I knew once we finished our mad dash up the east coast that we would be ready for some down time in Canada. So for our firs stop I purposefully chose a remote location by the Bay of Fundy.

We spent five glorious days just on the outskirts of tiny St. Martins, New Brunswick. With a year-round population of around 300 hardy souls, this was once one of the richest shipbuilding cities in the British empire. In fact, more than 500 sailing ships were built here in the 1800’s.

Pulling up to our airbnb, we were greeted by blooming flowers and an old, old cottage. Once we set foot inside, we were taken at the charm of this original ship builders cottage that dated back to 1812. It is the oldest standing home in St. Martins. With a working hearth in the kitchen, a clawfoot tub and steep, creaky stairs, this place was the real deal.

Staying in such a remote area by no means meant a lack of things to do. We were a 10-minute walk to the St. Martins lighthouse, where the foghorn could be heard for miles warning nautical traffic in the heavy fog that often enveloped this part of the Bay of Fundy.  Further down the road was access to tidal beach, that, depending on the tides, offered completely different experiences and views.

The owners of our cottage are very cool folks that run a kayaking outfitters in town- Red Rock Adventures-and we went yakking one day to the sea caves-a series of shallow caves that virtually disappear as the tides rise. (As I mentioned in my post on Nova Scotia, the Bay of Fundy boasts the most dramatic tidal fluctuations in the world-allowing you to witness the highest tides anywhere- (as high as 56 feet!) and walk on the ocean floor twice a day!

Driving up the Fundy Trail Parkway gave us panoramic vistas of the rugged cliffs falling into the cocoa-colored bay below, where we could literally watch the rise or fall of the tides. Numerous trails extend off the Parkway, and we got in several hikes to cascading waterfalls and steep lookouts. Chance was happy to be back in the wilderness, and even at 10 or 11 years old, he ran and explored for many miles.

Since we live on a sailboat, I can’t imagine sailing in an area with such tides. When we were on our way to hike, this is how the water looked.

On our return later in the afternoon, this is what we saw…

When we left St. Martins, we stopped at Hopewell Rocks and Flowerpot Rocks, also on the Bay of Fundy. Many people report this was a highlight of their trip, but for us it just seemed overly crowded and not all that impressive. It was beautiful, but we just prefer more off-the-beaten-path destinations.

We headed to our next destination, the town of Moncton. That post is coming up next. So y’all come back, ya hear?