In the end, the longest part was getting the new tires to Halifax. But the very next day after receiving them, I jumped into replacing them. Unfortunately, I damaged one inner tube during the process, which delayed things by another day. After that, I was basically ready to hit the road. However, on Friday, a friend had a minor water-related accident. So, I set off Saturday morning with the plan to explore the southern part of Nova Scotia, including Lunenburg and Yarmouth, and then return to Halifax in case I encounter any further issues.
On this trip, I covered over 800 km in two days, including about 80 km on a trail that follows a former railway line from Yarmouth. Some parts were quite rough, so I got to test everything thoroughly 😊. When I tried to cook lunch, I discovered that gasoline was leaking around the valve, so I ended up having a cold lunch and one more issue to fix.
By Monday, I managed to find a similar gasket that fits, and the stove works like new again. When this happened, I read the manual and found out that these gaskets should be replaced preventively every year. Mine lasted over 10 years, which is great. I was a bit surprised that the original gasket set costs around 80 dollars here, but I found just the needed gasket for 80 cents.
Over the weekend, I checked the availability of ferries to Newfoundland and couldn’t find any free spots. But on Monday, I found a spot on a ferry departing from North Sydney on Wednesday at noon. So now I’m on my way there. Originally, I wanted to take a slower route through the northern part of Nova Scotia, especially Cape Breton, but now it’ll be a quicker trip so I can catch the ferry tomorrow. So, the journey has begun.
On Monday, I also bought a mosquito net because I realized that just having a tarp—even though I made an A-frame out of it—doesn’t stop mosquitoes much, and they bothered me all night. Since I plan to work from various places, it would be quite inconvenient not to be able to stay outside when the weather is nice.
I tested the net last night at the first spot I found to sleep. You can watch the stars, and it’s not as hot without the tarp all around. In the morning, fog rolled in, so my sleeping bag got a bit damp, but it’s already dry again.
This article was written on the beach in Port Hood—exactly how I imagined working from anywhere. It would just be better if I didn’t have to carry the laptop, as my luggage isn’t really shaped for such a large flat item.