At Last! New Trains at VIA Rail!

My regular readers know that I travel a great deal on VIA Rail Canada's "Corridor" services which run from Windsor and Sarnia through London ON to Toronto, then on to Ottawa, Montreal, and Quebec.

For years, the Corridor service has had to make do with endlessly repairing and patching a mixed bag of stainless steel American-built cars from the Budd car company, built in the 1950s and Montreal-built LRC cars from the 1970s. Now, at last, VIA Rail is getting an entire fleet of brand-new trains to serve these busy routes, with all the most modern features, not least of which is full accessibility throughout all cars.

The new trains have been coming into service steadily -- but, as always, between Montreal and Ottawa or Quebec first, then Ottawa or Montreal and Toronto. As always, the London and Windsor route, which is the one I travel most often, got last dibs. Recently, though, I have finally had my first experiences at riding on these new trains.

As the new train sets enter into service, the older equipment is slowly being put out to pasture. While I salute the builders of those historic vehicles for the durability and longevity of their work, I would never willingly go back to one of those older cars once they are gone. This post will help to explain why.

First of all, the new trains are being delivered to run on diesel power. However, it's hoped that in the not-too-distant future the lines for the Corridor may be converted to electric power, and the new train sets have been built to be readily converted too.

To start with, then, here's an exterior view of the train when I had just gotten off at my destination in Woodstock, Ontario. And right away, here's the first big difference. This is the back end of the train set.

The train was just leaving town for London and Windsor by rolling out the left edge of the frame when I snapped the picture. For the first time since the old self-propelled diesel Dayliner cars, VIA Rail has purchased fully reversible train sets. The coach at the opposite end from the locomotive also has a driving cab, so the train can be driven from either end. This eliminates the need to turn the entire train around at the end of each trip, thereby allowing more efficient scheduling. In this case, it meant that the locomotive pushed the train all the way from Toronto to Windsor, and would pull it for the return trip to Toronto.

Now, what about the interior?

As usual, I was travelling in Business Class. This is not showing off on my part. It's more a matter of necessity, since the trains always run across meal hours and the food selection for purchase in Economy Class still ranges somewhere between unspeakable and execrable, at least to a diabetic such as yours truly.

Business Class seating is again in a 2x1 configuration. But the similarity ends there. Here's a view of the single Business Class seat from the old car:

Now, the newer version, obviously in two different cars:

 

The red hashed lines along some of the window frames indicate emergency exit windows. Now, some views of the paired seats on the opposite side of the car.

Notable differences: the vastly improved headrest (adjustable!), the solid back on the chair-side table (your things can't slide off the back of the table), the dual power outlets on both front and back of that chair-side table, and the improved design which now allows for an airline-size luggage space under the seat in front of you. Seat comfort, width, and legroom remain much the same. I've read that the seats in Economy are a bit narrower than they used to be, to accommodate an aisle wide enough for wheelchair access. I have not checked that detail myself.

 

Note especially the outlets: each outlet bank has two standard power outlets and two USB-A power connectors. That's a huge leap forward from the under-the-table power outlets on the older cars which offered two standard outlets, with perhaps one of them actually working. Perhaps.

The old tray table, a decent size but rather flimsy and sometimes tilting towards you from overuse:

The new table, much bigger and far, far sturdier. This one won't quiver ominously if you unfold your laptop on it -- a frequent use for VIA Rail tray tables. Also, and for the first time on VIA Rail, you can adjust the position of this table to suit by sliding it towards you.

This larger table in turn makes possible the new meal tray, much bigger than the old trays -- but still leaving ample room to park a glass or cup alongside the tray, which was impossible with the old version.

Not only that, but the new trains come with a special stock of bigger logo glassware, bringing an end to the disposable plastic cups so often used through the years. The service crews have gotten brand-new and more versatile service trolleys as well as all the other changes.

Looking at the car as a whole, the most noticeable change sees the old enclosed luggage bins replaced by open glass shelves with a slight lip on the outer edge to hold bags in place. The more modern and brighter overhead lighting eliminates the dull, dingy feeling which you got at times in the older cars. Next we have to thank VIA for the overhead electronic display signs which display train number, car number, station details, and other information, alternately in French and English, continually updated as the trip progresses. There are several signs spaced throughout each car.

