A Fortress, a Lighthouse & the Beaton Sisters

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

We had a Rainy Entrance into the Fortress of Louisbourg

Well, stormy weather with rain and high winds moved in last night as predicted. Our RV bed rocked like a cradle all night. In the morning we drove about an hour to Louisbourg, at times buffeted by the high winds. 

In Louisbourg, we first dropped by the information center then headed to the  Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site. Again, our Discovery Pass saved us from paying the admission fee. From the park’s visitor center, we took a five minute bus ride to North America’s largest historical reconstruction. The site was a replica of a fortified town during French colonial times between 1713 and 1758. 

Named for French King Louis XIV, Louisbourg was a major fishing center and cosmopolitan town situated on trade routes between North America and Europe. It exported (and traded) dried salted cod to feed France and her colonies. Despite its fortifications, Louisbourg was captured twice by the British (1745 and 1758), the second one ending French rule there. 

The park had reconstructed about 25% of the buildings of the town on their original sites and we were free to roam in and out of the buildings as we pleased often engaging with re-enactors about their various activities. These colonists certainly lived a more modern life style than we had encountered in the viking village of L’Anse aux Meadows. French culture and language permeated the grounds. Because France and England were at war at the time, when we revealed that we came from Carolina, a group of soldiers cleaning their weapons suspiciously regarded as possible British spies.

The weather was extremely windy and rainy as we ran from building to building. We were grateful for the protection when we ducked into the Hotel de la Marine restaurant for lunch. We shared a table with a couple from Nashville, Nancy and Chuck, and were served a full course meal family style. The main course, salmon, was very good as was the company. 

We then drove through modern Louisbourg, bought tickets for a ceilidh in the evening, and continued to the lighthouse. The original Louisbourg Lighthouse had been the first one erected in Canada and the second one in all of North America. The British destroyed the original lighthouse and a second one of wood was destroyed by fire (the inevitable fate of wooden lighthouses). The current lighthouse was built in 1924 and its shabby appearance was accompanied by signage warning pedestrians to beware of falling concrete. But the surrounding coastal scenery was magnificent with blue waves crashing against rock cliffs and spraying white foam into the the air. Jane and I stood enjoying the view but eventually took shelter from the severe winds in the RV and headed to Riverdale RV park where we set up and relaxed for awhile.

Later, we took a misty walk from the RV park into town and had dinner at the Lobster Kettle with harbor views. We both had lobster pot pie with mashed potatoes and beers from Big Spruce Brewing, a Nova Scotian brewery.

After dinner, we walked a few blocks to the Louisbourg Playhouse. The rain was blowing horizontal from behind us so even though we both wore raincoats, the back of our pants got soaked. Inside the theatre, we stood a while to dry out before taking our front row seats. The wooden octagonal playhouse possessed a great ambience. The town had moved it from the fortress site and added a roof after it had been used in filming a Disney movie there.

The Beaton Sisters, Dawn and Margie, grew up in traditional Gaelic culture. They entertained us with Cape Breton tunes employing two fiddles, fiddle & keyboard, and fiddle with dancing, as well as educating us on Cape Breton culture. We were provided with complimentary tea and oat cakes at intermission. After the show, the weather had improved and we enjoyed a solitary walk through town  and back to our RV.