Page 24 - 2023-2024 Travel Guide to Canada

22
almost 13 km (8 mi.) of curvaceous concrete,
the so-called “fixed link” qualifies as the
longest bridge in the world spanning ice-
covered water. It took a team of more than
5,000 workers four years to build this
11-m-wide (36-ft.) engineering marvel;
motorists can cross it in a mere 12 minutes
(www.confederationbridge.com).
10MIXED SIGNALS:
NEWFOUNDLAND &
LABRADOR
The provincial capital’s leading landmark,
Signal Hill, is crowned by an imposing stone
tower, which was erected to commemorate
the arrival of Giovanni Caboto in 1497.
The Genoese explorer is better known to
CONFEDERATION BRIDGE, NORTH CARLETON • TOURISM PEI/STCLAIR MACAULAY
anglophones as John Cabot. Coincidently, all
Built anew each year, the Hôtel de Glace in
Valcartier Vacation Village is open from
9A RECORD-BREAKING BRIDGE:
of the modern-day visitors who tweet about
PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
the tower or post cellphone pics of it to
January to late March (www.valcartier.com/
Although P.E.I. joined Confederation in 1873,
Facebook and Instagram owe a debt to another
en/lodging/hotel-de-glace-ice-hotel)
the province wasn’t physically connected to
trail-blazing Italian, Guglielmo Marconi.
the rest of Canada until the billion-dollar
The radio pioneer ushered in the era of global
7 CLAWS CÉLÈBRE:
Confederation Bridge opened between
communications when he received the first
NEW BRUNSWICK
Borden-Carleton and Cape Jourimain, New
transatlantic wireless signal here on December
Shediac, a cute Acadian fishing community,
Brunswick, 124 years later. Comprised of
12, 1901 (www.parkscanada.gc.ca/signalhill).
bills itself as the “Lobster Capital of the
CABOT TOWER, SIGNAL HILL NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE, ST. JOHN’S, NL • SHUTTERSTOCK/LINDA HARMS
World.” Whether or not that’s technically
true, this town obviously loves the King of
Crustaceans. One is proudly displayed on its
coat of arms; another—a 55-tonne whopper,
albeit made from metal—is its main attrac-
tion. Moreover, since 1949, it has honoured
the catch du jour each July during the nine-
day Shediac Lobster Festival. A favourite
event, “La Grande Table,” is the famous
lobster dinner served on a gigantic, long
table where hundreds of people gather
for a delicious locally sourced meal
(www.shediaclobsterfestival.ca).
8CLIFF NOTES:
NOVA SCOTIA
The Joggins Fossil Cliffs on Chignecto Bay
are more than just another pretty rock face.
After all, they provide an unparalleled look
at what life was like 300 million years ago
during the Pennsylvanian “Coal Age” of Earth
history. Some 200 species of fossilized
plants and animals have been discovered
here, among them Hylonomus lyelli, the
earliest known reptile and the first known
vertebrate able to live entirely on land. Cited
by Charles Darwin in The Origin of Species,
this 15-km-long (9.3-mi.), tide-washed
UNESCO World Heritage site has been
dubbed the “Coal Age Galápagos”
(www.jogginsfossilcliffs.net).