Maritime Provinces, Part 2 of our Autumn Cruise ~ Where are the Jays

Corner Brook, Newfoundland Island

We are now on the island of Newfoundland which is part of the Newfoundland and Labrador province of Canada. It is supposed to be warming up some for us, but there is a steady rain outside that is ruining that fact. On top of that, Jeff and I have an ATV adventure scheduled which warned us to dress warmly and in layers. They are true ATVs so windshield and roof and holds 6 people but no doors so brr. Happily, we dressed pretty well except we both had wet, cold hands at the end. We also had helmets to wear which helped keep your head warm and dry. Yes, I know that is not the reason for the helmet, but it was for our trip. We drive around town some (town population 19,500) and see the James Cook monument. Seems he first learned to navigate and became a cartographer here while mapping the area in much detail. After a stop at the ATV shop for a comfort break, we are on our way to the trails.

James Cook monument

This is still sort of a logging area (papermill in town) so the trails are partly old logging roads, partly snowmobile trails and partly trails for the hunters. The trails have become a key part of the area, so they are well maintained and wide. When I say well maintained, as in I saw a sign of a company that helps maintain an area (think the signs around towns with Joe Blow's Insurance company keeping it beautiful) and highway signs. Having said all that realize we did drive through some good-sized muck spots (one almost won) and lots of big muddy puddles. Jeff saw a moose; not me unfortunately. The scenery was pretty, and it was a good ride. We stopped at a shop towards the end for chili, hot chocolate and cookies including Jam Jams. We had hoped the chili would be moose based, but no luck they had just started to hunt so no moose yet this year. Also, our guide had told us to look for some unique to them flavors of chips. Jeff got photos so you can check them out there!! The rain had slowed to a drizzle, so we elected to walk the 15 minutes back to the cruise ship and peruse a couple of shops along the way. At the terminal there were a couple of little shops in fishing huts one of which the man used moose antlers (they drop them annually) to make pens, crochet hooks, and men's razors. Then back to the ship to warm up!

Some unusual local chips
Loved the cookies JamJams

Sydney, Breton Island, Nova Scotia

It is Saturday so we want to enjoy the area and listen to a football game. We both have on our Georgia gear. When we looked at the excursions, we had not been too thrilled by most of them. Pub tour for local beers, lobster boil or historical walking tours so we ended up with the music and mussels excursion which turned out to be a good choice. It is cold outside, but we are actually just going to the pier for our tour. We enter a room and are a little worried that this was a mistake. Nope. We got tastings of 2 local beers and 2 local hard ciders plus nice sized bowl of mussels. We are serenaded by Buddy MacDonald who does some of his own music and some traditional songs for us. Surprisingly to me I like one of the beers and enjoyed both of the ciders and the mussels. After the tour, we wander around town some as one of my fellow passengers noted there were a lot of closed businesses in the downtown area. It was appropriate that our excursion was musically based since Sydney has the largest violin in the world. It is a metal sculpture right at the pier. There is another monument nearby to men who lost their lives as Merchant marines during WWII. Seems most of their ships were old and rejected by the navy thus it was a dangerous job.

Buddy MacDonald

notice the violin is bigger than our ship

Merchant Marine monument as this was a staging area for many convoys

Highland Arts Theatre

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Next day another time change this time it is the end of daylight savings time. Halifax is a town name we both knew but had a challenge finding excursions that sounded interesting. I suspect the fact that we are the end of the season as in the last cruise ship and for some the season is over is part of the problem. Many people opt for tours related to the Titanic since all of the dead came here after the crash. We weren't too interested in that since we had been to the Titanic Museum in Belfast just a couple of months ago. We end up visiting the "Famous Peggy's Cove" which was a good choice. We drive around town a little and then head out. Along the way we learned that during WW I an ammunition ship came in early one morning after sitting outside the protected harbor overnight. Unfortunately, it was hit by another ship and a fire started. The ammunition ship caught on fire and then exploded killing thousands of people and decimating much of the downtown. The people of Boston learned of the disaster and send a trainload of medical personnel and supplies to help the people. I think they said 10,000 people were killed or seriously injured.

Happier note, our road trip out to Peggy's Cove. It is windy and cold at the coast, but it is a pretty sunny day. We stop a couple of times once by a small harbor and then the second time was where the lighthouse is which is the area of Peggy's Cove. We wander around the harbor which is the photo at the top of this blog entry. The lobstermen are getting ready to go out the next week since the season starts up again then. There are a handful of shops open, so we peruse them as we walk the short distance to the lighthouse where is the next stop on the tour. we get to the lighthouse and start to explore the area. According to the write up, Peggy's Cove is a natural and geological marvel with granite everywhere (not small individual rocks, but boulders). Supposedly the boulders were left behind by the glaciers. We are told to stay off the black rocks because they will be slippery and if you fall in you will die (how nice). We stay on the white rocks and explore there are a couple of tidal pools hoping to find a starfish, but no luck. You cannot go up the lighthouse, so we wander around the area some, enjoy the views and listen to the unique music from the man with the alphorn. We first heard him playing Amazing Grace which had us looking around for where is that coming from?? Then we saw him. He was quite good. There is a restaurant there at the lighthouse where we served a piece of gingerbread cake and were given a lecture on lobster. We learned how to tell a male and female apart and how they measured them to be sure they were an appropriate size to catch. Then back to the ship.

