I’m barefoot, carefully feeling with my toes as I move along a sharply sloping rock face, because if I slip, it’s quick slide and a short drop into ccccold Lake Superior.
My cautious progress is taking me out to Agawa Rock in Lake Superior Provincial Park, a sacred site. Here, past generations of Ojibwe have come to record visions and events.
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Canada is undoubtedly singularly blessed with magnificent vistas. But in some parts of the country, sky and rocks, trees and water come together in spectacular and soul-stirring synchrony. Algoma is just such a place. Small wonder, then, that painting Algoma is an imperative for so many artists.
Artists like Lawren Harris, J.E.H. MacDonald, Frank Johnston, A.Y. Jackson and Arthur Lismer – all members of Canada’s iconic Group of Seven – came here to paint these landscapes.
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Longfellow’s Acadian heroine Evangeline stands in Port Royal.
In 1605, Sieur de Mons and his cartographer, Samuel de Champlain, began the first settlement of Port Royal. This is the oldest settlement in North America apart from St. Augustine, Fla.
The beauty of the Bay of Fundy and its sheltered harbour had long been known to the Mi’kmaq people who had lived here for centuries. The French and Mi’kmaq began a long and enduring friendship in the land that became known as Acadie, possibly from the classical name, Arcadia – a place of lasting peace. And the French settlers here were Acadians. Continue reading
The venerable Empress Hotel dominates the waterfront in Victoria.
Delicious sunshine makes this the perfect day to explore this beautiful city on two wheels. I set out to see if Victoria, British Columbia lives up to its moniker of most bike friendly city in Canada. Just a short block from the harbour with its iconic views of the provincial parliament buildings and the Empress Hotel, Shawn, one of the owners of The Pedaler, fits us out with comfortable bikes and mandatory helmets. And we’re off on our tour. Continue reading
Grey Owl’s cabin, christened Beaver Lodge, stands in a remote part of Prince Albert National Park in Saskatchewan. Inside the beaver lodge of his beloved pets opens into his living space.
I’m standing in mud, and it’s happily oozing right through my mesh sneakers. I can’t believe I wore white socks and sneakers!
I did wear Muskol. But despite copious applications of the repellent, I’m patently providing sustenance for half the mosquito and deer fly population of Prince Albert National Park in Saskatchewan. Continue reading
