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New Brunswick Week—Driving the Acadian Coast

Stretching 110 miles from Shediac to Caraquet, the northeastern coast of New Brunswick boasts the warmest waters north of Virginia, the sand dunes of Kouchibouguac National Park, lonely lighthouses on Miscou Island, and the largest lobster processing facility on the continent. Yet, the real reason folks go out of their way to venture to the Acadian Coast is to experience the French Canadian culture. Stop at any of the small towns and you’ll notice a distinctive joie de vivre, with foot-stomping fiddle music, down-home French cooking accentuating the local seafood catch, and festivals that celebrate the Acadians’ 400-year-old history in the Atlantic Maritimes. One step inside the local boulangerie or patisserie and you’ll realize that this part of New Brunswick is just as French as Quebec, the reason why New Brunswick is the only province in Canada that is officially bilingual. This week, I’ll be driving the Acadian Coast, on assignment for The Boston Globe. I plan to go lobstering, biking, sea kayaking, and more. I’ll fill you in on all the details, so you’ll know exactly what to do on your next trip to the Atlantic Maritimes! 
 

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Vermont Week, Paddling Lake Champlain

If you live on the shores of 120-mile long Lake Champlain, you better love to play in water. On any day during early fall, you can find sailboats tacking back and forth, sea kayakers heading out to the Lake Champlain islands, ferries crossing over to the Adirondack Mountains in New York state, and scuba divers. That’s right, scuba divers. The cool waters of New England’s largest lake contain one of the finest collections of wooden shipwrecks in North America. The list includes the Revolutionary War boat, Philadelphia, pulled from the waters in 1935 to sit in the Smithsonian Institute, and the Eagle, Allen, and Linnet, three naval craft that participated in the War of 1812. In September, the water on Lake Champlain is still warm enough to go swimming, sailing, and sea kayaking. If you want to kayak with a local guide, go with Abenaki Outfitters in Shoreham. 

 
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Toronto, The Culinary Capital of Canada

We’re headed to Niagara-on-the-Lake this morning to start our bike trip. Yesterday, I was fortunate to spend Victoria Day in one of my favorite cities to dine, Toronto. No need to travel the world to find varying culture when you can simply walk around Toronto’s ethnically diverse neighborhoods. Start with dim sum in Chinatown, where we dined at Rol San on Spadina (worth the wait). Or grab a traditional walnut cake in Koreatown, head to Greektown for helpings of saganaki and lamb souvlaki, order a cappuccino at one of the outdoor cafés in Little Italy, find chicken tikka masala at the Indian Bazaar in Little India, and dine on your fair share of pierogies and borscht in Little Poland, or “Ronceys,” as the locals call it. If you’re looking for more innovative multicultural fare, sample the sublime Duck Egg dish at Café Boulud, Daniel Boulud’s French restaurant at the new Four Seasons Toronto. Or venture to the Parkdale neighborhood to try the tasty smoke trout at Keriwa Café, the Native Canadian restaurant that I recently wrote about for The Washington Post. 
 
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New in New York

I had lunch with Alyssa Schmid and Rachel Peace from NYC and Company last Thursday, and, not surprisingly, there’s a lot happening in New York City this summer. WorldPride will make its debut in the City June 26-30 to coincide with the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising. Numerous cultural organizations have arranged exhibitions highlighting the Year of Pride, like the Mapplethorpe show now at the Guggenheim. I’ve already discussed the debut of The Vessel and The Shed at Hudson Yards on this page. The first-ever Equinox Hotel (to open in July) and the tallest outdoor observation deck in the Western Hemisphere, the Edge (2020), will soon be joining them. MoMA will close in late June and reopen October 21st after its latest expansion. The TWA Hotel, residing in the former TWA Hotel Center from the 1960s, debuts on May 15th, bringing glamour back to JFK Airport. Ian Schrager’s Times Square EDITION just opened above Times Square to rave reviews. Aman and Six Senses properties will soon be unveiled. They’ll need all these hotel rooms for the record number of visitors arriving each year, a whopping 65 million visitors in 2018. 

 
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April Newsletter Now Available at ActiveTravels.com

Safari in Kenya, 5 recommended hotels in my wife’s hometown of Chicago, a tour operator we love in New Zealand, and a quick getaway to Inn by the Sea in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, just outside of Portland, are the handful of subjects we discuss in our latest newsletter. Have a look! I’m off to Ann Arbor, Michigan, to show my kids the campus where their mom and dad met. Think I’m putting pressure on my son to go to a certain school? I’ll be back on Monday. Enjoy the hyacinths, daffodils, and tulips in bloom and stay active.

