Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia

7 August 2016

When I booked a trip to Halifax I knew that a day trip to the famous Peggy’s Cove was a must. Located about a 40 minute drive from the city of Halifax, Peggy’s Cove is an easy drive through quaint lakeside communities and small fishing villages. The drive to the picturesque village is almost as remarkable as the destination itself (almost). It certainly helped that we had a beautiful day to make the trip and enjoy the sounds of the Atlantic ocean along the coast. If you can believe it, I did not edit these photos one bit, because why edit something that is already perfect? Above is the lighthouse in Peggy’s Cove. On the lighthouse it says: “WARNING Injury and death have rewarded careless sight seers here. The ocean and rocks are treacherous. Savour the sea from afar.” That’s about the only warning you will receive from Peggy’s Cove. Up near the visitors centre there are signs that say to stay off of the black rocks, but other than that they count on your common sense to kick in. Of course none of those warnings stopped multiple people from climbing down to the waters edge.

As we were walking from the visitors centre to the lighthouse we had to pass through the fishing village that is Peggy’s Cove. I found this one lookout spot that captured all the colors of the cove and I fell in love with yet another part of Canada. To me it looks like a backdrop for an Atlantic maritime based movie or TV show, but it is very real and is home to 35 people year round.

Did you know that “Nova Scotia” literally means “New Scotland?” Although I’ve never been to Scotland, I imagine it looks something like the picture above. This bagpiper has been at Peggy’s Cove for years, gracing the tourists with authentic Scottish music to help set the mood of the village. Yes, the waters of the Atlantic are really that blue here, and yes, there really are Scottish aspects that are ever present throughout Nova Scotia.

The famous Peggy’s Point Lighthouse. Built right into the rocks in 1914 after the original lighthouse was replaced. While we were in Peggy’s Cove we met a 100 year old gentleman who told us that he was born in that very lighthouse in 1916, only two years after it was constructed. Today it still stands tall and keeps ships away from the rocky coast of Nova Scotia. This is the most photographed lighthouse in North America, and makes the top ten list for most visited lighthouses in the world every year. It’s easy to see why this is a tourist spot.

When we were out in Vancouver a year and a half ago we were introduced to the navigation system called the “Inukshuk.” Every morning we would go for a walk on Vancouver’s own English Bay beach and there would be hundreds of these stone men built. As the day went on the tides would come in and knock them over, as well as curious but careless tourists that messed with them. But come back the next morning and they would all make a miraculous reappearance. Here I was thinking these Inukshuks were a Western Canada thing, but to my surprise we stumbled right into a rock valley of thousands of hand built Inukshuks at Peggy’s Cove. It sounds pretty dumb to say that rocks excite me, bit when they are hand built and carefully balanced one at a time into stone men, I do get excited! Kids, adults, people of all ages were mirroring those that had left behind a rock sculpture before them. There’s no telling how long all of these Inukshuks have been here, but adding to the “Inukshuk Valley” as I called it, was an enjoyment all in its own.

I found this little guy off the beaten path, sitting on a boulder all by itself. You can’t tell me that rocks aren’t beautiful, because if you believe that then you obviously haven’t been to Peggy’s Cove.

I imagine that this lake wasn’t really supposed to be there. The waves very frequently do come up over the rocks, past the lighthouse and create miniature lakes throughout the rocks. The day we were there was a perfect no-storm-in-sight kind of day, so we didn’t really have to worry about the potential for 20-ft waves to come up over the lighthouse. There are no fences to keep out overly curious tourists which is why common sense must be present at all times! These are rocks after all; there are no built in stairways and no easy pathways to the top of the rocks. You will be jumping over gaps in the landscape as well as climbing up boulders on your stomach if you are that persistent on seeing the ocean on the other side of the rocks.

I wish I could have captured the sound of the waves crashing into the rocks and have taken it home with me. The pictures I took will have to do I guess. The sound of the ocean and watching the waves come in, crashing into the rocks, and then receding back into water will never get old. We could have stayed there all day, sitting on the rocks above just enjoying the sun, the sounds, and the feeling of being in one of the most natural landscapes on Earth. Some of the waves came as far up as the top of the rocks, splashing the tourists sitting there. What amazed me most was how blue the ocean was. Even back in the Halifax Harbour, the water was the clearest I’ve ever seen.

I kept telling my mom that I was so glad that Canada came to own what is now Peggy’s Cove. Had America somehow received the land that Peggy Cove sits on, there would be fences, signs, and security everywhere. Thinking back to our time in Peggy’s Cove, I don’t remember seeing any security or police. I guess there’s no need for it on a daily basis. Guess what: people fall off of these rocks in Peggy’s Cove. Everyone looks to the Canadian government and Parks Canada to do something about the dangerous rocks, but they have already said that they will not construct a fence around the lighthouse. That would take away from the natural beauty; something that America seems to lack anymore because of all the precautions that parks must take to “protect” tourists and keep them away from dangerous areas.

After we spent some time at the lighthouse and we laid on the rocks, we walked back towards the visitor centre and saw this church down a dirt road. Around it were a few houses that had been turned into bed & breakfasts. The cloudless sky and the rugged landscape made me really love this church. I could see myself getting up on Sunday mornings and walking to this church with my neighbors. It’s a simple structure that just screamed “community” to me.

I have about 100 photos just from Peggy’s Cove that I took. I wish I could share them all and explain all of them in detail. The ones I picked for this post though were my favorites and when I look at them they make me want to go back and explore some more. To my surprise my mom fell in love with Nova Scotia, especially Peggy’s Cove. She seemed to have love this trip more than I did and I am so glad! Convincing my family to take a trip to Canada instead of a tropical place like Jamaica has been a challenge. After this weekend trip to Nova Scotia though, my mom is already talking about going back and bringing my dad and little brother next time.

This is my first “official” blog post on my website and I hope to write similar ones here in the future. As for my trip to Nova Scotia I want to do a blog post on my experience kayaking to the off limits George’s Island in the Halifax Harbour, as well as a post on the Halifax Citadel. Next month I am traveling to Toronto (again) for the World Cup of Hockey which will definitely result a blog post on here. In the meantime I will keep my eyes open for new experiences and will keep exploring!