Our final three ports were in Canada. The first was St Anthony in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. A picturesque town of 2,200, it is in the northern area of the Great Northern Peninsula. It has a steadily reclining population. French explorer Jacques Cartier came across the St Anthony settlement in 1534.
As the captain predicted, we were not able to sail to our second port, St John’s, because of Hurricane Ernesto. The latest path had it making a direct hit in that area. Our alternative port was Corner Brook on the west coast of Newfoundland and Labrador. You may remember we visited this port on July 24th. Located in the Gulf of St Lawrence, it provided us with shelter from the storm. Some questioned the captain as to why we couldn’t have gone to a new port. As he patiently explained, we needed a port with shelter from the storm and also a port with an available berth on short notice. So, Corner Brook it was. Bill had really looked forward to visiting St John’s. We had an excursion booked there to go to Signal Hill National Historic Site, where on December 12, 1901, Guglielmo Marconi received the first transatlantic wireless transmission. As an amateur radio enthusiast, Bill is a huge Marconi fan. Bill was disappointed but took it in stride. You have to accept the things you cannot change and move forward. Hopefully we will get here someday.
One night was cake night with dozens of cakes to choose from.
Our last port in Canada, and the last of the cruise, was in Halifax, Nova Scotia pop 519,000. It is the capital and most populous city in Nova Scotia.
We decided to explore on our own rather than take an excursion. We were thrilled to see warm temperatures in the upper seventies. At the pier is an immigration museum. After WW2, nearly 187,000 people fled from Europe to Canada, most between 1947 and 1952. They moved to various places throughout Canada. This pier has been compared to our Ellis Island. We found a geocache here.
We continued uphill, passing the Government House, the residence of the Canadian monarch and the lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia.
We saw this murial which depicts the writer on the floor composing.
After a steady climb we reached St Mary’s Basilica, a Gothic Roman Catholic cathedral built in 1899. It has the tallest granite spire in North America. A very friendly guide welcomed us inside.
We slowly made our way back to the ship on this beautiful day in Canada.
Moon Rising
We had one last sea day before reaching Boston. The Cruise Director began the day by playing “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” over the sound system and invited us all to go to the Lido pool to see all the animals that escaped from the zoo overnight. At the pool were hundreds of towel animals created by the Housekeeping staff. They are so creative! While we were there, many of the Housekeeping staff paraded through the area, including Wulan, one of our room stewards. Everyone applauded them. They work so hard and do such a great job. We really appreciate them.
Amazing Sunset