Home
Québec   Beaupré   Mahone Bay   Peggy's Cove   Halifax   Digby   Bear River   Cape Split   L'Anse aux Meadows   Norstead  

to the story's beginning            back to Peggy's Cove




Halifax Harbor Clock. From a sign beneath it:

Here We Began

Just inland from this place, Chebucto Landing, 2576 first permanent settlers of Halifax came ashore from thirteen small ships in June 1749. Here, you are at the shore of one of the great natural harbours of the world, the focus of Halifax's existence.

Look to port (left), to container piers; the Canadian Immigration Heritage Centre at Pier 21, where close to a million immigrants, refugees, war brides and children began their lives in Canada, and almost half a million Canadian troops departed for World War II and returned; the cruise ship pavilion, Tall Ships quay, and waterfront boardwalk; the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic; historic George's Island fortifications, and dynamic Dartmouth across the harbour.

Look to starboard (right), to the Law Centre, Canada's East Coast Navy ships and headquarters, Halifax Shipworks; the location, between the two bridges, of the devastating harbour Explosion of December 6, 1917, the most violent man-made explosion before the atomic bomb; more container piers, and Bedford Basin, where convoys assembled in two world wars to carry personnel and materiel from the New World to the Old.

Halifax is very proud of its waterfront, one of the best natural deep-water harbors in the world. All of these scenes are near the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. The stones are reminders that merchant seaman also lead dangerous lives, not just those in the navy.

This ketch isn't very big – compare the size of the nearby motorboat.


Mar II, built 1959 in Denmark for Ernest K. Gann. Gann sold her to Charles Tobias of the Pusser's Rum Company, who circumnavigated the world twice on her. Tobias sold her to the Murphys of Halifax.



One can buy a ride on most of the wooden boats (not the small ketch). These people are hawking rides on the Silva, named for an early Portuguese explorer who came to Halifax.

We were able to get tickets on Bluenose II, the queen of them all. She is a replica of Bluenose, which held the International Fisherman's Trophy from 1921-36. Sadly, because of the dense fog, the captain cancelled our cruise. This is how Bluenose II looked returning from a previous cruise, with some of the crew and passengers.

Although we couldn't leave the pier, we did get aboard Bluenose II for a while.

H.M.S. Sackville, adjacent to Bluenose II at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. This is the last remaining corvette from the Battle of the Atlantic, maintained in 1944 configuration. In better weather, she flies the Canadian ensign of that period, which is similar to the older Canadian flag except that the field is blue instead of red.

Lucky Seven, visiting from Florida.

Theodore Too is popular with the kids.

This sculpture in Summit Plaza was given to the Province of Nova Scotia by the people of Venice, to honor the 500th anniversary of John Cabot's 1497 arrival in Canada.

The sign near the sculpted wave asks kids not to climb on it. But who can resist?

 

The seahorse is in the Dartmouth ferry terminal.

Vim & Vigour

George's Island



At first glance, it looks like the wind sock is for the boat, but there's a heliport right there.

This building's wall has been converted into an outdoor movie show.






The U.S. has Ellis Island; Canada has Halifax's Pier 21. About one million immigrants passed through here between 1928 and 1971.

 

Halifax Public Gardens. From a sign near the gate:

Halifax has been the scene of many "firsts" in Canada. These eighteen acres, comprising one of Canada's most attractive Victorian public gardens, derived from an earlier site, part of the original Common, chosen for the Gardens in 1841, the year of incorporation as a city. It was the fashion of that time to be seen walking in the Gardens and enjoying the music supplied by military bands. About 1859, a further attraction was added: the first indoor skating rink in Canada was erected where the pavilion now stands.

A public lawn tennis court, again the first of its kind in Canada, was established in the Public Gardens, and the first of many public concerts was held, as they are still held today. Deer, which were then numerous, were relocated, and the handsome wrought iron gates at the main entrance, bearing Halifax's original coat of arms, were installed in 1890.

Some unusual plants, including a cactus. The last photo shows a very tall thistle. Or a very short lady.

Trees are treasured in Halifax, The Public Gardens have been the supply source for many trees that now beautify public spaces in Halifax. Some trees planted by the earliest settlers are still thriving today, to the city's joy.

The goose was very territorial, chasing the other birds away. Obviously, the duck can't read.

We saw the Titanic on a duck pond. A few days later, we saw icebergs off Newfoundland.

 





Boer War monument. Inscription on the pedestal:

Erected by the Commissioners of the Public Gardens
In Commemoration of the Services of our Citizen Soldiers in the South African Campaign
1899-1902

Signs around Digby, N.S. We were there for the Scallop Days festival.

It was foggy for most of our visit to Digby, a very low-lying ground fog. Note the cloud behind the pier in the center photo – its top was probably lower than fifty feet.

Digby Gut and the St. John ferry. This is the entrance to the Annapolis Basin.

At right, more of Digby, and more ground fog. The tides rise and fall about thirty feet here.

There's a chess game at the Mountain Gap Inn for people who think big.

Bear River calls itself "the Switzerland of Nova Scotia," but its information center is a windmill.

Bear River is also called the Town on Stilts because so many buildings are set on property that's flooded at high tide. In the Stilts Cafe, you can see the water right below the floorboards when the tide is in. Knowing the condition of one of the braces (second photo), maybe it's better to visit at high tide.

In the building at left in the first photo above, one window displays a mannequin in a yellow polka-dot bikini.

Oddacity is a design shop.


Before you click – this photo is very wide. There's a smaller version here.
The tide rises and falls forty feet at Cape Blomidon. We walked out about half a mile from the high water point to the water's edge at low tide.

On the bottom of the Minas Basin at Cape Blomidon.




To get here, we followed a path marked "To the Beach." Some beach.

 


on to L'Anse aux Meadows

Québec   Beaupré   Mahone Bay   Peggy's Cove   Halifax   Digby   Bear River   Cape Split   L'Anse aux Meadows   Norstead
Home