Nova Scotia Day 9

Another long drive from the northern tip of Cape Breton Island.     It was lovely - most of the drive was along the Bras d'Or Lake.

Little channels had draw bridges.  

The highlight of the day was the Antigonish Highland Games.  It was a LOT of fun!

When we arrived, a preliminary round of tug-of-war was in progress. 

The sessions were 15 minutes.  Here is the "anchor".

Fun to see when the "action" starts close to the 15 minute mark - they all together "flip" and pull hard the other way.

And then there was the Caber Toss -  this nice pole is about 20' tall and weighs about 175 lbs!  Don't ya love the kilts?

Here is an attempt to "turn" the caber - to toss it in the air and try to make it go end-over-end.

And here is a successful toss!

 And then there were the ladies doing the tug-of-war!

The announcers invited the crowd to participate in the next event - the "Farmer's Carry"  for a $500 prize.  This simply involved carrying two 202 lb weights for 100 yards, best time wins.  You are allowed to put the weights down up to 3 times.   Here was a fantastic run - remember - this guy is carrying 404 lbs! 

But this guy was the crowd favorite - he only weighs 170 lbs himself!  Amazing that he made it 100 yards!

I really enjoyed watching the Scottish Highlands dance competition.  There were hundreds of girls competing.  As far as I could tell, they are each dancing individually and being judged based on the exact steps they are supposed to be doing.

And finally, what Highland Games are complete with out the bagpipes!!