Nova Scotia - Annapolis Valley, Canada

If you must choose only one maritime province to visit, surely it would be Nova Scotia. What a jewel. We visited four main areas - the Annapolis Valley, Halifax, Lunenburg and the southern coast and Cape Breton.
From PEI, we drove to East Margaretsville to the Annapolis Valley and our SERVAS hosts, David and Susan. We stopped at the Grand Pre National historical centre [our discovery pass was the best thing we ever bought way back in Banff in March] to learn more about the Acadian history of the area. There was also a lot more information here about the Mi'kmaq first people of Canada.

 The Annapolis Valley is very pretty - made up of lots of fishing villages and small lighthouses and undulating hills. A favourite spot was Bear River - called little Switzerland by the locals. Here, the tidal river flows and ebbs daily. Coming in from the Bay of Fundy, the river flows right out during the day and comes right in to a decent height at morning and night. The mouth of the river is at sea level and the tidal flow of Bear River rises to 8 metres. Amazing. We went to the information centre, where the lovely and passionate Sheila told us more about the demise of the boat building industry over the years. One amazing thing learnt - in winter, the tidal rivers still ebb and flow even though full of solid ice and snow. The water still flows deep down below the surface, taking the solid ice and snow in and out daily. Incredible. The Annapolis valley area is also home to local theatres, such as the Evergreen theatre in Margaretsville.

 

 Grand Pre is the National Park that tells the story of the Acadien people and history. Below you can see their flag and pictures from the park and interpretive centre.