Otesha-ing the Maritimes!

Summer time and the cycling wheels are turning...

Cheers friends and folks!

It's been a while, but I just wanted to update my adventures as part of the Otesha Project's East Coast bike tour team. 14 of us are cruising through the Southern shore of NS and are currently in Yarmouth. It is an energetic, fun-filled, and pretty intense experience but I am definitely loving seeing and learning more from the communities we are passing through.

Case in point: Pubnico. Last night we camped outside le Muse Acadien in the small village, which is the oldest Acadian settlement apparently. As we entered the town, there were signs EVERYWHERE supporting Dwight D'Eon who is currently competing on the Canadian Idol. One sign said: "I may be 93, but Dwight is my Idol"!!! :) So cute! We cheered for Dwight at the local Legion with some of the locals, many of whom have the same last names and are distantly related to their local hero!

Not only that, but it was really cool to chat with the lobster and haddock fishermen on the dock in French, well Acadian French, which was quite a treat to hear. It's a mix of both languages and comes across almost as a mumble. I found I really had to concentrate, but boy were they friendly! We got a tour of the boat and they described the fishing methods.

Finally, after a tour of the museum, we were presented with patches which the community members made with little Acadian flags on them, in addition to freshly baked bread for breakfast! :)

Anyways, quite enjoying the unique opportunity to travel in a mobile community who is passionate about environmental and social issues. We are having lots of fun, learning lots and are excited to see more of NS till Digby (and hopefully some local scallops) and off to New Brunswick!

Hope everyone is having a great summer thus far! Though it's tough to find time to fit in a blog entry, I look forward from hearing from you! :)

"Much peace and bicycle grease" (one of the many Otesha sayings),
Kristy