May 19-Halifax

Last evening we went to a reception hosted by the PTV folks and continued to meet interesting fellow travelers- especially a couple from Plano, Texas. We dined with some different folks from the Clearwater area who were not so interesting. Many different kinds of folks are in the world and aboard the Voyager.

After dinner we went to the entertainment with Kelli O’Hara. She has a wonderful voice and the show was quite good. We set the clock forward an hour and headed off to sleep.

This morning we arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia and were greeted by bagpipes and drums plus the boats with water cannons were spraying in the air. This is the first time this ship has been in Halifax. The town was founded by the British government under the direction of the Board of Trade and Plantations, under the command of Governor Edward Cornwallis in 1749. After lots of political infighting between the residents and the governor the town was incorporated in 1841.

At the entrance of the harbor is the Sambro Island Lighthouse, constructed in 1758. Halifax’s fortunes waxed and waned with the military needs of the Empire. On December 6, 1917 the city of Halifax was devastated by the huge detonation of the SS Mont-Blanc, a French cargo ship, fully loaded with wartime explosives. That ship accidentally collided with the Norwegian SS Imo in “The Narrows” section of the harbor. The explosion and flying glass from the broken windows blinded many people. The city of Boston sent medical help that stayed for a very long time. Halifax was so grateful so to express their gratitude Halifax sends a huge- often 75 feet tall- Christmas tree to go into the Boston Commons.

Halifax is situated on the second largest and deepest natural harbor in the world. Sydney is the 1^st largest and deepest natural harbor. Halifax is a busy port. It is the most eastern place with trans-continental railroad connections. We were docked at Pier 21, which in earlier days had been the place immigrants arrived.

After room service breakfast we were off for a 6-hour tour featuring lunch and wine tasting. Bob our guide wore a kilt and he was very knowledgeable. Archie was the driver and he and Bob seemed to have some communication issues. The bus got lost and we made 5 u-turns trying to get to the 1^st winery. We ended up going to lunch 1^st and then to 2 wineries. The irony is this was the only tour we paid for since Regent includes shore excursions. We did see a sheep ranch with many cute lambs as we wandered into the countryside.

Bob told an interesting legend about the bridge over the harbor. An Indian chief was angry because his daughter ran away with a white man. The dad put a curse onto the city. He put three curses on the bridge- Curse # 1 said during a sunny day the bridge would fall with no loss of life. Curse # 2 during a storm the next bridge would collapse without loss of life. So the 3^rd bridge was built and an Indian chieftain was hired to cast off the curse. He came and did that and the 3^rd bridge is standing strong.

We tasted at wine at The Grand Pre winery and at the Gaspereau Winery. Maple wine was really something different…and very Nova Scotian. There was a cool display at one for their “hard” apple cider. We also tasted some cheese that was great. The yeards of the homes and the wineries were an array of colorful tulips.

It was an interesting day and we look forward to a day at sea tomorrow.