 

This view gives you a better impression of the improved space under the seats, and of the width of the aisle. You can also see here the grab handles on the aisle side of every seat to help people moving up and down the train.

Another great improvement: there are no more barriers to passage between cars. The entire train is linked into a single unit, with touch-free automatic doors which slide open as you approach, guaranteeing easy access between all cars at all times. Best of all, there's no longer a roar of outside noise when someone does pass from one car to another, due to the accordion joining of the cars in the train set. Here's what the connection looks like, between Car 1 and Car 2.

Speaking of no barriers, another major new feature is the all-automatic and extra large handicapped washroom. These are found in multiple locations throughout the train, with pairs of standard washrooms in cars that are not equipped with the larger single washroom. The passenger in the photo above is about to walk around the accessible washroom to reach the seating in Car 1.

One other brand-new feature sees a group of four seats facing each other over a table at one end of the Business Class car, now surrounded by a partition to create, in effect, a small conference room -- a frequent feature on the more deluxe trains in Europe.

The most important change of all is the one you can't see in a picture. These new trains not only run more smoothly over the sometimes-bumpy track work, but they also move far more quietly. Noise from passing trains is also greatly diminished. Canadians have never had access to such a quiet rail experience on VIA Rail. The attendant on my first trip in the new cars showed me how the service trolley was sitting rock-solid on the floor as we swerved through a switch to change tracks. It's this difference more than any other which makes me so sure that I would never want to go back to the older trains once they've all finally left VIA service.

Sadly, we are still stuck with one problem: the need to climb up and down steps to board or leave the train -- although the steps are not as steep, due to a two-step extension which reaches outside the body of the car when the door is opened. The stairs force VIA to continue using special lifts to help mobility challenged passengers, such as wheelchair users, to get aboard or to leave. But this problem is not a fault of the train set. It's an infrastructure issue. It's mainly due to the need for freight trains to have more elbow room when running along the same tracks. The raised platforms which are needed for level boarding would be incompatible with freight operations. Only at Gare Centrale in Montreal and on one track in Ottawa can you simply walk across from the platform into the train without climbing steps. Unless and until VIA Rail can have tracks of its own, all to itself, we'll most likely have to keep climbing.

Aside from that one issue, these new train sets are (for my money) a spectacular success. Improved designs of seats, washrooms, baggage storage, and lighting go hand in hand with digital display signs, improved power outlets and USB connectors, full handicapped access, and improved underseat stowage space -- with the quieter, smoother ride providing the icing on the cake. I'm already looking forward to my next trip.

I'm also looking forward to the results of VIA Rail's next huge procurement project, the acquisition of new rolling stock with sleeping and dining facilities for its long distance trains across Canada. The first steps of preparation for this project are now under way.

Comparing Two Cruise Lines: Princess and Holland America

After my February Caribbean cruise on Holland America, I promised to do a piece comparing that company with my long-time favourite, Princess Cruises. Now that I've come back from my Panama Canal cruise with Princess, it's time to deliver the goods.

 

 

 

 

Before starting the comparisons, there are some significant points of similarity. Both companies are generally considered as being in the "premium cruise" category, a designation which is reflected in fares, quality and range of foods offered, and general overall service. Both offer a "classic cruise" type of experience with broadly similar daily programming and an overall, low-key atmosphere. Don't go to either of these companies for endless parties or for razzle-dazzle, theme-park types of attractions.

 

Anyone who knows me will readily understand why the calmer, quieter vibe of these two lines suits me right down to the ship's keel.

 

One other general comment. My comparisons are between the companies as they are, and not as compared to what they were like before the pandemic struck. In my opinion, it's pointless to keep hankering for a past which is gone, over, and done. 

 

 

The Booking  Process:

 

Both companies offer booking by phone directly, on line directly, or through third-party travel agents. There is one significant difference. Holland America does not offer a refund of the deposit you pay to secure a reservation. The deposit of hundreds of dollars is forfeited as soon as you pay it. Princess still offers a fully refundable deposit, except on certain promotional discount fares, and you can get a full refund of all monies paid up to the final booking date of the cruise.

Winner:  Princess

 

Ships:

 

Both companies are continually renewing their fleets, and ships can range in age from over two decades to just a year or so. 

