Day 4: Halifax, Nova Scotia

It was an early wake up and a beautiful day in Halifax, Nova Scotia.  Halifax was founded as a naval base in 1749, but today is a bustling city.  According to the excursion guide, it is the 2nd deepest harbor in world and has the highest tide in the world.  Today, I am on a bus excursion around Halifax with three stops; Peggy’s Cove, Fairview Lawn Cemetery, and Halifax Citadel Hill National Historic Site.  Our guide, Margaret, is amazing with her handouts and maps . . . of course she is a retired teacher.  Her knowledge really does add to the tour!

First Stop:  Peggy’s Cove

This is a traditional fishing village and I think every cruise ship excursion is here right now!

There was not any formal tour explanation.  We were just told to be back in an hour so I just walked around the small village.  Fisherman’s monument “Bounty of the Sea”

And this is where I start to go a bit crazy with an organized tour.  We made a stop at a Maple “factory” which really means it is a store selling maple products.  I get that Canada produces 71% of the world’s pure maple syrup . . . but what irritates me is that this is time that could be spent elsewhere (which will become another issue later in the day).  Now if we were tapping trees and making maple syrup, I could be all for that, but this is a stop at a store so people can buy products; it is not showing us anything but at least I got a few samples which I could have done without.  Anyway . . . we are back on the road to Halifax to visit the Fairview Lawn Cemetery.  This is where 112 souls lost from the sinking of the Titanic on April 15, 1912, are buried.  The layout of the tombstones at Fairview Lawn is interesting.  They are arranged in the shape of a ship's hull.  Most of the grave markers are the same size but some families have placed larger markers.

 

The number on headstone is the order that the body was recovered.  Some markers have no names because they were never identified.  It is back on the bus to where we are dropped off at the Halifax Public Gardens.  And this is where I become a bit angry.  I take cruise excursions to see things; not shop or have free time. So, when the guide says we will have free time, I almost lost it and people complained they needed more time.  And the straw that broke the camel’s back was she said our last stop at Citadel Hill will just be a photo stop.  Seriously?  I booked this tour to visit the three places (Peggy’s Cove, Fairview Lawn Cemetery, and Citadel Hill) listed in the tour description.  But I decided to roll with it. 

I grabbed a Maple Walnut ice cream cone and tea and enjoyed the Halifax Public Gardens. 

It really was beautiful but 75 minutes was way too much time to hang out in a garden and then a 30 minute walking tour across the garden could have been better spent visiting a historic site such as Citadel Hill. Okay, okay I’m stepping off my soap box. And this is all I saw of Citadel Hill . . .

 

Next time I am in Halifax I will go on my own!  I never realized how much Scottish influence with Halifax but it is a lot. The tartan plaid and bagpipes were very visible all around the city.  As I was headed back to the ship, I received news that the accounting firm I use was closing . . . without doing my 2023 taxes.  Of course, it caused me great stress but was able to figure it out for the short-term and went back to my scheduled trip activities.  At this point what could I do?  I sure wasn’t going to let it ruin my trip.   Good-bye Halifax . . . 

Tonight, we enter polar seas whatever that means . . . apparently there is special safety gear that the crew must prepare in case of an emergency.  Isn’t it a bit ironic we were at the cemetery where Titanic passengers are buried, and we are headed into icy water.