Day 50 Sydney Nova Scotia

We had organised a hire car to drive to Louisbourg, about 40 minutes from Sydney. As this was another tender port and the cruise booked shore excursions were given the first tenders, we were ready and waiting early to depart the ship.

Once ashore we were shuttled to the car rental company. We had requested a corolla sized car and were surprised to find we had been given a Jeep Compass (a car this size for our New England drive would be welcome due to the volume of luggage). The weather was cold, windy and drizzling. Our options were to still go to the historic fort at Louisbourg or drive an hour to the start of the Cabot Trail and do a little of this drive. It is too long a drive to complete in the time we had ashore.

We opted to go to turn left and head to Louisbourg as we thought the scenery on the trail with all the low cloud and rain may not be so good. (WE later found out otherwise). The drive to the current town of Louisbourg was very pleasant. There is a detour currently in place to the old fort due to major roadworks. This took us in through the back roads of the national park. No animals were spotted as we drove. However, we did find plenty of wet dirt roads with potholes.

As our National Parks Canada pass also covered this site it only cost us $7.50 to get into the area. For what we received, this was a bargain. Louisbourg was originally a French settlement. This site was a rich cod fishing area where this fish was caught, preserved and sent back to France to help feed the population. It did come under English control in 1745 but was later swapped for other French held territories.

In 1758 yet another battle between France and England occurred and once again the English were the victors. This time they decided they level the fort and surrounding walls so not to allow the French to have a possible stronghold at a later time.

In the early 1900's it was decided this was an important historic site and archaeological historians started excavations. Money was raised and it was then decided to rebuild a section of the fort area as it was in the 1700's. One quarter of the original site was rebuilt. Plans and records were sent from France to make the reconstruction accurate. It has been very well done.

Part of the entrance fee was a tour of the complex by a parks Canada ranger. The tour lasted close to an hour and our guide was quite informative and shared a few tales. A number of the staff were in period costume of the time and they told of the fortunes that befell them in those days. On our tour the head gardener spoke to the group (he was in costume). All the gardens in the area were planted as they were in the 1700's. These gardens were built both in design and the type of plants as existed previously.

As the French had kept good records on the settlement, the tour guide was able to share with us who lived in the various building and how they fared in those days. One benefit for the historians is that when a person died in those days, they prepared an inventory of the assets a person had acquired at the time of their death. In some instances they had provided the property that a person had accumulated up to their death.

As we roamed the streets and investigated the buildings we noticed that they kept sheep and a couple of pigs in pens, similar to how they would have done in the earlier days. There were barrels and equipment in some buildings as well as a partly built long boat.

We managed to duck in and out of buildings in the light drizzle but more to get out of the icy winds that are prevalent on this part of the Cape Breton coast. It was a rather chilly day and the wind was roaring. At one stage were found a room that had a fire blazing in the fireplace. We warmed ourselves as we spoke to a woman dressed as a soldier. She recounted the daily life of a soldier in the early days. We were able to see where the soldier lived, their clothing and what they ate.

We were lucky to eat a couple of cod patty burgers that were being cooked and provided to both visitors and staff by Nova Scotia's "Kilted Chef". There was a TV crew in this area interviewing people and doing a documentary on the site.

After meandering through the various streets and buildings we headed back to return the car and to the ship by the final boarding time of 3.30pm.