This morning we ventured out onto the tidal flats. Our sandals did not work in the mud so we went barefoot - a bad move but we did not want to turn back too quickly. We braved the very cold water and stony ground. The mud is only a few inches thick, covering a bed of sharp shells and stones. We made it out to one of the local clammers. James was very friendly and demonstrated his digging technique. There is a minimum shell size restriction so he, cleverly, has a notch cut out of his bucket so he can quickly measure if the clam is large enough. He gets about two clams each time he sinks his fork into the mud and flips it over. He gets paid $32 per medium sized bucket. As he said "This is what you have to do if you don't get a college education. " He digs six months a year, then goes onto unemployment the other six. We hand dug for a while and collected 9 clams. We rinsed and steamed them. Our first harvest was glorious.
The north shore is really rural with little commerical activity. The towns are few and far between. The only stores are convenience stores and pharmacies. James said that the local elementary school in Five Islands had closed down 15 years ago. I was not expecting this area to be so under developed.
As we have travelled into the upper reaches of the Fundy bay, the shore has changed from rocky to muddy. As a result the local delicacy has changed from lobster to clams. Super seafood everywhere.
After brunch we drove in to Truro to watch the tidal bore race up river. (We concluded Moncton was too far away.) I misread the online timetable and did not notice that I had looked at the am time not the pm one. Thank goodness there was a time table at the viewing area, telling us the time of the afternoon bore. Now we had almost two hours to kill. We drove along the shore and saw the water churning in the bay. There were still vast expanses of mud visible so we felt sure it would be a while before it got to the river. We wandered into town for a take out snack then went back to the river. We arrived to a very turbulent, fast filling river. I was confused because I thought the tidal bore came in at the front of the tide not behind it. But there were still 20 minutes before the bore was due to arrive ( according to the info board). We sat eating our lunch, and the river continued to fill. Then people started leaving. WTF (Welcome to Fruita), the time on the information board was incorrect and we had missed the bore by 20 minutes. We then drove 50 miles to get back home and , just like the tides, tomorrow we will repeat it all again and hopefully see the bore.
After our morning's experiences on the mud, we purchased wellies in Truro. It was so nice walking out into the bay this evening. Our feet stayed warm and dry, and did not get cut up on the stones and shells. I walked far out towards the islands while Rich started digging for clams. Upon returing to Rich, we both got stuck in (ha ha) to digging. If one stands in one place for too long it is really difficult to lift ones feet out of the muck. Our pseudo clam fork was not as effective as James'. We still had to do a lot of hand digging and after 1 hour we returned to the camper with about 40 clams. The wind had picked up so I was cold but did enjoy a hot shower, hot chocolate and a rusk.
The moon has just risen - Hello again.
We have rinsed our clams in pepper water, left them to soak overnight and will have them for breakfast. Yummy!
The north shore is really rural with little commerical activity. The towns are few and far between. The only stores are convenience stores and pharmacies. James said that the local elementary school in Five Islands had closed down 15 years ago. I was not expecting this area to be so under developed.
As we have travelled into the upper reaches of the Fundy bay, the shore has changed from rocky to muddy. As a result the local delicacy has changed from lobster to clams. Super seafood everywhere.
After brunch we drove in to Truro to watch the tidal bore race up river. (We concluded Moncton was too far away.) I misread the online timetable and did not notice that I had looked at the am time not the pm one. Thank goodness there was a time table at the viewing area, telling us the time of the afternoon bore. Now we had almost two hours to kill. We drove along the shore and saw the water churning in the bay. There were still vast expanses of mud visible so we felt sure it would be a while before it got to the river. We wandered into town for a take out snack then went back to the river. We arrived to a very turbulent, fast filling river. I was confused because I thought the tidal bore came in at the front of the tide not behind it. But there were still 20 minutes before the bore was due to arrive ( according to the info board). We sat eating our lunch, and the river continued to fill. Then people started leaving. WTF (Welcome to Fruita), the time on the information board was incorrect and we had missed the bore by 20 minutes. We then drove 50 miles to get back home and , just like the tides, tomorrow we will repeat it all again and hopefully see the bore.
After our morning's experiences on the mud, we purchased wellies in Truro. It was so nice walking out into the bay this evening. Our feet stayed warm and dry, and did not get cut up on the stones and shells. I walked far out towards the islands while Rich started digging for clams. Upon returing to Rich, we both got stuck in (ha ha) to digging. If one stands in one place for too long it is really difficult to lift ones feet out of the muck. Our pseudo clam fork was not as effective as James'. We still had to do a lot of hand digging and after 1 hour we returned to the camper with about 40 clams. The wind had picked up so I was cold but did enjoy a hot shower, hot chocolate and a rusk.
The moon has just risen - Hello again.
We have rinsed our clams in pepper water, left them to soak overnight and will have them for breakfast. Yummy!
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