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Date: 28 Jul 2012 16:44:00
Title: Halifax, Nova Scotia
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On Saturday we awoke to blue skies and sunshine at last.  Saturday morning is market day here in Halifax which worked out very well for us, as provisions were getting desperately low.  When we read the information about Canadian customs, the rules seemed very strict.  No meat, fruit or vegetables and the alcohol allowance is the same as when you arrive by air, ie very little - it certainly doesn't allow you to take a fully stocked freezer and drinks cabinet.  As we had been in New York the weekend before, we had decided to use this as a good excuse to clear out the fridge and freezer and so we left with just what we needed.  The book suggests that the strict import rules prevent a lot of people going to Canada, those that do also complain about the lack of choice and quality in the liquor stores here, and the inflated prices.  However, here we were.  When we phoned customs to notify them of our arrival, we were briefly questioned by a very charming lady, who cleared us in with no problems.  Despite being warned that customs will almost certainly board your boat to check things out we had no problems, one phone call and we were in.
The market was a great place to restock, there was almost too much choice, with various stalls selling fruits, vegetables and fabulous fish and meat. One thing that we will miss when we return to the Caribbean this winter is the amount of choice of food and also the very high quality of it, compared to what is available in the Caribbean, also the restaurants are so much better in the US and Canada - we have been very spoilt this summer!  
Once provisioned, it was back to the boat for a spot of lunch. I can't remember if I mentioned this, but our berth was smack in the middle of downtown Halifax, right next to the HMCS Corvette, an old military ship attached to the museum which is open for tours to the general public.  Seaduced and her crew also became quite an attraction, I was thinking of charging for pics!!  It was fine at low tide as we were below the public walkway, but at high tide we were almost on a level with it.
In the afternoon, we went sightseeing.  The main attraction is the old military fort, the Citadel.  This was originally manned by 78th Scottish Highlanders. The fort itself has never in it's history been attacked, the guide said this was due to it's superiority of build and position, we think that it is more likely that any would-be attackers couldn't find their way through the fog!!

 The guarded entrance to the Halifax Citadel

 View from the Citadel over the harbour at Halifax

 

Halifax is also know for it's connection to the Titanic disaster.  When the distress call came from Titanic, the Atlantic cable ships based in Halifax were some of the first to set out and look for survivors/bodies.  More than 500 bodies recovered from the wreckage are buried here in the city.  As the cable ships were well-used to being out in all weathers and were known to be hardy, they were felt to be the best placed for this mission.  As it was the 100th anniversary of the sinking this year, there is a big exhibition in the town, with a 3D video taken of a dive down onto the wreckage which was very interesting, although a little bit weird to watch in 3D.
Another, even more dubious claim to fame is that Halifax was the site of the biggest manmade explosion prior to Hiroshima! An ammunitions ship hit a freighter and the resulting massive explosion, destroyed the entire northern end of the town, the rail links and damaged just about every house in the city!  That damned fog again!!
Nova Scotia, obviously has very close links with Scotland. lots of the town names are the same as those in Scotland and they even have their own military tattoo - unfortunately not until later in the summer so we will miss it, never mind!!
Whilst in Halifax, we decided to hire a car and see a bit more of the area.  As it was Sunday, and most things would be closed, we went East along the shore.  The weather was a little duller but still it was dry for most of the day. All we saw for the 350 miles we drove during the day was trees, trees, and even more trees!!!!  The whole area was wild and very remote compared to what we are used to, but not by Canadian standards.  There was only an 30 mile drive for most people to the nearest shop to buy a pint of milk, Canadians think nothing of a 3 hour drive to visit somewhere for the day and then drive the same amount back home again later - it's a different world out here!  One street, basically the main road along the eastern shore, had houses numbered up to 30,000!  We took a few of the dirt roads marked on the map, and these led to even more remote areas, with just 2/3 houses together, just small hamlets really, but with no church or pub or hall as a central point.  Where these facilities do exist in the larger villages, they largely advertise bingo evenings and also evenings of 'games of chance' whatever that might involve!  Taking all this into consideration, imagine the winters here, they get a LOT of snow, and it gets VERY cold, the waitress who served us at dinner on Sunday said that she remembers winters where the temperature got down to -45°C, whereas now they are relatively mild and the temperature is a pleasant -15°!!

 A very long road, the house numbers just kept going up!!

 Lots of trees!

 Not something you see at home very often

Monday brought more sunshine and a trip west out towards Lunenberg and Mahone Bay. Lunenberg is a very busy fishing port, with an active fishing fleet and also, as it has UNESCO World Heritage Site status, a thriving tourist industry.  The first people to settle here were the French, closely followed by the Germans, Swiss and English. Fishing has always been a huge industry here with most of the schooners fishing off the Grand Banks using this as their home port. Today, the Nova Scotia Schooner Association hold race weeks her every year which we managed to see a bit of.  Scallops are the mainstay of the fishing fleet now, the area is famous for them and the demand at one fishmongers was so high that they had limited the purchase of scallops to 10lbs per customer. 

 The streets in Lunenberg were definitely brighter coloured 

  Schooner racing

 A Nova Scotia schooner

 The busy dockside 

 The fishing fleet

 Mahone Bay, a picture perfect village

The fishing industry has taken a heavy toll on Lunenberg over the years and this is very definitely brought home when you read the memorials in the town which state that of all the fishing boats from Lunenberg have been lost over the years (and there have been many) , 50% have been lost with all hands, due to fog and storms at sea.  Some of the houses also have the 'widows walks' which we saw in Nantucket, these are roof top walkways so the wives can watch for the boats coming into the harbour.  
The contrast between the two days was very distinct. When driving east, the houses were widely spaced out over miles of remote coastline, whereas the west was more town based, with each area having a church etc, and a village centre.  The architecture was also very different, out east the houses were more functional and less attractive, whereas on Monday we saw brightly painted houses and building, with well tended gardens full of flowers. 


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