 

Princess has the larger fleet, but at this writing there are only three classes of ships with only slight differences of detail within each class. Most notably, across the entire Coral Class and Grand Class (that covers the majority of the fleet), the decor in both staterooms and public areas is similar to the point of being identical.

Holland America has more diversity of decor and layout within its fleet, with more basic designs or classes (four) in a smaller fleet. This company also has much smaller ships, with their largest (the Pinnacle Class) holding only 400 more passengers than the smallest Princess vessels (the Coral Class).

Overall, the best way to get a feeling for the layout and ambience of the ships is to study the deck plans and the numerous photos on the two companies' websites.

Winner:  Purely a matter of personal choice or preference. I enjoy both companies' offerings!

Cabins: 

Cabins are broadly comparable in terms of space. The space for putting away clothes and such is about the same, with Princess offering a slightly larger hanging closet. Both include a digital safe, and both include a small refrigerator. Holland America, on their newer ships, puts a small assortment of adult beverages in the refrigerator as a pay-as-you-use minibar, such as you might find in an upscale hotel. The beds are similar, with the Princess bed having a slight edge in overall comfort. Holland America, on the ship I was on, had a near-bathtub sized shower stall and more space to spread out your toiletries, whereas the Princess shower is about the size of an old glass phone booth and the vanity isn't much bigger.

 

A notable point: Holland America's three newest ships, the Pinnacle Class, actually offer a dozen cabins geared to solo travellers. It's a small gesture to a large and growing group of cruise patrons, but it also represents a trend which has gained even more speed on some other lines. You should be prepared to book early to get one. None of the Princess ships currently in service have any solo cabins.

 

Winner:  Holland America, because of the much more spacious bathroom, and the solo cabins.

 

 

Cabin Service: 

 

Princess still offers the traditional turn-down evening service as well as fuller cleaning service in the morning, although such amenities as chocolates on the pillow and the automatic daily ice bucket have vanished. Holland America now offers one daily service, your choice of morning or evening, by a team of two room attendants. There is a card you can fill out for the room attendants to request such services as daily ice bucket service. 

 

Winner:  No real winner. Cabin service was excellent in both companies.

Food:  Meals are a big part of what you pay for on a cruise. Following on are several sections dealing with the whole business of meals. This first section relates purely to the menu.

Overall, Princess wins for the menus in the main dining room. They offer a larger assortment of both appetizers and main courses each night, and their menu selections are more adventurous with less repetition within a single cruise. Princess makes more of an effort to incorporate regional and local dishes within their menus each day.

In the buffet, Princess also offers a wider selection, with new emphasis on vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free food options taking up a notable amount of the available space.

 

When you want a light snack, Princess offers on almost all ships the International Cafe, which serves up assorted small sandwiches and cakes, from Italian meats to Austrian stollen in season, along with premium coffees and teas and a full bar service. Holland America, on its largest ships, offers the Grand Dutch Cafe with a menu composed of such unique Dutch specialties as vleeskroketten or bitterballen as well as premium coffees and teas and a full bar service. Both cafes are excellent.

In the specialty restaurants, for which you pay extra, both Princess and Holland America give their very best for these upcharge customers. The one noteworthy difference is in the Italian area, where Princess presents a multi-course gourmet extravaganza at Sabatini's while Holland America's Canaletto has a much smaller and more conventional Italian menu -- although also at a smaller charge. Along the same lines, both companies offer a classic steak house experience and there's really nothing to choose between the Princess Crown Grill and the Holland America Pinnacle in quality of food. Holland America's Tamarind has no direct competitor on most Princess ships, and offers a truly epic Asian-fusion menu. Similarly unique is the Bayou Cafe and Steak House on Princess' two smallest ships, Island Princess and Coral Princess. Overall, the fact that Holland America offers five premium restaurants for 2600 passengers on their newest ships (the Pinnacle Class) while Princess offers just 2 for 2,200 passengers on the comparably sized Island Class ships is noteworthy.

Winner:  Overall, Princess scores for food quality and diversity, but Holland America deserves definite recognition for a broader and more diverse range of specialty food experiences.

Food Service:  As well as what you eat, how it is served is equally important.