 

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Hiking Gulf Hagas from Lodge to Lodge

The people of Maine often refer to Gulf Hagas as the "Grand Canyon" of the state. There’s nothing wrong with a little zealous pride, but Gulf Hagas is no Grand Canyon.  However, it is one of Maine’s most spectacular hikes. Hidden amidst the 100 Mile Wilderness of the Appalachian Trail, a 45-minute drive on dirt roads from Greenville, Gulf Hagas is a gorge carved by the pounding waters of the Pleasant River and the lumbermen’s dynamite. A series of exquisite waterfalls await you as the river drops nearly 500 feet in 2.5 miles through the narrow walls of the slate canyon. Buttermilk Falls is an apt name for the frothy white foam the water becomes as it churns down the rocks. A swimming hole just beyond the falls is a favorite place for hikers to strip down to their undergarments and plunge into the auburn-red waters. Those piercing screams heard are just folks getting used to the cool temperature.  

 
Now you can hike the Gulf Hagas trail as part of a new lodge to lodge route offered by the Appalachian Mountain Club. Spend the night at Gorman Chairback Lodge, then take the Henderson Brook Trail through a scenic gorge for 1.6 miles. This trail connects with the Rim Trail that will bring you through Gulf Hagas, where you’ll spend the night at the nearby Little Lyford Lodge. The total distance is 8.9 miles, perfect for a day’s trek. If you can add an additional day of hiking at Gorman Chairback, consider heading up to Third Mountain across the Appalachian Trail and back down to the lodge via the Henderson Brook Trail. This is serious moose country, so don’t be surprised to run into one. First opened as a private sporting camp in 1867, it’s hard to top the locale of Gorman Chairback, located on the shores of Long Pond in the shadows of the Barren-Chairback Range.
 
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Ecuador, So Much More Than the Galapagos! Last Stop, Mindo

Guest Post and Photo by Amy Perry Basseches

One last outing from Quito to describe: the Mindo Cloud Forest, a premier destination for outdoor adventure. Although relatively small in size, the Ecuador cloud forest is considered one of the top biodiversity hot spots, containing approximately 15 to 17% of the world’s plant species and nearly 20% of its bird species.
 
Led by our guide, Antonio Jaramillo, who runs a company called Wild Ecuador, we ventured 2 hours northwest of Quito to Mindo. This outing is best started in the very early morning to get the optimum weather in the cloud forest and the chance to do the most — we did not understand this fact, and had it scheduled for an afternoon visit. My loss is the reader’s gain.
 
While it is possible to visit Mindo as a day trip, spend at least one night to enjoy bird watching, hiking, butterflies, chocolate making, orchids, and adventure activities (tubing and rafting in rivers, ziplining over ravines, waterfall rappelling). Antonio is an expert birder — there are 1680 total bird species in Ecuador, and he has 1125 on his life list! Mindo itself is home to over 450 species. After we rode a chairlift high above the clouds, we really enjoyed sitting with him drinking a local beer at Sachatamia Lodge (which provides a link to all local service providers), while he named the birds we were seeing. Sachatamia is a rustic wood hotel with 13 comfortable rooms and a pool; I would have been happy there. There are many other options for overnight as well, plus places in the small town to grab food and beverage. Plan ahead and participate in more of the available fun.
 
Thanks to Brandi at Kensington Tours for connecting me with Antonio for this part of the trip. His expertise made it special. 
 
In general, Ecuador has 3 geographical regions beyond the Galapagos: the Coast, the Highland areas (including Quito and environs), and the Amazon (for example, Tena). Did you know that most of the roses in the US and Canada come from Ecuador’s Highlands? Make sure to explore as many areas as you can. Please contact ActiveTravels for advice and assistance. 
 

4 Comments

  1. Hi Steve,
    Definitely stop in for cafe au lait and a crossant at Grain de Folies in Caraquet – you’ll think you were in Paris. And the Village Historique Acadien is a must!
    Bon voyage.
    Meredith

  4. Your great grandfather’s house is quite picturesque, Steve! Thanks for the lobster fishing offer. I’ll take you up on it next time I’m in New Brunswick! Having a great trip, but jam packed.

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