Our
first port of
call was Saint John,
New Brunswick. As we disembarked each of the women was
presented
with a rose. Sarah and Jan took a bus tour of the city and
took
in the Saints and Sinners concert by the Hal An Tow trio
in the afternoon while Nancy and I went kayaking along the rugged
shore. As we rounded this point of land the waves became
rough
enough that there was concern for some of the paddlers in the group so
we reversed course and found a sheltered cove. The paddle was
followed by a marvelous lunch of mussels, lobster, and all the fixings
topped off with fresh baked apple pie. Our tour continued with a stop
at the reversing falls. The difference between high and low
tide
is so great that the river rushes through a narrow channel at low tide
forming a class 5 rapid outbound and then at high tide the bay floods
back in, reversing the rapids. We stopped at O'Leary's to try
Alpine, the local brew then some shopping around town. This
friendly moose was at one of the shops at the port.
Back
on board that
evening we went to an
ice show with live music. They also held a skating
competition
with skaters from Canada, Russia and Sweden. Later we tried a
hot
tub at the exercise center that was large enough to swim in and that
had jets that would push you across if you didn't hold on to the grab
bars.
The
next morning we
were met by the tug
Theodore Too as we entered the Halifax harbor. The only tug
in
the world that
is based on a cartoon character. Jan and Sarah enjoyed a
concert
while Nancy and I tried our hand at sailing on a 3 masted,
gaff rigged, tall ship. I had to get into the act,
helping
to raise the 200 pound sail.
We
also saw other tall
ships, including the Bluenose II, some of the Canadian Atlantic fleet,
surplus submarines, and the Voyager of the Seas.
Then
back to the ship
for more fine dining, music, shopping, and more shows. Music
of
nearly every type was to be heard at some time somewhere on the
ship. Big band, show tunes, calypso, chamber groups, oldies,
karaoke, current hits, and more. One evening the dining room
staff, more than 200 waiters, head waiters, assistant,
waiters,
wine stewards, and other assorted staff from 62 countries serenaded us
with their rendition of O Solo Mio and very well, even without allowing
for all those accents.
See other places we have
visited here.
E-mail Nancy
and
Alan