Day 16, Louisbourg

Today it rained. Being a fair-weather cyclist, we felt that the best plan was to use the day to visit the Fortress, only about a mile away. And this is what we did.

I guess it was good to see the Fortress in gloomy weather: that's what the people in the eighteenth century dealt with a lot of the time. But it was not as pleasant as it might have been. Fortunately, a lot of the exhibits are indoors. The shop was doing a brisk business in raincoats.


I was reminded of many things in the visit: the disparity in wealth between the poorer (soldiers, for instance), and the richer (the governor and the comptroller); the pleasure of having good plumbing and electricity; the relatively easy life we all lead nowadays.

The miserable day meant that they did not do the planned cannon firing or musket firings. But we got some sense of the life of the soldiers anyways.

Very positive impressions of the gardens, the animals, the bakery and the kitchens with the work they accomplished. Fortress Louisbourg was the fourth major port in North America at the time, and was at the junction of routes to the West Indies, Europe, and interior North America. So they had spices from the Caribbean (cinnamon, garlic, pepper, nutmeg) as well as coffee beans (which they roasted on site), chocolate, sugar (in cones). The richer houses had good furniture, upholstered chairs, nice beds, good fabrics including curtains.


The population of the area was about 6000 in the winter, and double to triple that in the summer. Some people would go back and forth, daunting when you consider with was a six-week voyage!

After a busy morning looking around some of the major buildings, we stopped for lunch in the Hôtel de la Marine, which would have been a tavern in those days. They served us what they would have had then: pea soup or vegetable soup, lightly breaded haddock with turnip and carrots, and hot rum. It was great, and all eaten with a spoon (the only implement that would have been available then). We had pretty well been worn out by then (undoubtedly helped by the rum), so returned to our cabin for an afternoon snooze and a read before supper.

It was a lazy day, but one not without its charms. No cycling was done.


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Location:Louisbourg