http://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/Nautikos6191/Random thoughts and observations, photos, or whatever comes to mind, mostly personal stuff. hourly12000-01-01T12:00+00:00http://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/Nautikos6191/634274Now, before talking of my amazing experience, I need to describe in some detail the appearance of one of the items on display at my neighbours’ place. (And yes, it’s a pity that I didn’t get around to taking pictures!) On the lawn, close to the edge of the sidewalk, clad in a tattered...http://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/Nautikos6191/633947One of my neighbours goes all out for Halloween. His display is truly ‘awesome’, to use current jargon, but it’s also gruesome, ghastly and ghoulish, with a touch of the bizarre and more than a touch of gore. Not only the people of our street, but folks from other neighbourhoods come by for a...http://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/Nautikos6191/630824Enough of history: today only a few pictures of a place that transports you back to the 18 th century. Louisbourg is notorious for its dense and frequent fogs, but on this warm and sunny day she showed her friendly side. Yet, in spite of that, she wasn’t totally overrun by tourists. When you...http://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/Nautikos6191/630478The time came for the last day of our vacation trip, which for me was a journey into the past in more ways then one, involving both biography, but also a remembering of history. And what more appropriate conclusion than to visit the Fortress of Louisbourg, which satisfies both demands. Let me...http://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/Nautikos6191/629230Towards the end of our vacation we pulled up stakes in Cheticamp and spent a few days in Baddeck, a jewel on the Bras d’Or Lake. Here is one more view from the heights of the Highlands as we’re driving down a steep road and have the view of a bridge we will soon cross… While called a ‘lake’, the...http://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/Nautikos6191/628543We had restful days. Cell phones were packed away, and there wasn’t a computer within hailing distance. It was hot, often reaching 32C (that’s 89F to our Americans). We hung out. And we had BBQs, drank wine, and just lay in the sun. Of course we also went swimming. The water on the Gulf side of...http://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/Nautikos6191/627817The night had been warm, and at dawn we knew the day would be hot. The beaches beckoned, ours and many of the others, particularly the one at Mabou. But we wanted to see more of the Highlands, and drove up to go hiking along the Skyline Trail. This is a view from the Cabot Trail on the way up....http://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/Nautikos6191/627448I have no intention of letting this travelogue degenerate into a history lesson. 1 Nonetheless, a few additional remarks may be in order. The event of the Acadians’ expulsion ( Le Grand Dérangement ) has to this day been the single most important event in shaping the identity of their...http://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/Nautikos6191/626757At Margaree, and somewhat arbitrarily, the Ceilidh Trail changes into the Cabot Trail, one of the world’s truly spectacular roads. Of course, John Cabot, who is said to have landed at what is now Aspy Bay, on the Atlantic side, probably never traveled here. Continuing past Margaree Harbour we...http://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/Nautikos6191/625959As the Ceilidh Trail 1 curves north-east along the shore, the road rises. To our left the sun glistens on the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and on our right we encounter the first outcroppings of the ancient rock formations, as the one to be seen here. But we can’t stop for long to take pictures, because...