We had booked 3 nights at Keltic Lodge, a somewhat pricey place, because we felt like it would be nice to have well deserved respite from our travels. It is a lovely establishment set along a narrow finger of land. It is a golf course and spa which sells packages of tee time and spa treatments.
Of course we did not come for golf but to enjoy some spa time. And we enjoyed 2 days of massages, sea weed wraps, pedicures, manicures, facials and even had our hair done to wash out the oils after the Indian head massage. What a treat! Our room was amazing, a suite actually, with two king beds one on the main floor and one on the loft area. It was so crazy to sleep in a king sized bed after our various interesting accommodations.
Although we had some groceries and sometimes just made a sandwich we also took advantage of a couple of recommended local restaurants. We enjoyed the breakfast buffet in the lodge every morning. We did not stay in the main building so walked up the hill each day. The only difficulty was the lack of laundry facilities. We had counted on doing some laundry when we got to Keltic Lodge but we had to resort to hand washing some items which took forever to dry!
On our last evening we drove down to Ingonish Beach and enjoyed the waves and the beach and the area.
Then we resumed our drive around the Cabot Trail. There was not time to stop at many gift shops since we had a scheduled time to be at the ferry in North Sydney. However we did stop at The Gaelic College for a quick break and to see their shop which was filled with all things tartan. The was even a young man piping his bagpipes until the rain drove him inside. The college taught the Gaelic language as well as music and dance.
Soon we came to the end of our Cabot Trail loop and travelled to North Sydney where we found the ferry for our trip to Port Aux Basques, Newfoundland.
Well, I am doing it again! Just too many amazing things to show! Which means lots of photos for you to see. And I know they are not all in sequential order but they are all from the Cabot Trail.
I can’t even remember how many times we waited for our turn past the construction.
Keltic Lodge was huge and seemed to be fully booked.
The view from our suite the first night we arrived in Keltic Lodge.
A sea view of our suite.
The path to and from breakfast.
The Maple Leaf was featured in the ceiling decor of the dining area.
A beautiful full moon seen from our window.
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