To start with, the buffets. Both lines indicate that you can have table service of beverages in the buffet, a desirable factor for those of us suffering from the shakes, rattles, and rolls of advancing age. Overall, Princess handled this a bit better, but it largely depended on the passenger always sitting in the same general area of the buffet and forming a personal connection with a particular server who would thereafter come running whenever they saw you walk in. Holland America did it pretty well at lunch time, but at breakfast your choices were usually limited to either going and getting your own, and hoping you didn't slop hot coffee on your hand, or else doing without.

In the main dining rooms, Princess scored heavily. Service was excellent: prompt, organized, and attentive. Holland America's staff often seemed uncertain of who was to do what, for which tables, and at what times. 

 

Re: reservations. Princess now has the entire dining reservation process available through their app, and it works well as long as you don't reserve a time for the main dining room at the top of the hour. Reservations can be made literally months before the ship sails, and then modified as needed/available. With a reservation, the longest I had to wait for a table was 7 minutes while others with reservations who had arrived ahead of me were seated. Holland America still requires you to reserve by phone each day for the main dining room. Both lines limit the number and size of reservations to leave room for walk-ins. As a walk-in diner on Holland America, I was often faced with a wait for a table of half an hour or more. Both companies will now hand walk-in diners a beeper if they have to wait for a table.

In the specialty restaurants, both lines fully lived up to the need to provide a premium service experience in accordance with the dining surcharge. Both lines offered reservations through the app for the specialty restaurants. No complaints there.

Winner:  Princess hands down, in the main dining room, and by a smaller margin in the buffet. That said, both lines need to up their game in the buffet in a big way.

Food Costs: This item applies only to the specialty restaurants, since food at all meals is otherwise included in your fare.

Point by point:  Both lines charge extra for premium coffees and teas, whether served at the buffet, in the dining room, or at a café.

 

For the steak house, I paid US$29 on Princess and US$59 on Holland America. Food and service were indistinguishable between the two. Holland America's steak house must be judged a massive rip-off by comparison.

For the Italian restaurant, I paid US$15 for Holland America and US$35 for Princess. However, the quality and originality of the Princess menu at Sabatini's, and the quality of the service, not to mention the much more spacious venue, set it in a completely different league from Holland America's Canaletto. I'd judge them equal for value, but Princess is far out in front with a truly unique and unusual meal experience. No spaghetti and meatballs on this menu!

 

Note that these prices appear to shift from time to time. I suspect that if there is a principle, it's that you get a better price by reserving earlier, but pay more if you wait until you're on board, at least with Holland America. 

Other specialty restaurants are not comparable, since I haven't patronized them.

Winner:  Princess, although Holland America is a formidable competitor.

Meal Seating:  No question in my mind, Princess is the hands-down winner here. Seating in both the buffet and in the main dining room was far more crowded on Holland America. At busy times, someone was always just about in your lap. Princess offers more space to relax and enjoy your meal. 

Winner:  Princess.

And that will be quite enough on the entire subject of meals!

Public Spaces:  Public spaces on both ships were adequate, with enough room for people to move around without being crowded. Princess offers a more spacious atrium, with more room to move about, sit, etc. Holland America creates a more memorable atmosphere due to the line's long-standing tradition of commissioning contemporary artists to create works specifically for their ships. On Holland America's most recent ships, each vessel contains more than two thousand commissioned original art works, all sizes from small sculptures to floor-length paintings, from life-size figure sculptures to the immense stainless-steel spiral "thing" in the atrium of the Nieuw Statendam. By comparison, the now-standard warm-toned Italian look of nearly all Princess ships seems relatively bland and boring.

 

On the outdoor decks, many (most?) ships on both lines still offer a full-length or nearly full-length promenade deck, and it's always popular as a place for extended walks, especially on sea days. Princess continues to place large numbers of comfortable chairs and side tables on the promenade, providing ample seating for people who want to sit outside but out of the direct sunlight. Holland America had only a very limited number of seats -- perhaps a dozen for the entire promenade deck. The Royal Class of Princess ships eliminated the promenade altogether, a massive move in the wrong direction.

 

Holland America's ships continue to feature a major pool area at the stern of the ship, with a large sundeck space facing the ship's wake. On Princess, the Grand Class ships have a smaller pool at the stern, with limited deck space around it. Whether the stern pool is designated "adults only" or not seems to vary from ship to ship on both lines, but the Holland America stern sundeck is a great feature.

