Another Mile Another Destination Blog: Halifax and Peggys Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada

“The earth has music for those who listen.”

Shakespeare

When we awoke this morning, we found that our ship, the Adventures of the Seas – a Royal Caribbean Cruise ship, was pulling into Halifax Harbor. As our ship pulled in, we grabbed a bite to eat before debarking. Today, once again as it was in Saint John, we heard a piper playing as we were leaving the ship. She was standing near the ramp as we walked off the ship onto Canadian soil around 9:30 am. What a lovely tradition and beautiful sound.

Liz on the left and and Dreama on the right

We booked an excursion today through Cruise Compete to see Halifax and Peggys Cove. Our bus was waiting for us as we exited the ship and we were warmly greeted by Liz Brenton, our tour guide and Dreama Smith, the bus driver. They were both super friendly and made this trip fun and interesting.

After we were all loaded up, we took off and drove around Halifax which was a pretty city and quite busy. There were some beautiful old buildings we passed and we loved seeing the different architecture of the older buildings and homes in town. We drove by a huge red brick home that was Donald Sutherland’s home as a child.

The bus pulled over near an industrial area where we could view the river. That is when Liz stood up and we learned about the explosion that occurred here in Halifax on cool clear morning - December 6, 1916 during a time that the First World War was still raging. This was the first Joe and I had ever heard about this.

That fateful day, two ships were in the Narrows connecting Halifax Harbor to the Bedford Basin, the SS Mont-Blanc was carrying explosives for the allies and heading to France and the SS Imo which was carrying supplies for their allies and had a Belgium relief sign visible. Usually protocol for a cargo ship carrying explosives like the SS Mont-Blanc, would be to have a warning flag visible letting others know of its contents but not during the war. They collided by errors by both captains, which immediately started a fire that ignited quickly. The captain of the SS Mont-Blanc ordered his crew to abandon ship knowing how bad the situation was. Then he noticed a crowd was forming on the shoreline and the captain was yelling for people to get away but in French and no one understood what he was saying.

The blast occurred at 9:04 in the morning and was the largest man-made explosion at that time. The explosion emptied the harbor causing a tsunami to occur when the water poured back in. The explosion instantly killed 1,600 people and another 9,000 people were injured. In the end, over 2,000 people died, 1630 homes destroyed and another 12,000 damaged, roughly 6,000 people were left homeless and 25,000 had insufficient shelter. It is hard to believe that Joe and I never heard about this in history class. Such a sad event. We were glad to hear the USA helped them financially and with man power.

Fishermens Monument

We headed up the coast to Peggy’s Cove, a quaint, rural coastal town and home to only 35 residents located on the eastern shore of St. Margarets Bay in Nova Scotia. The name is said to have come from a shipwreck survivor who married a lady from the cove in 1800 and was originally known as “Peggy of the Cove.” This is a beautiful fishing village that was founded in 1811. The peak population here happened in the early 1900’s, when there were 300 people living here. At that time, there was a school house, church, general store, and lobster cannery and boats. Many a photographers and artist have come here to take in all this towns glory. The sculptor, William deGarthe made his home here and started a sculpture on a granite cliff behind his home which is entitled the Fishermen's Monument which depicts 32 fishermen and their families but unfortunately he never finished it as he passed in 1983 before completing it. It is quite the work of art to see.

Love his smile

Driving into this touristy picturesque town, 30 miles southwest of Halifax, we were in awe of what an amazing place this is to see. When we exited the bus we saw a handsome man with a huge smile on his face dressed beautifully in a kilt. Joe asked to take his picture, he agreed, and it was perfect. Then we walked to the lighthouse which is one of the most photographed lighthouses ever. The first lighthouse was built here in 1868 and was just a large house with a light on top. The lighthouse keeper and his family lived right there and he would lite a kerosene oil lamp that was magnified with a catoptric reflector which created a red light helping the ships captains see the eastern entrance to St. Margarets Bay. During World War II, the lighthouse was used as a radio station by the Royal Canadian Navy. The present lighthouse was built in 1916 and stayed manned until 1958 when it became automated. Since then the light was white for a while and from the 1970’s on, it has a green light.

