Dispatches from the sunburned wastelands

After a spot of rainy weather, the sky finally decided to clear up this afternoon, and so we drove south from Halifax, towards Portugese Cove and Sambro. We were told about a real sandy beach there, hidden somewhere along the coast, about 20 km outside of Halifax Metro. And lo, there it was: Crystal Crescent Beach! Dozens of little white sandy crescents, interspersed with saltsprayed rocks and red (this time of year) blueberry hills. It's a Provincial Park, albeit not a very welcoming one. It seems that, like elsewhere in the Maritimes, the parks here are closed at the official end of Summer (around mid-Septemebr). Nevermind the fact that many people still want to enjoy a walk on the beach, or just want to sit and listen to the surf. The park is "gated", and you have to leave your car at the side of the road, and hike in to reach the beach. Once you get there, however, everything is forgiven, because what a wonderful spot! Real white sandy beaches, real surf, real waves...you finally get a chance to see the North Atlantic in action. It's always been strange to me that the maritimers seem to hide their ocean - except for a few fishing villages that's dollied up for the tourists, there are very little emphasis on the coast around Halifax (maybe it's because the ocean around Halifax is so toxic that they don't want to attrract attention to it?). Whatever the reason, maybe it's for the best - was this New England, or South Africa for that matter, places like Crystal Crescent would be overrun by large opulent beach houses and garish tourism development, spoiling the views and beauty for everybody.

Posted by HannesB at 8:18 AM Comments