North from Margaree Harbour, the Cabot Trail offers lovely views of land and sea as it slices across the wide grassy littoral with a range of forested hills looming inland. The scattered dwellings hereabouts are home to an Acadian community whose earliest members hid out in the woods during the troubles of 1755. As news filtered through of their survival, they were joined by returning deportees and - in a dramatic change of policy - the British formally ceded the land to them in 1790. After 40km, the road runs into the district's main village,
CHÉTICAMP
, where the towering Catholic church of
St-Pierre
, with its soaring silver steeple, was built in 1893 of stones lugged across the ice from the Île-de-Chéticamp, just offshore. Inside, the lines of the cavernous nave are interrupted by two long galleries and oceans of elaborate wood and plasterwork. The striking frescoes were added later - in the 1950s - and, even though they're awfully sanctimonious, they do have a certain cheery kitsch charm. Below the church - a couple of hundred metres back down the road - is the
Co-operative Artisanale
(early May to Oct daily 8am-9pm; tel 224-3207), where a tiny Musée Acadien features a selection of the crudely patterned hooked rugs that are a characteristic craft of the area. The display is hardly spellbinding, but the co-operative's simple café-style
Restaurant Acadien
is excellent and great value. In particular, the
poulet fricot
(chicken stew) is mouthwatering, and so are the fruit pies and pea soup. There's a much better exhibition of Acadian crafts at the north end of the village in
Les Trois Pignons
(late May to mid-Oct daily 9am-5pm; mid-Oct to late May Mon-Fri 9am-5pm; $3.50), a cultural centre that proudly displays the hooked mats of Elizabeth LeFort, an artist of some local renown. LeFort's hooked mats often depict religious and historical scenes, mostly large-scale, multicoloured affairs that took as long as a year to complete, but her portraits are perhaps more unusual, pushing the limits of mat making with admittedly mixed results - though her
Jackie Onassis
of 1962 is quite delightful.
Chéticamp straggles along the main road for about 5km. In between the church - at the south end of the village - and Les Trois Pignons is a
tourist kiosk
(July-Sept), where they have the latest details on a variety of boat trips, several of which leave from the adjacent jetty. Options include
deep-sea fishing
on board the
Danny Lynn
(July & Aug 3 daily, June, Sept & Oct 1-3 daily; 3-4hr; $25; tel 224-3606) and
whale-watching
with the highly reputable Whale Cruisers Ltd (May & mid-Sept to mid-Oct 2 daily, June to mid-Sept 3 daily; 3hr; $28; tel 224-3376 or 1-800/813-3376,
www.whalecruises.com
). Indeed, summer whale-watching cruises are big business in these parts and they are available at almost every significant settlement - usually three-hour trips for about $30.
There are around twenty
motels
and
B&Bs
in and around Chéticamp. A good choice is the
Ocean View Motel
(tel 224-2313 or 1-877/743-4404; $60-80; mid-April to mid-Nov), whose well-maintained, shingle-clad chalets sit right by the seashore on the main road opposite Les Trois Pignons. Another option is
L'Auberge Doucet Inn
(tel 224-3438 or 1-800/646-8668; $60-80; May-Oct), above the main road on the south side of the village, which has twelve straightforward, modern rooms. More distinctive is
Chéticamp Outfitters B&B
(tel 224-2776; $40-60; April to mid-Dec), perched on a hilltop just off the main road about 4km south of the village and with splendid views over the surrounding shoreline. The rooms are plain and simple, but the breakfasts are good, the breakfast room has great views and the Acadian family who run the place offer bicycle rental. A third choice, the
Park View Motel
(tel 224-3232,
www.seal-trail.com/parkvie
; late May to late Oct; $60-80), occupies a pair of well-kept but routine motel blocks on the main road about 8km north of Chéticamp - in a pretty wooded dell across the Chéticamp River from the national park.
For
food
, stick to the
Restaurant Acadien
; a reserve option is the
L'Auberge Doucet Inn
, where the crab dinners ($14) have a good reputation.
