Thursday, September 25, 2008

Peggy's Cove

Another of the places in Nova Scotia we had heard a lot about was a little sea side village along Nova Scotia's south-western coast called Peggy's Cove. This is said to be one of the most photographed sites in Nova Scotia because of its picturesque setting. The village is most definitely extremely photogenic, but it also draws lots of tourists. Just be aware of the possibility of crowds if you visit.

One of the most photographed subjects is the Peggy's Cove Lighthouse. This is still operated by the Canadian Coast Guard. In the summer the Canadian Postal Service operates a tiny post office in the bottom of the lighthouse. Cards and letters mailed from here are given a special lighthouse themed cancellation stamp.

The origin of the name of the village is the subject of various theories. The popular local version is that the name came from a young girl who was the sole survivor of a shipwreck. Having no memory of events before the shipwreck, including her name, the young girl was named "Peggy" by the people who took her in. To further add confusion to the origin of the name, is a fictional novel by artist/author Ivan Fraser called "Peggy of the Cove". He grew up in the area and has written a couple of books giving a fictionalized account of Peggy's life. We visited with Ivan at his museum/gift shop. He is quite the fascinating character, and we had to get his picture with Barbara during our visit.

From this area we head north towards Prince Edward Island.

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