Winner:  Holland America, for the range and quality of its art commissions, and for the major stern pool and sundeck.

 

 

Entertainment

Both companies offer multiple entertainment experiences in various areas of the ship through the day, and ramp up the music in the bars during dinner hours, as well as having major shows in the theatre.

I'm no great friend of theatre production shows, so my comments relate to the more low-key entertainment in lounges and atria (and I must confess, I am astonished that the spell checker recognizes the correct Latin plural of "atrium"!). 

Princess sticks stoutly to the tried-and-true formula in which each musician solo or team presents mostly the "greatest hits of the 50s to the 80s", suitably arranged for whichever instrument(s) or voice(s) happen to be on hand. I've been told that this kind of musical revue also describes most of their theatre shows.At best, you may get a really good jazz pianist who can riff on old standards with greater imagination.

Holland America, on the other hand, has gone full-throttle into emphasizing music as the signature mark of their ships, with the development of the Music Walk on their newer ships, a string of specialty music venues which each feature a different type or style of music: B.B.King's Blues Club, with its own in-house blues band, Billboard Onboard, where the greatest hits formula gets reimagined as "duelling pianists", complete with ringside seats around the pianos, the Rolling Stone Rock Room, with its own rock band, and Lincoln Center Live, where classical music is presented. Clever scheduling allows you to move from venue to venue, as each one in turn presents a 45-minute show. 

 

Also distinctive is Holland America's in-house modern dance company, Step One Dance, which takes the stage in the main theatre, itself a fascinating amalgam of traditional stage and contemporary digital and video technology.

 

Winner:  hands down, Holland America, for a distinctive and truly unique approach to entertainment. 

 

 

Internet Service

In today's world, internet connectivity is an essential service. Both lines charge extra for this service, but with notable differences. Princess has a two-step rate plan, at a flat fee per week, to buy service for just one device or (at a higher rate) for up to four devices. Holland America offers a three-tier program which allows for more use of internet connectivity as you pay more. On the lowest tier, it allows for simple browsing and texting but that's all. Note that some of the Holland America premium rate packages include only the lowest level, which is what I had. 

Princess internet functions at varying degrees of efficiency, depending where you are on the planet, and I suspect Holland America would be the same (I was cruising with HA in the Caribbean which is one of the real hot spot zones). More complex jobs (like blog posts) had to be done on Princess in the very early morning because the service would slow down markedly as the day went on. I was unaware of a similar slowdown on Holland America, but couldn't really judge the difference because it was the simple browsing and texting service.

Winner:  no clear winner. 

 

The App

A key part of any modern cruise is the whole area of electronic connectivity, but more specifically the use of a custom-designed app by each company to help organize the services offered.

 

 

 

These apps can not be used for reserving cruises. That has to be done through each company's main web site due to the size and complexity of the search functions. The apps are used to handle the onboard services once a cruise has been booked.

Here's a quick rundown of some of the things you can and can't do on each company's app (P = Princess Medallion Class, H - Holland America Navigator).

[1]  Check in before arrival at the pier.   P   H

[2]  Advance reservations for shore excursions.    P    H

[3]  Advance reservations for specialty dining.    P    H

[4]  Advance reservations for main dining room.    P

[5]  Daily schedule of events on board.    P    H

[6]  Custom personal schedule including onboard events, your excursions, your reservations.    H

[7]  Navigate around the ship.    P    H

[8]  Online casino games.    P

 

[9]  Order food and drinks delivered to your current location on the ship.    P

 

A couple of comments on this far-from-complete list. The lack of # 4 on Holland America is a serious hole in their offering. Princess really needs to get with the programme on # 6. You can customize the ship's daily schedule but can't include your excursions, reservations, etc. As for # 9, it's a regular routine to hear fellow cruisers complaining about why their food orders either didn't show up or took forty or fifty minutes to get there. I have never used that service, since it always seems to cause problems. 

Winner:  No clear winner in this department. Each company has its good aspects, but each company also needs to rethink other aspects of their app.

 

 

Overall Winner

 

You're not going to back me into that corner! Both cruise lines offer desirable experiences, but both also have their glitches. I intend to continue cruising with both of them.

