Halifax to Baddeck!

We are in Baddeck, Nova Scotia.  We did an overnight sail from Halifax, arriving through the St Peters Canal to the Bras d’Or Lakes. It looks like a scattering of islands in a big Maine lake, trees right down to the saltwater shore, clear water,  seeing bottom easily in 15-20 feet  Spent the last few nights in different uninhibited island anchorages. We were greeted by bald eagles in the last two anchorages, and yesterday hiked up an old marble quarry that closed in the ’20’s, bush whacking through the woods and old roads, saw green snakes, etc. Had a dinghy ride up a swampy curving slough with over half a dozen birds singing and kingfishers all about. Went out to dinner at the local german expat smokehouse restaurant on the water after a 4 mile dinghy ride, only two buildings on the enclosed harbor bigger than Stage Harbor, great homemade Oktoberfest sausage, awesome smoked salmon pâté, fresh haddock and scallops, four boats of customers (10 people in all). Went through the drawbridge dividing the lakes today. Will explore Baddek and Alexander Graham Bells home and museum tomorrow. Probably head overnight to Newfoundland in a few days weather permitting, thinking of a landfall at uninhabited Cinq Cerf. The lakes are clear water easy to see bottom in 15-20 feet. Sandy mud with sparse eel grass bottom. Trees right down to the salty water like a Maine lake. Small rocks on the shore and hardly any obstructions to navigation, such as, sand bars, rocks, or shallows. Sometimes 30′ deep, 30′ from shore. Mosquitos at twilight around 9:15 so we close up at night, no black flies or bad gnats yet. Some “deer” flies and green heads. The sounds of all the birds at the same time singing over each other from the dense forest surrounding us at anchor is great. Wood peckers, terns, eagles, crows and many more I do not know the names of. Looking for deer, fox, racoon, and porcupine, but none yet.   All is well,  Pippin, Rocio and Richard