Thursday, June 30, 2011

Caraquet, New Brunswick

Our campground in Caraquet.


This sleek rig from Europe pulled into the campground after us.

6-28: Another good weather day with good scenery along our route.  Saw lots of ‘Moose/Caution’ signs but no moose.  Today we hit the northernmost point of our trip; for the remainder of our journey we’ll be headed southward.  We’re in an unremarkable but pleasant enough campground bordering the bay (Baie des Chaleurs).  New Brunswick, although scenic, doesn’t have the panache of Prince Edward Island (PEI) and Nova Scotia.  We expect to spend a few days in each of the latter, but only one night here.
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Caraquet is on the Acadian Peninsula, a French-speaking area.  The Acadian culture is big in the Maritimes, has been since 1605.  These are folks of French origin who survived the ever-changing British/French territorial dominance.  The Brits shipped many to other places at one point, fearing the Acadians would be loyal to France if war erupted.  One of those places was Louisiana.  I’ve never been to LA but know that the Acadians are alive and well there, and have more or less evolved into Creoles with the help of Spanish and Caribbean cross pollination.  There’s a large Acadian period-village here but we’re giving it a miss.

2 comments:

  1. Did you go to see the tide drop and rise 40 ft. in St. Johns?

    I was surprised to learn that 'Acadian' became 'Cajun' in the south. A fascinating history, (not that I know it), but it seems like they took a lot of twists and turns from the North to the South. I should read up on it. I like hearing your historical flavor on things.

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  2. Yea-- Spudbug would feel right at home in PEI with all the other spuds

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