Wednesday, August 28th, 2024
Today was another day at sea! We were sailing toward Nova Scotia, Canada. Sea days weren’t fun for us. We would rather be off the ship exploring new areas! We talked to many on the ship who enjoyed the break. Today was spent walking on the ship’s outside track and reading.
In the evening we did attend the Cruise Director’s show. He had an excellent singing voice and put on a great performance.
Thursday, August 29th, 2024
This morning we arrived at Pier 20 in Halifax! The weather was windy but sunny! It was a great day for touring the city and visiting Peggy’s Cove.
As we approached the pier we passed Mc Nabs Island. It was the largest island at the entrance to the Halifax harbor. It consisted of 1000 acres and had military fortifications built on it to protect the city. Those military installations began in the 1800’s and consisted of Sherbrooke Tower (1928), Fort Ives (1870), Fort McNab (1892), Hugonin Battery (1899) and the Strawberry Battery (1940). These fortifications became known as the Halifax Defence Complex. Fort McNab’s remains were a national historic site in Canada and the island was designated as parkland.
McNabs Island
The two pictures below were taken just past McNabs Island and looking at Halifax, Canada.
Once the ship was cleared to disembark, we were one of the first to leave. This morning we had a pass for the “Hop On, Hop Off” bus. We thought this would be the best way to see the highlights of the city with our limited time. Well, it didn’t work out how we planned. There was some major construction that slowed traffic considerably. There also was a train strike going on and the shipping containers were being moved by semi-trucks. It was slow getting to our first stop which was the Citadel. The Halifax Citadel’s official name was Fort George, named after Britain’s King George II.
The Halifax Citadel was a national historic site that sat on a large hill overlooking the harbor. The current fort was completed in 1856 and was the fourth fort to sit atop the hill. It no longer was used as a military fortification but was a historic site with exhibits and a museum.
We spent a lot of time walking all around the Citadel which was in a star shape.
The guards were dressed in uniforms that their regiments wore in the mid-1800’s.
The pictures below were taken from the inside of the courtyard.
From the Citadel we could see the back side of the Halifax Town clock from the early 1800’s. It was a three tier octagonal tower that sat on a Palladian style building. This historic clock tower was a gift from Prince Edward, Duke of Kent. Prince Edward was commander-in-chief of the British forces in North America. He was stationed in Halifax for a year.
After we explored the fortress we went out to the bus stop to see more of the city. Unfortunately, the bus didn’t come for 45 minutes due to the traffic snarl. We were told they run every 10-15 minutes! Because of this significant delay we had to stay on the “Hop On Hop Off” for the rest of the stops. We didn’t have time to visit any of the other stops because we had to get back to the pier for our afternoon tour! It was disappointing to experience so little of this beautiful city. We decided we need to return at some point on our own!
We took a few pictures as we rode on the bus. The Bluenose Restaurant had been a landmark since 1964 and was named after Nova Scotia’s famous schooner. The Bluenose was Canada’s fishing and racing vessel and its image was on the Canadian dime.
We also passed by the Four Sisters homes. At the turn of the century a ship’s captain built the homes for his four daughters. The homes were painted red, yellow, blue, and purple.
This afternoon we took a chartered bus to visit Peggy’s Cove. It was an hour drive from Halifax to Peggy’s Cove. It took us a little over an hour due to the heavy traffic in Halifax.
The Halifax Shipyard was founded in 1989. It now was a subsidiary of Irving Shipbuilding Inc. Its building was huge! They built and repaired ships.
On our way we saw some beautiful scenery and boulders scattered around from the last glacier that receded.
Boulders left from a glacier about 20,000 years ago.
Peggy’s Cove was a picturesque fishing village with about 30 permanent residents. There were several legends as to how Peggy’s Cove was named. One was that she was a shipwreck survivor named Margaret and then shortened her name to Peggy. A second thought was that because the area was called St. Margaret’s Bay after Samuel de Champlain’s mother. Then when the British took over the locals began calling it Peggy’s Cove. A third thought was that it was named after William Rodgers’ wife. They were early settlers to the area from Ireland.
Nova Scotia had 160 historic lighthouses and Peggy’s Cove lighthouse was the most well-known of them. The lighthouse was built in 1915.
The ocean water around the lighthouse could be very dangerous. Rogue waves could happen at anytime. We were told when we visited to only walk on the dry granite rocks.
William deGarthe was an artist who lived and painted in Peggy’s Cove. He emigrated in 1926 from Finland to Nova Scotia. After his death his home was turned into a museum. The museum displayed 65 of his paintings.
In his backyard he had a large wall of granite rock. He carved a monument to the Nova Scotia fishermen. Unfortunately he died before he finished his carving. He was about 80% completed. His ashes were interred inside the Fishermen’s monument.
The monument depicted 32 fishermen, their families, Peggy of the Cove and St. Elmo (patron Saint of Sailors).
These chairs would have been a great way to relax and enjoy Peggy’s Cove. Unfortunately we didn’t have time. We felt very rushed. Peggy’s Cove would be another place to make a return visit!
An hour was planned to get our group back to the ship. All passengers were to be back on board by 4:00 PM. Due to the extremely heavy traffic and street light problems, we returned at 5:30 PM and there were other tours that returned later than us! Any other passenger that we talked to was also frustrated by the wait for the “Hop On Hop Off” and how the other excursions in Halifax were negatively impacted by the construction, the rail strike, and the street lights in areas not working. Put those issues together and you had a huge mess! It was just one of those things that wasn’t anyone’s fault but it made it frustrating to be a visitor.
When we sailed away from Halifax we saw sailboats out on the water and another island with a lighthouse.
We would recommend visiting Halifax when you have more than a day! We’ll be back Nova Scotia!
