I have to admit a large degree of ignorance around all the Atlantic Provinces, not entirely sure what they were, let alone where they were.
I did know about the ports of St John and Halifax and I knew the urban myth about a couple going to Sydney Australia, who ended up in Sydney Nova Scotia by mistake.
And I had a few images of that film with Judy Dench, the Shipping News, which gave the romantic impression of this very bleak but beautiful country – which may turn out to be true.
I always have a sense of talking in cliches around Canada but it really is a stunning country – not just physically, but culturally, whatever that means.
People in Toronto said to me that people up here were very friendly, which I wasn’t quite sure how to take as most Canadians I’ve ever met have been pretty mellow – certainly they’re much more outgoing than ‘west coast’ Canadians.
This area has a very New England feel to it, both in terms of people and houses and approach to life.
Will head off from Bathhurst tomorrow and head east, I think – never was very good at geography, and see where I end up.
Plan at the moment is to head down to Sydney, go over to Newfoundland, back and do Nova Scotia and then back up other side of New Brunswick and time permitting head back to my second spiritual home of Vermont, first still being Montana, possibly Yukon – spoilt for choice !