Peggy's Cove with the Romantic Lighthouse

 

Peggy's Cove with its romantic lighthouse is not far from Halifax, but you have to leave very early if you don't want to photograph or just enjoy the lighthouse with crowds of people.

What will I be writing about here?

• the small town of Peggy's Cove
• covering the plane crash
• complaining about cruise ships
• writing about the lighthouse 

Peggy's Cove is a very small village 43 km southwest of Halifax and was founded in 1811 [1]. About 30 people live there, which is less than the village where I live (about 70-80 inhabitants). People used to make a living from fishing, but after the cod fishery disappeared, little of it remained. Today, the village relies primarily on tourism, although there is also some fishing tourism.

A Swissair flight crashed into St. Margaret's Bay, about 8 km away from the village. All 229 passengers and crew were killed. The first responders and official investigators of the accident had to take private boats from Peggy's Cove to reach the scene. But this made the place famous. And nothing like a disaster attracts people. Swissair, incidentally, went bankrupt three years later. Afterward, a successor airline called Swiss [2], part of the Lufthansa Group, established itself.

Halifax has a cruise ship port. It's probably worthwhile for the city. The city as well as excursions are advertised for German tourists,, for example, to Peggy's Cove and the image of the lighthouse is not missing [3]: "Experience a panoramic drive through the nature of Nova Scotia to Peggy's Cove. In your free time in the small fishing village, you can visit the famous lighthouse and stroll along the picturesque coastal landscape." [4] Nothing wrong whith this in principle; it's business, and tourism is part of it. But cruise ships bring larger numbers of tourists ashore, who arrive quickly, consume hardly anything, and leave quickly again. This form of tourism is provided by the towns with infrastructure, and it may be worthwhile for the town, ports, and bus companies, for example, but what does a small viallage like Peggy's Cove gain from it? I see other reasons for disagreeing with cruise ship tourism, but that would be getting too far off topic.

And because not only cruise ship tourists but also tourists like you and me want to photograph the Peggy's Cove lighthouse ourselves, you have to set off very early. That's what we did, and the atmosphere was excellent for 15-20 minutes, because by then the rocks around the lighthouse were already filling up; looking back from the rocks to the lighthouse you might get the impression of lookig at an ant hill. People without skills crawling on the rocks isn't without danger, and every year several tourists fall into the water, some drowning. There are plenty of warning signs, and I liked the warning: "Rescue here is unlikely due to conditions." The first lighthouse was built of wood in 1868 [5]. The lighthouse, which we can still see today after repairs (Hurricane Edna in 1954), was built in 1914. The old lighthouse served as accommodation for the lighthouse keeper until 1954, but was deemed beyond repair after the hurricane and demolished. Read more in the Wikipedia article.

Is it worth a visit? Absolutely ... if you're an early riser [6]!

Links and Annotations:
[1] Peggy's Cove
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peggy%27s_Cove,_Nova_Scotia 
Here you can find comprehensive information about the history and geography of this small town. Diefenbach in the Eifel region (Germany) would be envious.
[2] I love digressions, but if you're interested, you can find more information here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_International_Air_Lines 
[3] The Best of Halifax: City Tour and Visit to the Coastal Village of Peggy's Cove
https://www.kreuzfahrt-praxis.de/kreuzfahrt-ziele/halifax/halifax-individuelle-touren/ein-tag-in-halifax 
Cruise Guide
https://kreuzfahrerguide.de/halifax-hafen-tipps-ausfluege/ 
[4] [Erleben Sie eine Panoramafahrt entlang der Natur von Nova Scotia bis nach Peggy’s Cove. In Ihrer Freizeit im kleinen Fischerort können Sie den berühmten Leuchtturm besuchen und entlang der malerischen Küstenlandschaft flanieren.] Original text.
[5] Peggys Point Lighthouse, also known as Peggys Cove Lighthouse
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peggys_Point_Lighthouse 
[6] Because isn't it rightly said that the early bird catches the worm?!

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