Well, we’re in the Maritimes. Tomorrow is our final rest day of the trip, and the general feeling is that the end is near. People’s moods are generally great towards the trip, with a bit of resentment towards the general management of the trip overall (but seriously, not worth fussing about IMO).
Having been to Nova Scotia before, I can honestly say that I like it better there. New Brunswick is nice and all (the roads are great, and we’ve had good tailwinds almost the whole time we’ve been here) but there’s nothing spectacular about it (sure beats Saskachewan and Manitoba though). One interesting thing about this province is the sheer number of Acadian flags. If you forgot your history, the Acadians settled this area long before the English came along, then basically got booted out by the English because they spoke French (and with the whole war thing, that wasn’t too popular). Anyways, they got sent down to Louisiana. So, as we’ve been riding through NB, we’ve noticed tons and tons of Acadian flags everywhere. Clearly there’s still some Acadian nationalism (if you want to call it that) in the area. Lots of French communities around here too (ie: the one we’re in right now — St Louis de Kent). There’s a lot of interesting stuff about different areas that you don’t really get a sense for until you’ve been there I think. Take Quebec for example…a casual drive down the highway towards Quebec City will allow you to see a sign that says “Welcome to Quebec, Our Nation’s Capital”. Yep, true story. Apparently there’s the same kind of attitude out here with the Acadians. Neat eh? Here I thought all the Maritime folks did was fish and stuff.
