Xander’s Nova Scotia Adventures Part 2: The Sequel (Exploring Yarmouth)

Good afternoon CYY freaks! Xander reporting in again from the charming fishing town of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. After a hearty night's sleep that felt more like a wonderful lobster-induced food coma, our tour guides Monica, from Bay Ferries, and Calvin, who owns his own tour company in the area, have been taking us around all day to see all of the exciting things that Yarmouth has to offer! There's been a ton so far, so I'll update you on what I can:

Le Village Historique Adacien

Our first stop of the day was at this lovely historic Acadian village. Set up as a fishing village would have been at the turn of the 20th century, everything was quaint and lovely. The employees all dressed in period-correct clothing, and walked us through how families would have lived at the time. The houses (most of which are original) were decorated as they would have been back in the day. One of them even had a pump organ, which I had a little too much fun with...

...And another had a portable fog horn, which I had WAY too much fun with.

There we learned that Molasses was a staple of Nova Scotian cuisine, because it would help preserve the food for long periods of time. I helped myself to some homemade molasses cookies, which the village still bakes in period-correct ovens. Calvin, our guide, says that the recipe is his grandmother's! Delicious.

We also got to check out a traditional Blacksmith's workshop, which was beyond cool. He showed us out to make nails from cast iron, which back then were a pricy commodity. Rich Acadians would apparently put a few of them in their front doorways to brag about how they could afford to waste them.

Dennis Point Wharf

Our first stop of the day was the Dennis Point Wharf, which is one of the biggest commercial wharfs in the area. They do around $50m worth of business a year in fish and lobster. Calvin then whipped out a lobster trap, and proceeded to show us a blue lobster! Having only seen cartoon depictions, this was pretty cool.

We then sat down for a traditional Acadian meal at the Dennis Point Cafe. I had the Acadian Sampler, which included Local Seafood Chowder, a piece of Rappie Pie (which is a traditional sailor's dish to stay warm on the water), and a Fish Cake with Salted Cod. For dipping, molasses was in great supply (of course), and Chow Chow, which is a sweet green tomato relish. All in all great way to warm up on what has admittedly been a bit of a chilly day.

That's all for now! More updates happening later. Off to see some Captain's houses!