Baddeck & Louisbourg, Nova Scotia
This morning, the National Geographic Explorer slipped into dock at North Sidney on the northern tip of Cape Breton Island. After breakfast, guests boarded motor coaches for an exciting exploration of this remote and beautiful part of Nova Scotia. We were joined by a special guest, Gilbert Grosvenor, Chairman of the National Geographic Society. Mr. Grosvenor is the great-grandson of inventor Alexander Graham Bell, who first visited Cape Breton Island in the 1880s and later built a home in the lovely community of Baddeck. We arrived in Baddeck after a short ride from the National Geographic Explorer. Some guests toured the Alexander Graham Bell Museum, while others set sail on the schooner Amoeba for a waterfront tour of Baddeck and Bras d’Or Lake. In the museum, we learned about Bell’s rich family life and his remarkably inventive mind. In addition to being the father of the telephone, Bell worked on early phonograph machines, air conditioning, kites, and airplanes. The Silver Dart, a project he was closely involved with, became the first aircraft to fly in Canada and the entire British Empire in 1909. On the Bras d’Or, we experienc a sunny morning and watched as bald eagles flew overhead and dove for fish in the lake.
We ate a traditional Nova Scotian seafood lunch in a Baddeck restaurant before boarding our motor coaches for a short trip to the historic community of Louisbourg. Louisbourg Fortress was first established by the French in the early 18th century as a strategic military and commercial outpost on the Atlantic coast of Cape Breton Island. Twice, the British besieged the fortress and captured it. Eventually, they completely destroyed it to prevent the French from ever reoccupying it. Today, the Canadian government, in cooperation with local Nova Scotians, has rebuilt the fortress and surrounding community to look as it did in 1744, the year before the first British siege. We toured the grounds of Louisbourg and learned more about life in the frontier colony from costumed historical interpreters. We also had a chance to sample period drinks and cooking demonstrations. After our tour, we returned to the waiting National Geographic Explorer by Zodiac. Tonight we sail south for a new day of fun and adventure in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
This morning, the National Geographic Explorer slipped into dock at North Sidney on the northern tip of Cape Breton Island. After breakfast, guests boarded motor coaches for an exciting exploration of this remote and beautiful part of Nova Scotia. We were joined by a special guest, Gilbert Grosvenor, Chairman of the National Geographic Society. Mr. Grosvenor is the great-grandson of inventor Alexander Graham Bell, who first visited Cape Breton Island in the 1880s and later built a home in the lovely community of Baddeck. We arrived in Baddeck after a short ride from the National Geographic Explorer. Some guests toured the Alexander Graham Bell Museum, while others set sail on the schooner Amoeba for a waterfront tour of Baddeck and Bras d’Or Lake. In the museum, we learned about Bell’s rich family life and his remarkably inventive mind. In addition to being the father of the telephone, Bell worked on early phonograph machines, air conditioning, kites, and airplanes. The Silver Dart, a project he was closely involved with, became the first aircraft to fly in Canada and the entire British Empire in 1909. On the Bras d’Or, we experienc a sunny morning and watched as bald eagles flew overhead and dove for fish in the lake.
We ate a traditional Nova Scotian seafood lunch in a Baddeck restaurant before boarding our motor coaches for a short trip to the historic community of Louisbourg. Louisbourg Fortress was first established by the French in the early 18th century as a strategic military and commercial outpost on the Atlantic coast of Cape Breton Island. Twice, the British besieged the fortress and captured it. Eventually, they completely destroyed it to prevent the French from ever reoccupying it. Today, the Canadian government, in cooperation with local Nova Scotians, has rebuilt the fortress and surrounding community to look as it did in 1744, the year before the first British siege. We toured the grounds of Louisbourg and learned more about life in the frontier colony from costumed historical interpreters. We also had a chance to sample period drinks and cooking demonstrations. After our tour, we returned to the waiting National Geographic Explorer by Zodiac. Tonight we sail south for a new day of fun and adventure in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