 

 

 

  

Maritime Expedition # 4: The Unique, Spectacular Cabot Trail

For sheer insanity, there aren’t too many things you can do that beat trying to negotiate the entire Cabot Trail from Sydney around and back to Sydney in one day.

Going by the numbers, it’s about 415 kilometres of driving, about 5½  hours of actual driving time, and a good solid 8½ hours total time, end to end.  That’s a lot of work for the poor driver, who also happens to be the captain, first mate, deck hand, and social director of this tour. 

What it works out to in practice is a “hit-and-run” tour, the kind you’d think a cruise company would love, except that this is really too long for a one-day port call in Sydney.  When I last came this way in 2015, I was on a cruise and there was a Cabot Trail tour offered.  That bus ride took the ship’s guests (not me) up the east side of the trail as far as Ingonish, with an extended stop there for shopping (maybe also for lunch), and return.

As you’ll see, they missed three-quarters of the most spectacular scenery, including all of the truly iconic views that we’ve all admired for years in tourist brochures and advertising.

I’ve travelled right around the Cabot Trail six or seven times over the years, but I’ve usually gone clockwise, via Baddeck, Chéticamp, and Ingonish in that order.   On this occasion, I decided on impulse to go the other way, only the second time I’ve ever done that – and the first time was so many years ago that I'm not even sure when it happened. 

Five years ago, I published a two-part blog post giving a detailed rundown on everything you need to know to tour the Cabot Trail.  I'll share the links for that again here.

Driving Canada's Highlands: Part 1

Driving Canada's Highlands: Part 2 

In this post, I'm just going to share photo hits and comments about changes that have happened since the 2016 "daily double" linked above.

First of all, here's some random dude at the lookout on Kelly's Mountain above the Seal Island Bridge.  The bridge spans the wider of the two channels that connect the Bras d'Or Lake to the open Atlantic Ocean.  It's been built high up because some ocean-going ships do enter and leave the Lake.

Coming down from Kelly’s Mountain, it's time to play Choices.  If you take Exit 12, you drive about 6 kilometres along secondary highway 312, to Englishtown, where a cable ferry crosses the narrow neck of water at the entrance to St. Ann’s Bay.  The ferry runs 24/7, on demand, except during stormy weather.  It’s got to be the most expensive ferry in the world for distance travelled since the fare is $7.00 per vehicle for a trip that lasts all of 1 minute on most days.  Just at this time, due to the pandemic, the fares are suspended and the crossing is free, but no one knows how long that will last.  Check that detail online before you decide.

The alternative is to carry on a short distance farther on 105, and then turn onto the proper beginning of the Cabot Trail at the south end of St. Ann’s Bay.  This leads to a lengthy, twisty, hilly road turning every which way as it goes in most of a circle around the bay, ending up meeting 312 a short distance north of the ferry.  It takes far longer to go this way, unless there’s a huge waiting line for the ferry (uncommon).

 IMPORTANT NOTE:  Although you will see on Google and other online mapping services that the Cabot Trail is now numbered as Nova Scotia Trunk Highway 30, you will not see a single Highway 30 marker anywhere, either along the Trail, or at the access points off Highway 105.  There are loads of Cabot Trail signs, but don’t be looking for that number.  The Cabot Trail has never before had a provincial highway number.

What you will see, as you drive around St. Ann’s Bay (I did) is some lovely views of the bay, actually an inlet of the ocean.  You’ll also see a number of road signs with community names like this:

Right at the outset of the road, you passed the Gaelic College at St. Ann’s.  It is the largest institution outside of Scotland devoted to the study of the Scots Gaelic language and the arts and crafts of the Highlanders, and indeed the experts at St. Ann’s played a role in helping with the rebirth of Gaelic in Scotland.  So, as you drive through Cape Breton – and sometimes in other parts of Nova Scotia – you can expect to see signs with combined English and Gaelic names, anywhere that there is a population of Gaelic speakers.  In areas with Mi’kmaw populations, you can expect to see English and Mi’kmaw signs.  And the Acadian French of the northwestern and southeastern sides of the island?  French and English signs, as needed.

Leaving St. Ann's Bay behind, I travelled north through rolling, hilly countryside, but with the mountainous plateau coming closer all the time on my left.  And suddenly, there it was, right in front of me, with the ocean right beside me, and there was no place left to go but up.  Welcome to Smokey.

