New Brunswick Route 114

On july 27th, one of my good friend and I embarked on a enjoyable and crazy adventure to New Brunswick. The idea first started when she told me: "A friend of mine is getting married in Edmundston, would you go with me, please?" Of course, as a craver for more travels, I immediately said yes. You see, my friend was newly single and didn't want to attend a wedding alone. Can we blame her? I surely can't. What I could, I did; 800-ish km away from home, I thought: "wasn't that journey suppose to be about some kind of a wedding?" And my friend laughed, thinking: "how the hell did we end up here?"

 You see, before we even knew where Edmundston was, I remembered going on a road trip, one summer as a child, to New-Brunswick. I vaguely remembered some big rocks, that looked like flower pots and a giant lobster made of stone. So, nostalgic as I am, I convinced my friend to re-live those memories.

The first objective was to get to Hopewell Rocks, so we took the nightmarish traffic circle in Moncton and started our journey. We passed through what seemed like a dried-out river and went deep in the countryside. After a 45 minutes drive and 1000 times asking ourselves if we were on the right road, we arrived at Hopewell Rocks. It was just like I remembered. The rocks, formed like giant flower pots, were standing on the red beach surrounded by pink water, looking like the guardians of some hidden heaven. Home of the highest tides in the world, the water can go up to 14 meter every evening. Even as an adult, the impressive work of Mother Nature still impresses me. It made me fall in love with New-Brunswick all over again.

Back in the car, with the help of an old-looking New-Brunswick guide, we decided to pursue our chase of the sea on road 114. You see, like every road trip, nothing was planned in advance. We just drove and stopped at interesting places. Sometimes, with a loud "STOP!!!" from my friend and (maybe) louder brake sounds. Back to the guide, we saw this place called "Cap Enragé", which means "Enraged Cape" and tough it would be a nice place to eat lunch. That name surely fit that place, because we drove for another 45 minutes on small back-country roads with quite a few hills and dangerous turns. The trusty Prius held to the road like a champ and we arrived safely at the most wonderful place in New-Brunswick.

Cap Enragé is nested at the top of a 46 meters hill overlooking the Bay of Fundy and, on clearer days, Nova Scotia can be seen. The view is simply breath-taking and the smell of the sea is enveloping and reassuring. We ate fresh lobster at the likeable restaurant and explored the 140 years old, still-functioning lighthouse. After making plans to leave everything behind and starting over by being the lighthouse keeper, my friend dragged me out of that magical place.

We were back on the road again and kind of sad, because our next stop had to be Edmundston. Apparently, there was no valid excuses to miss a wedding. We realised there would be no more giant rock formations or mysterious lighthouse scenery. That is until my friend screamed again: "STOP THE CAR!!!". Since I was driving and focusing on the road, I didn't see the view we just passed by. I hit the brakes and parked on the side of the road. My friend got out of the car so fast, I thought she fell. Then, I turned my head and saw it; an endless white beach surrounded by vertiginous red cliffs and tall green grass. Traditional white Acadian houses were overlooking that fantastic view, standing guard to the changing weather. That moment felt surreal, standing there, alone, on that hill. I realised that what made road trips so special were those unexpected moments of serenity.

No need to ask, I won't convert myself to a lighthouse keeper. But I might go back to New-Brunswick in a few years, seeking for that feeling again.

Enjoy, The little traveller's boots, Xox