Yesterday's dire weather forecast was a bust for Digby. We had planned to do our washing and sit inside to watch the wild weather, only to be disappointed by the frivolous showers and windless conditions. Overall, we really enjoyed various features of Fundy, especially the scallops on the seafront at Digby while watching the fishing boats come and go. The seafood chowder was also worth the airfare. Today, however, it is blowing a gale and showery which makes driving a little hazardous.

The drive from Digby along Highway 1 hugs the shore of St Mary's Bay, which is separated from the Bay of Fundy by the Digby Neck, a long spit of land. Many of the village names along this road are very English such as Brighton, Plympton and New Edinburgh. About 20 km south of Digby is Gilbert's Cove, where the sun was out as showers swept sideways across the bay.

 

Soon after Gilbert's Cove the signs along the road suddenly changed from English to French. Not dual language, just French. Village names like St Alphonse and Grosses Coques and road signs in French only: where the heck are we? We stopped for coffee in a cafe in this distinctly French region - the server had difficulty with our accent, and the conversations at other tables were in French. Apparently, this district is mainly inhabited by Acadians whose ancestors settled here in the 1760s after returning from exile after the Deportation. The town of Point-de-l'Eglise or Church Point for us Anglais is home to the only French university in Nova Scotia and the tallest wooden church in North America, the Catholic Sainte-Anne Church.

 

Further south is Cape St Marys lighthouse which, like many others, is no longer in use. It looks like the wind has taken its toll on the windward side of the lighthouse.

 

Just south of Yarmouth on Cape Forchu is the first "apple core" style lighthouse in Canada. The wind was now gusting over 60km/hr and most people were just sitting in their rocking cars rather than walking up the trail to the light so we headed back to Yarmouth, our overnight stop.