Sometimes this headland is called “Smoky” or “Cape Smoky/Smokey.”  If you guessed from the name that it’s often fogged in, you’d be absolutely right.  Only twice in all my visits have I ever seen it all in the clear.  This trip was one of them.  That hill going up is almost certainly the steepest grade on the entire Cabot Trail.  Thank goodness it’s been thoroughly upgraded with wider paved lanes, paved shoulders for cyclists, continuous guardrails on both sides, and deep ditches in front of the rock faces to catch stray boulders.  It had absolutely NONE of those features when I first drove up it in 1984, and the moment when the rental car started fishtailing on the loose gravel was one of the most hair-raising experiences of my life up to that date.

BTW, all you’re seeing in that first picture, up to the viewpoint, is less than half of the total climb.  After rounding the point of the bluff, the road keeps zigzagging its way upwards, although not quite as steeply.  At the top there’s a small provincial park.  I wanted to stop there, but it was busy as a watering station for the dozens and dozens of cyclists who were either engaged in a race, or a bike rally, or a mass organized bike tour.  Fortunately, they were all travelling the other direction – south.  Holding the car on the south-side downgrade of Smokey is hard enough without dodging cyclists, even when you know enough to put it in low gear.  Which is an essential safety rule for all the big hills on the Cabot Trail.  Ignore it at your peril.

On the north side, the road follows a small creek valley down from the steep outer edge on the more gradual north slope towards Ingonish.  The condition of the pavement on this long, twisting downhill stretch is, in a word, execrable.  I can think of worse words, but will refrain.  This stretch of road was already rough in 1984, and it looks as if nothing has been done to fix it since then.

Ingonish is a tourist town in multiple parts, and it straggles out for 16 kilometres along the road without any clearly defined centre-of-town.  Interspersed among private homes, summer or year-round, you see inns and B&Bs, restaurants and ice-cream stands, gift shops and craft shops, and… well, you get the idea.  On the flip side, I can only recall seeing one gas station there.  Moral: gas up before you hit the Cabot Trail.

Ingonish also has two relatively new tourist facilities, which I hadn’t seen before: a small ski resort on the same ridge that ends at Smoky, with a scenic gondola ride to the top, and a helipad where flightseeing tours of the Cape Breton Highlands are offered.

This long, twisting chain of a town is cut in two by a narrow section of the Cape Breton Highlands National Park, which extends right down to the seashore here.  As you reach this point on the road, you will find a side lane with a ticket booth where you can buy your park pass.  Of course, if you’re like me and you already have the National Parks Discovery Pass, you just sail on by.  There’s a similar roadside booth at the west side of the Trail, just north of Chéticamp. 

This small enclave of the park includes the slender, rocky peninsula known as Middle Head, which holds the National Park’s golf course and the deluxe Keltic Lodge.

The park also takes in the South Beach and part of the North Beach on the ocean.  I vividly remember that when I parked at the South Beach in 1984, I could see from my car right across the expanse of sand to the dropoff at the edge of the ocean, and that included one of the several lifeguard towers at the top of the drop.  Here's a photo from the Parks Canada website which shows this beach as I remember it.  

 No longer.  Here’s what it looks like now.

Cross that pile of rocks on the walkway, and you are on a much steeper and much closer drop.  And it’s all rocks, until a narrow strip of sand appears just at the water’s edge.  Most of the beach has been sucked out to sea, with the remainder buried under the rock pile.  The regal profile of Smokey continues to dominate the view from the South Beach. 

The Parks Canada website does state that this beach is washed away every fall and re-deposited every spring by the ocean.  Is that still true?  It seems to me that September 12 is very early in the "fall" for the beach to have already done a seasonal disappearing act.  Any readers of this blog who can confirm, please do so in the comments!

A short walking trail from the parking lot will bring you to the Freshwater Lake which plainly was part of the ocean at one point until a barachois completely cut it off (barachois is an Acadian French word describing the spit of sand and/or gravel which forms in the tidal currents along the shore.  They’re a dime a dozen all over Cape Breton Island.)  Maybe I’ll check that beach out next time I come this way.  The water is definitely too cold for me to think of swimming in the ocean at my age.

