NEW BRUNSWICK - Arcady in Canada

The Matapedia Valley leading into New Brunswick.

We arrived in New Brunswick from Québec via Matapedia River Valley, which was absolutely gorgeous, but on the day of our travel it was foggy, moody and very wet.  Driving was a real strain.

We then travelled down the Arcadian coast ....

Now, since we came to Arcadian settlements in New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia, I have been endeavouring to get my head around who the Arcadians are.  Seems, that the current Arcadian settlements are remnants of one of five colonies of New France - the French state on the American continent, established from 1534.  It included Newfoundland and stretched from the Rockies to Nova Scotia and as far south as Louisiana.  The Arcadians have earlier origins and a different history to the French of Québec, and have their own form of French.  They suffered many resettlements as the British gained control of Canada, and possibly because of this, proudly retain a distinct identity.  The Arcadian flag - the French red, white and blue tricoleur with a gold star - flys in front of Arcadian homes, along with other red, white and blue decorations, and as we moved east we noted more and more houses and barns sporting star decorations, which reference the star on the Arcadian flag.

Arcadian homes.  I got pictures of the flags, but the weather was really damp & windy, so they have not come out well.

The Arcadian villages consisted of small houses strung sparsely both sides of the coastal road.  It looked as if fishing was and probably still is the main form of income.  Although not yet in Prince Edward Island, they reminded me strongly of places described in L.M. Montgomery's books.

Atlantic Ocean at Maisonette.  The bay freezes over in winter and they set up small huts on the  ice  for protection while they fish through the holes.  They can walk or skidoo to the village on the other side.  It was pretty wild the day we were there and the ocean had chewed up a new boardwalk in places.

We reached the Atlantic Ocean at Maisonette, and things fined up for a while, but when they closed in again and we approached the extraordinary Conferedation Bridge to Prince Edward Island, we decided it was time to leave New Brunswick, after only one night - our shortest stay in any of the provinces.

The Confederation Bridge, between New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island is 12.9 kms long - boasted as the longest bridge in the world over icy water.  The bridge has high sides, but I felt every inch of those 12.9kms.  It was very scary!!!!   Even Alvin, who is not in the least scared of bridges in general, said it wasn't comfortable to drive, and we returned in a civilized fashion via the ferry.  Still - it was an impressive piece of engineering.  Photo care of the bridge website, http://www.confederationbridge.com/en/

I had to put this in - and I had to try it. "Poutine"  is a popular dish on the East Coast of Canada.  The name is French - so it may be French Canadian in origin.  It consists of hot chips, pulled chunks of mozzarella cheese and hot gravy - which of course melts the mozzarella over the chips.  Good if you are really really hungry - perhaps ....