Visiting Geographical Extremes

Along the way while I was researching the places to go on my trip I discovered two that seemed too good to pass up. Cape Spear and Cabo da Roca were promptly set in my mind as "must visit" locations. Coincidentally Ryan and I had also hoped to visit Brier Island and Cape Sable during our time in Nova Scotia. Do you know what all these places have in common?

Cape Spear is the very Eastern point of North America, and therefore also the very Eastern point of both Newfoundland and Canada.
I have a few co-workers from Newfoundland and they both suggested for me to visit.

The photo below is the official end of solid land followed by nothing but ocean for as far as can be seen.

During my layover day in St John's I drove myself over to Cape Spear Lighthouse National Historic Site. By this time in the day I didn't have enough time to go inside the actual lighthouse but I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent wandering around the surrounding cliffs, watching (what I think were) Orcas and just generally enjoying the beauty around me.

Cabo da Roca is the very Western point of mainland Europe and also of Portugal. By definition it is also the very Western edge of the entire Eurasian land mass.

The official spot is marked by a cross and plaque stating, in portuguese, that this is the edge of mainland Europe. At one point in history it was actually considered the end of the world. I checked the plaque out first but was turned off by the hordes of people surrounding me. Walking about 2 minutes along the cliffs to the right and I found myself nearly alone and enjoying one of the most beautiful views I've ever seen.

Brier Island on the end of the Digby neck is the Western edge of Nova Scotia and also, as I've just discovered, the official starting point for the Bay of Fundy. I have see the power of the Fundy tide many times and from many different locations so it's fun to see where it truly begins.

This lovely striped lighthouse is what I most wanted to see on Brier Island and it didn't disappoint. I've looked online to try finding the actual point of land that is the farthest west but everything seems to just say its Brier Island in general, so I checked the map. There is a little point that looks to be more Westerly than the lighthouse, but it's very close.

Last, but certainly not least, Cape Sable. If you ask the internet it will tell you that either Baccaro lighthouse (the end of the mainland) or Cape Sable Island (a much more substantially sized island connected to mainland by a causeway) are the southern tip of Nova Scotia, but Cape Sable lies to the south of both and is therefore the actual end of the province. We did spend time at both other places as well though so I've got all my bases covered.

I didn't realize that I would be seeing all of these extremes but it gives me such a thrill that I did! In future travels I may have to search out more extremes for my visiting pleasure.