Now that I think about it, the Camino de Santiago does have a good dose of salty air. All those routes through northern Spain, such as the Francès, are not very far from the sea. In fact, del Norte and the Primitivo hug the coast of the Bay of Biscay. Then the city of Santiago nudges into that corner of Spain that does the 45-degree turn to follow the Atlantic coast. For Camino keeners, they can take the path to that ultimate saltwater experience west beyond Santiago to the Atlantic coast to Finisterre, the end of the world! Pre-Columbus, the people would look out and say ‘No further for me thank you. I’ll fall off!’
So why am I doing this great rambling introduction with these saline thoughts? Well, this summer, I am going to be part of the Camino Nova Scotia on the eastern Coast of Canada. And what is even more exciting for me is that the trail will be on Cape Breton Island. Cape Breton is high on my bucket list. It is barely an island with its causeway bridge connection to the rest of Nova Scotia, the Canadian province that hangs there on the edge of the Maritime provinces.
Cape Breton Island is between the Gulf of St Laurence and the Atlantic Ocean. We will be walking the Gaels Trail on the Gulf of St Laurence side. This makes me happy as it was sailing up this gulf that I very first arrived in Canada. On the deck of the ship, I could smell the forest but I could sure not see any land, the Gulf is so immensely wide. That was in September 1967.
So, this summer, I will set forth in July. This is not the month I would choose to travel now I no longer have school-age children. However, for this adventure I will be part of a group, organized by the Atlantic College of Theology and the Cape Breton outing is in July.
No surprise when I say Nova Scotia is rich in Scottish culture and heritage. Cape Breton is quite an epicentre of all things Gaelic. Back in the day, CBC radio had Gaelic language programming out of Cape Breton. Now CBFM internet radio does programming in Gaelic. The other great culture in Cape Breton is Acadian. This is French culture descended from the first French settlers to the Maritime provinces. The first in Canada as they arrived in the very early 1600s. They have kept their French accent which is quite unique, some would say archaic, but I say authentic. Think of Antonine Maillet’s character La Sagouine.
The English and the French fought it out through that whole messy Spanish War of Succession. Many ups and downs and further disputes. Finally, though we are far from Spain, many of the Acadians were deported by the British to various French colonies and to France itself. But the largest group were sent to Louisiana and are known as Cajuns. The shameful actions of the ‘founding nations’ did not end there. By the end of all this, the First Nations Mi’kmaq got pushed aside and off their lands.
On my Cape Breton adventure, I will be my diligent tourist self and there will be blog news coming over the summer.