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Returning to Vietnam was incredible, so many places around the world became really crowded and touristy after Covid but Vietnam hasn't.

Every time I go it feels like traveling in 2010, except technology has made it so much more comfortable.

I'm working on building a tour with a local guide I love. If you're interested in hearing about it, you can sign up here. There's no commitment, it's just a separate email that will only go out to people interested in Vietnam.
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I Travel the World Yet Home Always Surprises Me

I have been talking to the folks at Quebec Maritime for years about working with them to feature the Magdalen Islands. And we finally made it happen!

Wow, what a trip!

Also known as Îles de la Madeleine, my mother joined me on this adventure. It was a 5 hour ride on one of the largest, most comfortable ferries I've been on. And when we arrived at the dock I thought...this looks like home.

This archipelago of 8 islands is beautiful, it has red sandstone cliffs like those you see in PEI and in Nova Scotia. It has colourful houses on rolling green hills and fishing boats and gear everywhere.

And it didn't take long to realize it looks similar to home, it is so different.

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It is diverse.

The culture is a mix of Québécois, Acadians who were expulsed and those who fled Saint Pierre & Miquelon after the French Revolution and a small anglophone population trying to maintain its cultural identity.
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It is remote.

Sure now you can take a 5 hour ferry or fly there. But in 1910 they lost their telegraph line and sent a molasses barrel in the water to ask for help as they were running low on supplies.

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It is delicious.

Familiar but even the Acadian dishes are different here. With more than enough seafood in Nova Scotia I had never tried their oysters cultivated offshore in the open sea or local lobster - it's so good!

And I tried seal several times.

Seal hunting has been a controversial issue in Canada for decades for a very good reason. Today the commercial seal hunt is one of the most controlled and regulated in the world with modern practices.

In the North Atlantic the gray seal population increased from 10,000 in the 1970s to over 400,000 gray seals, throwing off the balance of the ecosystem, which has affected fish species like cod.

Eating seal is a great way to support the local economy and help manage the population.

And if you're wondering it tastes like beef, with a slight fish taste but I really enjoyed trying it different ways.

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It is disappearing.

I visited a week before tourist season kicked off, not everything was open and the beaches were too cold to swim.

But it was the perfect time for me. We didn't need restaurant reservations. We wandered along beaches where we were the only people in sight. Locals had time to talk to us about what life is really like living on an island.

Not surprisingly, these islands are eroding, but are also being affected dramatically by global warming, storms causing more wind and the water temperature rising.

Roads have disappeared, people have had to move, and one local shared that they could once drive on the ice in winter but now it's not cold enough.

These islands reminded me that you don't always have to travel across the world to discover new cultures and food, so much is in our own backyard.

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I'm home for six more weeks in Nova Scotia. I'm not planning any videos as I spend time with family but if you're interested in a YouTube live let me know and I'll find somewhere interesting to show you!

Keep life delicious,

Ayngelina

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