Tag Archives: ocean

Nova Scotia, Part II

One of many lighthouses in Nova Scotia.

June 5, 2019 – June 14, 2019

On the road again, we drove along the shores of the Atlantic Ocean south of Halifax, through small, authentic fishing villages like Terrence Bay, before making our way to the touristic Peggy’s Cove. We had hoped to free camp at the visitor’s centre, but were told it was not allowed, so we continued on to the nearby ocean front King Neptune Campground. We entered the registration office/home of the owner, where Derek greeted the man by saying, “And so you must be King Neptune!” (which got quite a laugh from Granny in the corner). We then were shocked to hear that our camping spot for the night was going to cost $40. Pricey by Canadian standards, super pricey compared to what we had been paying in South America….not all is perfect about being back in Canada or maybe Derek just had to pay special price!

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Heading North up Ruta 3, Argentina

February 21, 2019 – March 2, 2019

To get off the island of Tierra del Fuego and continue north in Argentina one must first re-enter Chile, then take a ferry to the mainland, and then re-enter Argentina. We drove to a small municipal camp on the Chilean side of Tierra del Fuego on the first day, then took the ferry to the mainland before re-entering Argentina the next day. We were tired of the frequent rain, wind and cold, and hoped to make some longer driving days north in search of warmer temperatures.

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A Love Motel, a Friendly Restaurant, and Parque Nacional Paracas

August 24, 2018 – August 27, 2018

We were headed back to the coast in order to take the longer, but faster, route toward Cusco.  We stopped for breakfast in the town of Huaraz, which is an important tourism centre for trekkers making their way to the Cordillera Blanca. Much of Huaraz (90%) was wiped out by the devastating Peruvian earthquake of 1970 and many memorials exist in neighbouring communities to catastrophic avalanches and mudflows known as aluviones which roiled down steep mountain valleys from the glaciers in the cordillera above on other occasions over the last 300 years.

A beautiful church we passed before reaching Huaraz.

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In Search of Whales and Boobies

July 25, 2018 – July 27, 2018

We had decided in Quito, after much discussion, that we would not make the side trip out to the Galapagos Islands.  Friends we had met on the road had offered to watch Piper for us if we went, but we decided that if we did go we wanted to do it on a 7 or 8 day cruise, plus maybe spend some time on one of the islands, and that it could quickly become a 10 or 12 day trip.  That’s a long time to leave Piper, and we would have to find a place to stash the truck.  In addition, the trip would easily cost or $8,000 Canadian dollars, and when Derek calculated how many kilometres we could drive for that much money (a lot!), we decided that the Galapagos would have to wait.

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Placencia

After our ATM cave tour, we decided to head to Placencia for a little more beach time. It was late in the day, so we decided to stop for the night in the town of Hopkins where we were able to camp for the night outside of the Jambel Jerk Cafe.  We were serenaded by a local band with Bob Marley songs.  Across from the restaurant was a laundromat. Clean clothes!

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