Cape Breton Roundup!
Greetings to you, sweet friend, from the wondrous White Mountains in New Hampshire.
We left Cape Breton on August 21 after a 5-week stay that included LOTS of hiking and live fiddle music, wild windy days that have a special French name, and island exploring. My thought is this- after we leave each location I’ll create a roundup of where we stayed, ate, hiked, etc. so that you can have a (non-AI) one-stop shop if you ever decide to visit the same spot.
We’ve been here in NH for a couple of days now so it’s time to zoom ever so briefly into the recent past… come along with me to Cape Breton!
Where We Stayed
What may/may not be important to know is that it was really difficult to find a midterm rental in Cape Breton that was a) near the Highlands National Park; b) within our budget; and c) dog-friendly.
To be honest, when I filtered for those needs I found maybe two options, and I wasn’t thrilled with either of them. So that’s when I changed my tactic- reach out to places that say they don’t allow dogs and plead my case.
This was a game changer!
I’ve used this approach with all subsequent bookings and guess what? NO ONE has turned us down! I’m sure there will come a day when this strategy doesn’t work but for now I’m fairly thrilled at the world of options that open up when you don’t have to filter for “pet-friendly.”
We ended up booking this Airbnb in Chéticamp on the west side of the island for July 22-August 21. Historically this is where the French folks settled after the English took their sweet fortress down south in Louisbourg.
The location was perfect, it had AC, a kitchen, Wifi and laundry and they were willing to accept Maya to stay. It came complete with a Randy, a neighbor in the RV out back that kept his distance but checked on us now and then. He was petsitting for our host’s tiny pup Chester, who would zoom out of the RV to come say hi to us anytime we arrived home.
The house itself is actually someone’s full time home- but she travels for work and so rents it out once or twice per year. Nothing fancy, but it met our needs. And boy- those views!
What We Ate/Drank
To be honest, there was nothing super stand-out about the food. If you find yourself in Chéticamp or nearby, I’d recommend Mr. Chicken for lunch (yes, really) and L’Abri for a nice dinner out. I also enjoyed Marguerite Cafe for a coffee and Wabo’s for pizza.
The coolest food-adjacent adventure we had was finding MILLIONS of wild blueberries on our hikes. There would be days when we would take a few steps, eat a few blueberries, take a few more steps, take in the ocean views, eat a few more blueberries. Honestly, a great way to spend a day.
We also visited Glenora Distillery for a tour and lunch, and Big Spruce Brewery on the east side of the island near Baddeck. If you enjoy a tipple, I highly recommend both. The brewery especially was a delight.
What We Did
Oh my, the hiking! We ended up doing 16 hikes (see the specific hikes here) totaling over 57 miles. Beyond the physical satisfaction of all of that hiking, it was fun to notice how calm I felt over time after being in the woods so much- and how it never got old. It always felt magical.
If you only have a few days, don’t miss The Acadian, Salmon Pools and MacIntosh Brook/Lone Sheiling. Three very different, very special hikes.
We also took several day trips:
Baddeck: cute town on the east side of the island. Visit the Alexander Graham Bell museum and Big Spruce Brewing.
Margaree/Broad Cove/Mabou: home of Scottish heritage. We went to the Broad Cove Scottish festival, Highland Games, and on an e-bike ride of a trail through the woods. Glenora Distillery is also in this area.
Englishtown: we popped over here to take the world-renowned (or it should be) Donelda’s Puffin Tours! Donelda is an unstoppable force of nature and I hope to be just like her someday.
Ingonish: lots of folks base in Ingonish for world class golf. This is not our jam so we chose some beautiful hikes instead.
Iona: we made a special trip to visit the Highland Village Museum, which was really a reconstructed village where you could TRAVEL THROUGH TIME to Gaelic Scotland and follow the Scottish immigrants as they made their way to Nova Scotia and built their lives here. I was living my Outlander dream!
Louisbourg: we ended up booking a 2-night stay near Louisbourg as it is several hours away from Chéticamp and the recreated village/fortress at Louisbourg does not allow dogs. The weather was insane (both of our umbrellas got destroyed in the wind) but it was so worth it. It’s the largest reconstructed 1700’s village/fortress in North America and a must-see!
Apart from all of those day trips, we really explored Chéticamp and everything nearby- I took a rug hooking class, we visited the local history museum and drove out to the end of the island to see the lighthouse.
What was interesting is how, after 5 weeks, it really started to feel comfortable. A bit like home.
What We Learned… and What We Are Still Learning
Listen, friends- this slow travel thing is still one big experiment!
Just a few months ago, we would see each other briefly in the mornings (if you can count that- before coffee I’m half-invisible like Marty in Back to the Future when his parents aren’t making out yet… and yes, I just re-watched it) and in the evenings after work.
I was alone much of the time- and of course we both had friends and family nearby. We also had two cars!
Now it is just us (+ Maya), we have one car and we have a specific amount of time in each location with which to do/see/hike everything we want.
For the first few weeks in Canada, we were really in go-time vacation mode. It took us both a minute to realize that the vacation pace was not sustainable or healthy.
Plus, we both need time to ourselves. Because we only have one car, we really have to plan for solo activities. I only recently added a weekly solo writing date, and Ryan is looking at hikes that are more strenuous than I’d like.
Compromise, baby!
Speaking more practically, it became clear in Cape Breton that we needed to base ourselves somewhere a bit more populated. Somewhere with a movie theatre, perhaps? And definitely somewhere more walkable.
We also chatted briefly about scheduling less time in each location- but after looking into it for the first quarter of 2027, it became clear that shorter trips wouldn’t necessarily work for our budget. It is just so much cheaper to stay somewhere for at least a month.
So that’s it for the very first location roundup! For future editions, let me know what other info you’d like included or what you feel I’ve left out. If you have any questions about slow travel in general, click here to send me an email. Let’s chat!
PS: Know someone who might be interested in slow travel or financial independence? It would mean the whole wide world if you could share this post with them- and thanks!