Gateway to the Acadian Peninsula
Tourist info, Acadian Style. The Acadian flag is like a French flag with a gold star.
Caraquet, NB August 8Today 115 km, Total 1,300 km.
Awoke early and hungry, so I didn't wait for Pete to finish packing but hit the road to search for grub. Mr. tailwind was still going strong which was just as well, as I rode 30km in an hour without seeing anything remotely like a restaurant. A very pleasant ride along the coast, not too hilly, road mostly lined with houses on acreages with not too much signe of commercial activity besides a couple of sawmills. Iwonder what they all do for a living.
Finally met a delivery truck driver and asked him about places to eat, and he told me about a family restaurant just down the road that was behind a bank - I would never have seen it. Just then, Pete rolled up, so we went in with raging appetites. Back to reality, NB menus use the "or" word instead of Qubec's "and" so you must choose only one of ham, sausage, bacon! We rectified this with a side of pancakes each, and My Lord, they had black pudding on the menu! Never saw this in a Canadian restaurant before, must be the Irish in the local population. I had to have it, but surprisingly Pete drew the line there.
The inner men satisfied, we carried on the remaining 20km to Bathurst. Now the decision point - cut across land to Miramichi (what a lovely name) or take the coastal route around the Acadian Peninsula. We had been told in Cambellton that an international Acadian festival is in progress, so we decided to take an extra day or so and a couple of hundred extra kilometers to see what was happening. The Acadians were the original French settlers in the region, and have a distinct culture. In the 1700s, many of them were expelled by the British and settled in Lousiana to become the "Cajuns". We are expecting to see some unique entertainment here, including tonight's son-et-lumiere, and will probably take a day off tomorrow (I have ridden 13 straight days now).
The ride from Bathurst to Caraquet followed the same attractive coastline, just a few rolling hills, and good old tailwind coming and going as we changed direction around the bays. However, about half way through I started to run out of steam and realized that I needed a sugar fix. Fortunately, just at the right time I passed a gas station and got two chocolate bars and a coke, which immediately gave me the boost I needed.
We found a good campsite with wifi a couple of km before Caraquet, set up camp and did our internet thing. All that's needed now is a few bears and some local cooking, which will soon be rectified.
More tomorrow, don't forget to look at Pete's blog www.transcanada09.blogspot.com
Best wishes, Barney
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