Peggy's Cove lighthouse - notice the rocks too

Man playing the alphorn in background - Carol up front

Saint. John, New Brunswick

Jeff and I have planned different excursions today. I head out first on my Bay of Fundy and St Martin's excursion. I am excited to be here as this is one of the ports I am most looking forward to because I want to see the Bay of Fundy. I have heard about it since it has the most height change of any bay in the world. I really want to see it at low tide but am suspicious that is not going to happen. My tour drives around downtown a little and the guide is pointing out key buildings then we head for the bay. There is an area with lots of parking and a railing overlooking a body of water with a huge papermill dominating the opposite shore. This is where the reversing falls are?? this is it?? I am soo bummed. We are here at "slack time" which is when the river flow and the tide levels are the same, so it is smooth. Our guide is telling us how in the summer you would see people in boats crossing from the river to the bay because it is the correct water level and also fishermen because you can catch some fish easily at this time. All very nice, but not what I was expecting at all. I am not a happy tourist; I feel like a tricky salesman got the best of me. Take a bunch of photos trying not to get the papermill in them. Then we hop on the bus for St Martins which I honestly had not researched I was on the excursion solely for the Bay of Fundy.

We have a 45-minute drive out in the country which some of it will be along the coast then our guide mentions that St Martin's is also on the Bay of Fundy and how there are sea caves where we will be stopping for lunch and when the water is low you can walk to them. My hopes are up that maybe here the bay will seem more interesting. I also texted Jeff about the bay hoping his later tour may at least have a better view of the key part of the bay. The drive is pretty and the guide talks about how these people are somewhat isolated as in a trip to the grocery store is a half hour drive so people work together a lot. We get to the sea caves spot and can see the caves, but the water is too high to walk out to them. It is an interesting beach with small stones then pebbles and finally sand further away from the water itself. I learn from a sign that St Martins is a village and considered to be the gateway to the Fundy Trail a park with walking, driving and hiking trails and think maybe I'll visit this spot again someday and do a hike and see the water low!! Sign also says it is one of New Brunswick's top vacation spots. A nearby restaurant has a light lunch of seafood chowder for us which was good. Then we can wander the beach for a few more minutes before we head on. One of the ladies from Florida decides to stick her foot in the water and reports while cold not as bad as she was expecting. Oh, not too far away is also "split rock" which is 2 small islands that look they split apart years ago that at low tide you can walk between and at high tide boats can sail between - now I suspect you could sail between them. Back on the bus we go.

Sea Caves at high water Photo courtesy of Tourism New Brunswick

Next stop is not too far away. We are stopping near a small port that has a covered bridge nearby. She explains that covered bridges were practical in that the roof protected the wooden base from the weather thus prolonging its life expectancy. There is also an old lighthouse there that is now a museum but closed for the season. While at the port we have a lecture on lobster traps. There are 2 rooms in a lobster trap. The first room or kitchen has the bait and then the lobster goes in further which is the second room or parlor where it gets stuck because of the way the opening between the rooms is built. We wander around the true old, covered bridge and the reproduction one and check out the shops before boarding the bus. We are now heading back to town and to an old market.

Along the way we learn more about the town. Seems one family pretty much owns the town. The Irving family owns the train system, an oil company, the papermill, etc. Except Jeff learns the current generation is tearing it all apart with in fighting, but what I see is several large fancy houses that they own plus several small parks that are on their land but that they maintain for the town. We get to the old market and are allowed to wander on our own for a while. The market's roof looks like the bottom of a boat since it was built by ship builders. There is also a nice coat of arms with antlered deer on either side of it on a wall. The market itself is full of places for food some of which looks quite good, but I am on a ship so after a short perusal I wander out and head over to a nearby park that is maintained by the Irving's and which is actually a very old cemetery. I try to read a couple of the headstones but can only make out parts of them. I should mention that the Saint in the name is normally spelled out versus the nearby St John's on a nearby island. The other interesting fact is that this is an area that many of the British loyalists from our revolution migrated to after losing so that they could stay faithful to the King. Amazingly our tour group is running ahead of schedule, so they decide to add on and take us through the nearby Rockwood Park which is a nice woodsy area with a couple of ponds and hiking trails. Much to the joy of the back of our bus, they see a moose which the rest of us miss; I do see a large deer head just staring at us. We come out of the park at the top of a hill. We have views of our ship in the harbor and of a block house fort that the Loyalists had requested from the King to help protect them from the US. Oh, one last thing. This area is where 2 continents meet. Yeah Jeff looked at me funny too, but our tour guide pointed out several places where one side of the road was one type of rock and the opposite side was different becasue 2 old different continents. Here is a link to a story about it See other continents and never leave New Brunswick | CBC News

Jeff’s Photography Excursion

Jeff here, I opted to go on a different excursion from Carol that focused on landscape sites as well as learning a few new photography skills. Our guide was filling in for his wife that day. He was a good speaker with a fascinating photography career that we learned about during the day. Before you look at the photos below, it’s helpful to understand the Geography. The St. John’s river is responsible for both industry and entertainment in the region. Its river basin empties into the Bay of Fundy where the red arrow is pointing creating a special effect. The lower right corner is where the other photos are from.

Arrow is narrow gorge site of reversing river, bottom right is location for other photos.

We started the day with the reversing falls on the St. John River. Tides here are 25 feet which creates a fascinating contrast on the river. We were able to arrive near high tide, when the river was rushing upstream over the rocks. Earlier in the day, Carol took the top picture below at slack tide when river’s flow was all but stopped flowing neither downstream nor upstream.

Close up of the rapids as the river flows upstream.

We then traveled across the city and out to the mouth of Fundy Bay for the shots below. Along the way we learned about his experience as his career took him around the world as the personal photographer of a wealthy family. He shared examples of his work as he taught us about composition and lighting. Portraits is the area that he competes and acts as a judge in competitions and accreditations. He also shared how to get more out of the camera in your phone.