On the other hand, the North Beach is still broad, spacious, sandy, and has a much more user-friendly water pattern than the rolling open ocean waves on the South Beach. 

A similar fate to that of the South Beach has befallen farther north at Black Brook Cove, a spot where I did go swimming back in the day.  The beach here was never as large as at Ingonish, but it’s just as gone now.

This time, I took the coastal road detour through Neil's Harbour, and caught this view of the coastline away up to Cape North, the northern tip of the island.

North Cape is the village at the corner where the road to the actual North Cape of the island branches off.  Right on the corner is Morrison’s Restaurant, which I have heartily recommended for years and – after lunch on this occasion – still recommend.  It's housed in an old general store which has been thoroughly rebuilt and redecorated inside and out, but the service is still good and the food is still outstanding.  Great place to stop for lunch if you’re doing the one-day hit-and-run tour, as I did -- or during a day of driving and hiking between Ingonish and Chéticamp.  I had left Sydney at 8:40 am and rolled up to Morrison’s about four minutes before they opened at 12 noon.

Strange to say, there’s a lot less to say about the more dramatic scenery of the second half of the trip.  It all looks much the same each time, and there are no such dramatic changes as the road over Smoky or the beach at Ingonish.  The lookout point towards the top of North Mountain now has some interpretive signboards which give a detailed explanation of the Aspy Fault, slicing across most of Cape Breton much as the Great Glen slices through Scotland.  The only thing the Aspy River in this valley doesn’t have is a nice deep lake with a mysterious monster lurking in it.

Over on the west side, there’s the grandstand view from McKenzie Mountain north along the coast, in the area which the Cabot Trail doesn’t cover.  But there is a coastal road extending part of the way up that shoreline which I'm pretty sure didn't go that far back in 1984.  Another thing to check out on my next visit.

There’s the Bog Walk up on the high plateau, a favourite of mine.  

It took me about 20 minutes to go around this boardwalk, walking slowly all the way with my head down in search of low-lying bog flora like the insectivorous pitcher plants.  Some day, maybe I’ll catch a pitcher plant in the act of catching its dinner.  I did see some that were closed up, which indicates that they’re still digesting the last feast.  But there were also other bog plant species that I didn’t remember from previous visits.

And there are the strange, stunted, dwarf trees which (like a Japanese bonsai) can quite easily be a century old or more and still only come up to your knees -- or less.

Now come the truly iconic views of the Cabot Trail – the view south from the lookout on French Mountain....

...and the view north towards French Mountain from the lookout on Cap Rouge.  

As the latter name indicates, all the cliffs on this coast are a notable red/orange/brown colour mixture.  Here's a pic of one of the rock faces plunging towards the ocean, a view which I think I had somehow always missed in my past tours of the Trail.

Finally, the view south from the last major headland towards the town of Chéticamp, with two barachois plain to see in the picture. 

Chéticamp is the largest town of this Acadian coast and provides ample services.  It’s a great spot for an overnight stay if you want to do the more sensible 2-day (or more) visit to the Cape Breton Highlands.  Here there are multiple accommodations and restaurants to consider.  My big recommend in Chéticamp is the Auberge Doucet Inn.  I’ll never forget the time that my husband Massi and I stayed at the Doucet right at the height of the snow crab season and enjoyed a feast at a restaurant in town of fresh snow crab that had just come off the boat an hour or so earlier.

The last big change was to find that, after years and years of neglect, the road south from Margaree Forks towards Highway 105 is finally -- finally -- getting some repair and upgrading work done on it.  In a few more years, perhaps it will be all fixed up.   

My point in all of this – and I do have one – is that the Cabot Trail is one of the truly essential experiences that no traveller should ever miss.  The scenery may not be as hugely dramatic as, say, the Rocky Mountains.  But it’s worthwhile to remember that this Highland region is far, far older – senior citizens compared to the Rockies, which are relative babes-in-arms.

I hope this post, together with my more encyclopedic double from 2016, will help you to figure out where you want to go and what you want to do when you get there yourself.  Also, be sure to check out the National Park's website for information about the wealth of hiking trails and camping opportunities in the Park.

 

Cape Breton Highlands National Park

 

Me?  Just from writing this, I'm thinking that I really want to spend three whole days on the Cabot Trail next time I come, with overnights in both Ingonish and Chéticamp.