Tea and Chowder in Meat Cove

Hello from the top of the world. We're at the tea house in Meat Cove, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada. It's the northernmost point accessible by road on the island, and the farthest north we've ever been on this continent.

The chowder is really good - big chunks of fish and other swimmy things we can't quite identify, with boiled potato to give it a bit of heft. We're heading back to Cheticamp tonight for Acadian food and music, and then back to our vacation cottage in Inverness.

We're such urbanites that at first, when we opened the window last night, we thought the ocean sounded like traffic.

Earlier today, we decided to visit Gampo Abbey, a Tibetan abbey at the northern end of the island. They weren't offering tours, but the grounds were open, so we poked around the woods looking for the abbey's stupa.

As we were walking around it three times clockwise for luck (as specified in the informational pamphlet) the skies opened up and drenched us as we walked back to the car. We're still evaporating.

More adventures to come ....