Day 219 - Grand Manan Photo Essay (Part 2)

Fishing is one of the key industries (okay, other than tourism, fishing is the only industry) on Grand Manan, hence the island is littered with lobster traps, buoys, and fishing tackle and nets. In fact, buoys were EVERYWHERE. One house we saw in North Head was absolutely covered with them. This first show, taken in North Head at Whale Cove, Patti has dubbed "The Lost Buoy".

This second photograph presented itself to us at Seal Cove, on a lawn just outside the town's ball diamond. I think it captures a lot about Grand Manan: wood piles and water buoys. I wonder if they burn the old buoys in their wood stoves too.

Dark Harbour, on the island's mostly uninhabited west side, is basically a fishing camp and the fishing gear and nets strewn around the jetty speaks volumes for what happens there. I like the textures of the nets and their many colours.

On the morning of our first full day on the island, we took a walk along the "Red Trail" north from Whale Cove in the direction of "The Whistle" (yet another light house). What a fantastic trail! Much of it ran right along the cliffs overlooking Whale Cove and on two occasions I saw the spray of a whale's exhalation out on the water. This photograph of Ashburton Head and "Seven Days Work" is taken from the trail high above. A couple who camp near the Head told us they watched three hump-back whales playing in the water just past the point the night before. That news just killed us since one of our great goals in life is to see a hump-back or two.

Now we're down on the shore near Ashburton Head. It's not a beach, really since it's covered with these beautiful rocks, that actually look like skulls when you get close up. By then, the mist had cleared and the sun was out, making the colour even more spectacular.

And finally, a night shot at Swallow Tail Light House of another couple who joined us for our late evening visit to look out over the water in darkness. Taken with a tripod and a 15-second exposure, this shot actually makes it look lighter out than it actually was. But I just love the deep blues of this photograph and the fact that these people, without knowing how helpful they were being, stood practically still for the entire exposure period, making the shot look fantastic.