Thursday,
September 269, 2022
Enchanted Princess/Halifax, Nova
Scotia, Canada
70s, sunshine—warm,
again! And we are not complaining!
I cannot believe that
TK overslept this morning. The ocean
waves lull the soul into a restful sleep.
We really did not have a schedule and we are in Halifax until 5:30 p.m.,
AST (Atlantic Standard Time, one hour ahead of EST.
In no time (TK
might not agree as it takes plenty of time for me to “get beautiful), but we
were off the ship by 9 a.m. We
remembered my dear sister in law wanted our impression of Peggy"s Cove, but all
tours were sold out. I asked a cab driver, and he could take us there (an hour
drive), stay for about 45 minutes, and then return. This was not an inexpensive
proposition, but I am glad we did! Del Mestdagh was knowledgeable and told us stories
about the city and the environs as he drove. We passed lots of trees down as well
as construction because of Hurricane Fiona.
He pointed out the town hall, new schools,
the new city library, and other sites as we made our way out of town.
He spoke of the
cemetery for those who died on the Titanic. He also spoke about the 1917 explosion
(https://www.britannica.com/event/Halifax-explosion).
I knew it was one of the worst maritime disasters ever. The Halifax explosion of 1917 occurred when a
munitions ship blew up in the harbor of Halifax and nearly 2000 people died and
some 9000 were injured. It flattened more than one square mile of the city. The
blast was the largest human-made explosion at the time, packing the equivalent
of more than 3000 tons of TNT.
A granite rock left from a glacier on the way to Peggys Cove.
Huge boulders are all over!
We reached Peggy's Cove and marveled at the terrain—no wonder it is
famed for its picturesque houses and granite boulders left behind by the glaciers
and smoothed by the ocean. It is an active fishing community with a population
of 40! The red and white active light
house stands like a sentinel on the Atlantic Ocean.
Part of the cove
Janie and Peggy's Cove lighthouse
TK wanted his photo with this lobster
Part if the small village
Another view of the village
By the way, this photo took almost 2 hours to upload
Church at Peggy's Cove
This photo took about 2 seconds to download at the American Airlines lounge in NYC!
William Edward deGarthe was a Finnish-born painter and sculptor
who lived for much of his life in Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia.
The work depicts thirty-two fishermen and their wives and children
enveloped by the wings of the guardian angel St. Elmo.
It also features the image of Peggy, a legendary late-18th century shipwreck survivor
deGarthe believed gave her name to the village.
deGarthe bequeathed the sculpture to the province of Nova Scotia
and it can be viewed in a park located behind his former home
On the
return trip we took a different route and stopped at Ryer Lobsters Ltd., worldwide
seafood shippers, part of the Nova Scotia Seafood Alliance. Dave, the owner,
took his time and showed us a range of lobsters of varying sizes. He explained the
season (November to May) in this specific area (Indian Harbor). I know there were no other tours that stopped
here, a highlight.
Dave showed us these lobsters, ranging in size from 2 1/2 pounds on the left to 1 pound on the right.
2.5 pounds
An unusual orange lobster
Del
entertained us with stories of some of his famous passengers like Charlie
Pride, Harry Belafonte, and Anne Murray ("Snowbird"). In no time we were back in Halifax at
the Blue Nose II restaurant he recommended for lobster roll. TK opted for lobster roll AGAIN and a cup of chowder. He decided the best lobster roll was in Boston at the Quincy Market. Anyway, I had deep fried haddock, which was delicious. Cost: $37.01 USD plus $10 tip. ($50.89 Canadian) All other prices I have quoted in previous posts were in US dollars (USD).
Bluenose II restaurant
Sign in front of Bluenose II
TK's lobster roll
Janie's fried halibut
On the walk back to the ship we were very impressed by the boardwalk along the shore--obviously well-planned, totally accessible, with a variety of shops and parking nearby. Upscale restaurants and others like food trucks--something for everyone. How we wish Erie's bayfront could be well-planned.
Near Bluenose
Along the boardwalk
Boardwalk
Boardwalk
Boardwalk
We really enjoyed our day in Halifax.
This evening was another formal night, but as I said before, changes are obvious. At dinner we reminisced about how TK would rent a tux in Erie to bring on the ship and there were even shops onboard where one could rent a tux. I would wear long or short gowns, too. That lasted till the early 2000s for us. Now, I don't think anyone wears a tux. There are still cocktail dresses and some men wear suits or jackets. It is all I can do to persuade TK to bring a dress shirt and even harder to convince him to bring a tie. He looked spiffy in his dark blue dress shirt and tie tonight.
Dinner was very good! Maine lobster tail and Beef Wellington were two the choices. Believe it or not, we both chose the lobster tail. On Caribbean cruises, the Caribbean lobster is served on formal night--there is a huge difference. TK ordered the Beef Wellington too, but it did not compare to the lobster.
After dinner we went to the Princess Theater for the show, styled after Broadway, "Spotlight Bar." I thought it was clever how the band portrayed a band at the bar. This is a new show for Princess and only two ships in the fleet are performing it. Themes were mundane job (server, bartender), looking for love, rejection, and hookups. The set was very authentic (I do suppose it isn't too hard to depict a bar), and the lighting is spectacular--day, night, rain.
I just cannot load any more photos till we are home--then it will take seconds. I could write a book, clean the house, and go grocery shopping in the time it takes onboard the ship. This does not bode well for our Mediterranean cruise. TK said Royal Caribbean now may have satellite access of its own. I have no idea, but this is SLOWER THAN SLOW.
