An early morning mist muffles the little ferry's clanking chains and humming engine. By 10 o'clock, chilly winds have blown it all away.
Dark clouds roll in to release a brief but drenching shower.
Just as quickly, bright sun warms the rolling green hills and turns the rock-strewn shore to diamonds. Rain, mist and sun. Moving clouds, blowing showers, brilliant blue sky and rainbows. It is on days like this that Cape Breton is most reminiscent of Scotland's Highlands and Hebrides. Standing on the shore, I cannot help but wonder how the thousands of Scots who crossed the sea must have felt about settling on this far-flung island at the tip of Nova Scotia.