Halifax, Nova Scotia

Hard to believe the trip is ending. At first it seemed so long and now it seems we haven’t done enough, but the end is near. I am so glad to be visiting Halifax. Last time I was here was on a crossing. That was 10 years ago. Iceland was wonderful to revisit. But Halifax was skipped the last time due to Hurricane Earl racing up the Northeastern Coast. We would have been caught in it if we had stopped. So I have been looking forward to this day. Carol and I had a tour scheduled to meet at noon. Well, you can be assured we didn’t just wait around for that to happen. Since we were docked we could walk off the ship right after breakfast. We walked along the 4 mile Boardwalk that is being completed to revitalize the city. And it indeed does! The broad walkway zigs among restaurants, bars, museums, playgrounds, and condos. A bagpipper was busking but it turns out that he is actually a paid street performer to promote the new harbor front. Lots of people were walking their dogs and the dogs, like everywhere we have been, are well behaved and friendly. The Maritime Museum is very big and spills out into the harbor itself. There were small kiosks-shops where you could get a lobster roll or beaver tail, cupcakes or candy, and, of course, Poutine! This seaside is worth a visit. There are upscale condos above many of the rows of stores which house beauty shops, bakeries, small housewares etc. Things condo owners might need – like a gym or two. We had to turn back to get to our tour on time. Back at the ship we went to our cabin and gathered our bags for the trip. I carry a small backpack with reading glasses, a water bottle, a collapsible walking stick, back up phone battery, chap stick, dried fruit, and an epipen! Carol carries a purse. We each took our raincoat as the forecast was for showers. Luckily we never needed them. In the theater we were assigned to tour group 18. There were four busses going to Peggy’s Cove and a Guided Walk at Fairlawn Cemetery. Fairlawn is where some of those killed when the Titanic sank on April 15, 1912 are buried. Peggy’s Cove is a beautiful, quaint, distant town with the most photographed lighthouse in Canada. It was about an hour drive to the Cove and our guide, Margaret, was great. She really kept up a running commentary about the history of Halifax and interesting facts and myths about the areas we were driving through. Tom Selleck filmed his Jesse Stone movies here. Sandra Bulloch had a home here. A strongman from nearby competed in the Olympics. That kind of thing. It is easy to see how it would have great ‘location’ opportunities. The scenery is spectacular. Fresh water lakes on one side of the road and ocean on the other. So many inlets, bays and coves and little islands of green trees and mansions. Peggy’s Cove is now a major tourist attraction. (Not like in the '70's when my folks were here or even the '90's when my sister visited!) Still beautiful but in no way a place to commune with nature. To be a ‘cove’ you are a part of the bay that is indented and quite often becomes a base for a settlement as happened here. The charming fishing village, however, has become an overcrowded tourist attraction offering $25 Lobster Rolls and cones with 25 flavors of ice cream! A broad boardwalk with deck platforms for viewing the sea and the lighthouse make the spot accessible. Many benches make for comfortable seating and I can imagine that in the early morning or late afternoon you might have a chance to contemplate the beauty of nature and wonder about the hardiness of mankind. But at the moment I was there it was like and ant colony at a picnic. Despite warning signs that the sea here has ‘rogue waves’ that can sweep over the granite boulders even on a calm day and carry you to the depths of the oceans, signs saying how many have died here, and the guides verbally warning you – yes, you guessed it. People ventured far out on the rocky promontories to see how close they could be to the gentle whitecaps of the deep blue sea! After about an hour of this chaos we headed to the ‘Titanic Cemetery.’ As we left the area we saw the former home of William deGarthe, a quite well-known local painter who has a permanent exhibit of 65 of his most famous marine artworkss in a gallery here. His home is painted with the scene of Peggy’s Cove as myth would have the story. Young Peggy appeared from the ocean after a shipwreck and only remembered that her name was Peggy. Since the bay is the Margaret Bay, named after Champlain’s mother, the name Peggy stuck with the Cove indentation. We passed the Fisherman’s Monument which is a 98 foot long deGarthe sculpture carved into the rocks to honor the many who die in this most dangerous profession. It depicts 32 men, their wives, and their now fatherless children and a large angel welcoming the men and protecting the families. The angel is said to be the lost child Peggy herself. Further on the return route (I do like when you return a different way so you see more of the countryside) at Whaleback Promontory is the memorial to victims of the tragic air miscalculation that led to the crash of SwissAir Flight 111 in 1998. Here is something to think about next time you board a plane, water is not a softer landing: At 22:31:18 AT (01:31:18 UTC), the aircraft struck the ocean at an estimated speed of 345 miles per hour (555 km/h; 154 m/s; 300 kn). The collision with the water decelerated the aircraft with approximately 350g, causing it to disintegrate instantly. The location of the crash was identified as approximately 44°24′33″N 63°58′25″W.[11]" After about an hour we reached the Fairlawn Cemetery. All along the way back to the city, as the location is quite close to the ship at only about 5 miles, Margaret told of details of the sinking of the Titanic. I think everyone knew the story, even Mylee at age 11 seemed to understand it. It is quite moving to see the stones, all matching and laid out in four rows. They say it is an accident that the rows match the outline of the bow of a ship! All the polished, dark, Maine granite markers are inscribed simply with “Died April 15, 1912” and then a number. The number was used to match the bodies with their belongings, clothes, jewelry, etc., which were put into canvas bags and sealed. The number indicates the order in which the bodies were recovered. There are still studies conducted to try to continue to match the unknown with their names and families. If a family is notified that the (at this point) ancestor has been positively identified they have the option to exhume the remains and bury elsewhere but the monument remains. Some families have added to the existing stone or incorporated it into a modest but individualized headstone. Others have simply added the name to the stone and let the dead rest in peace. We all agreed we did not have enough time at the cemetery to fully realize the significance that this then small town, miles and miles away from the site of the disaster, played such an important role in history. Margaret did let us know that some remains are buried in the Jewish Cemetery if they were thus identified by wearing a star of David for the women, or physical condition if they were men. One Christian minister was buried here until identified and then moved to the Christian cemetery! There is a fourth cemetery that also has some of the unidentified but Fairview is the most famous. Not enough time for those who chose this tour because of the Titanic connection but we had to fight the rush hour traffic back to the ship. We learned about the Great Halifax Explosion on this part of the ride as we passed that site. There is so much more to see and do if I have ac chance to return. We arrived five minutes before sail away! No worry since this was a ship tour. Buffet dinner was followed with meeting Nora, Don, and Deb for the final performance by Paul Stepien who plays so many instruments. He dedicated Amazing Grace to the Ukrainian refugees in his homeland of Poland. After that we settled in the Crow’s Nest for a farewell conversation with Lynn and Mylee, Deb, Carol and I all exchanging contact information and reliving the highlights of this cruise and talking of plans ahead.