2 of 23 fav photos from our time spent on Grand Manan Island in the beautiful Bay of FundyThere were so many things I loved about
this island - the blue green colour of the water, the wonderful smell of open ocean salt air enveloping you constantly, the 7 meter tides, the forests of mostly spruce, the rocky & rugged coastline, the stone & black sand covered beaches, the fog, the people who were all very friendly, the accent, a way of dragged out speaking and slightly drawl-
ish, similar very to a Maine accent, the fishing weirs, the many colourful
buoys hanging as garden art, the idea of whales all around the island, big beautiful bald eagles everywhere, cedar shingle clad homes abound, lobster boats circling their traps with flocks of seagulls hovering above them in clouds, the many charming descriptive place & street names, the mysterious and gorgeous isolated Dark Harbour (famous for
dulse picking), the historic fishing wharfs & buildings in Seal Cove, & the more prosperous historic architecture in the village of North Head.
The only thing that I didn't like (but unfortunately it's a really big thing) was the garbage & unwanted debris almost everywhere we traveled. I was stunned & so saddened by the sense of disregard & lack of respect for nature, the land and the water. Unbelievable amounts of just plain garbage (coffee cups and chip bags) and heaps and mountains of discarded "stuff" from fishing gear, piles of huge nets, metal lobster traps & broken down rotting boats all along the main road. Old cars,
refrigerators and toilets - just plain junkyard stuff everywhere it seemed. Plus almost all the beaches we walked on, even the remote ones, were littered with ropes, nets, plastic and
styrofoam I'm sure much of it arriving on the island from open sea - how sad is that ?With the fisheries in gradual decline and the growth & popularity of
eco-tourism hopefully the New Brunswick government will help the people of Grand
Manan to deal with their garbage, help educate & perhaps put in place new
infrastructure (garbage pick up & recycling businesses) to help boost the
faltering economy and to bring the island back to it's original natural beauty.
We've definitely crossed Grand
Manan Island off of our potential new tiny life location list.