As we walked on the Devonian granite to the light house and enjoyed looking at this majestic 50 foot high white lighthouse with a bright red top resting on the cliffs overlooking the stunning views of the harbor all around it. What a spectacular view of the ocean with the wave crashing against the rocks. The wind was whipping but it was just a beautiful sight. This is a place I could just sit and watch the ocean for hours. I do recommend taking the time to sit and take it all in. It was memorizing.

Sou'Western Restaurant

We went into the restaurant and gift shop right across the street called the Sou’Wester which was a very interesting place. The gift shop has two floors with local crafts and art work on the top level and great souvenirs on the bottom floor. We went into the restaurant and had a nice lunch and were joined by our friends Ray and Doris. I bet you can guess what Joe and I got. You are right. Lobster roll for Joe and seafood chowder for me. The chowder hasn’t let me down anywhere I’ve bought it. It is a perfect meal for any day. This restaurant was established in 1967 by Jack Campbell and now his children have carried on his tradition and are running it well. There was a man outside showing everyone live lobster and we were told the lobster season in Canada is from the last Monday in November to the end of May.

St Johns Anglican Church

After lunch, we walked around this charming town which has many gift shops, a food truck, and art galleries. I walked down to see St. John’s Anglican Church, a Gothic style church that sits up on a hill in town. It was built in 1893 - 1894 of wood and is the only church in Peggys Cove. What a stunning church to see.

Peggys Cove - Picture perfect

Nice food truck

Beautiful Nova Scotia shoreline

Painted House

Unfortunately, we had to leave this town too soon. Just another place to put on our list to drive back to see sometime. On the way back to Halifax, we passed the Painted House. We were told the artist, Ivan Frazier usually is standing in his yard waving as people go by but he wasn’t there that day. After we passed the house, we saw the Ivan coming back from getting his mail and he waved to us as we passed by. What an interesting house.

Guard at the Citadel.

Citadel

Our next stop was the Citadel. We didn’t have enough time to go inside and tour it but we got to stop, see the guard all dressed up in a royal military outfit wearing a kilt standing guard outside the fort, read the historic signs, and see the views of the town and the sight of the explosion years ago from above the town. The star shaped fortress was completed in 1856 and was in the middle of extensive fort system built by the British military from 1749 to protect this important port in Halifax.

Halifax Town Clock

From the fort, looking down to the city, we saw the Halifax Town Clock also known as the Old Town Clock or the Citadel Clock. Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent, was the Commander–in–Chief of the British forces in North America. He wanted the Turret Clock to be made before he left for England in 1800 to help with the tardiness in his garrison, so it is said. The clock was built by the “House of Vulliamy” in London. It began keeping time on October 20, 1803.

My Joe in Halifax enjoying our day.

Our ship

Samuel Cunard Statue

The first Jokester

The beautiful children of Halifax posing for me

Then we were taken back to the ship and said our goodbyes to Liz and Dreama. Kudos to both of them for an excellent tour that we would do again. We didn’t have much time left in our day, so we took a walk on the boardwalk along the coast. The views were wonderful. We took pictures of many of the statues along the way and at one statue, some school age children were walking home from school when one young man, a jokester jumped into the picture with a huge smile on his face. The next thing we knew, all the young men and ladies were all in the picture and we were thrilled. What a great representation of the children from Halifax and what a perfect moment and one we will cherish.

Inside the market

Part of the boardwalk in Halifax

Heather

Joe

There was a market along the board walk that we ventured in to see that sold all kinds of produce and various items from the area. The board walk was lovely and we stopped at a local restaurant called Sea Smoke to grab a drink before heading back to the cruise ship. Our waitress looked just like Anne from the book, “Anne of Green Gables” with her red hair. She brought Joe a beer in the glass he is holding up and giggled. You can see her behind Joe. We sat and enjoyed our drink overlooking the water. What a great way to end out day in Halifax. We will miss it.

George's Island and Phare Lighthouse

Phare Lighthouse

Across from where we were sitting having a drink was George's Island which was first fortified in 1749 when the British founded Halifax. This island was used as a detention center during the Acadian Deportation from 1755-1762. The island was also used to help defend the harbor during the World Wars. The lighthouse Phare is located on the island and is a beautiful sight to see.

Pier 21

On the dock is a great Titanic museum to see but unfortunately we didn’t have enough time and in town is a cemetery where 120 of the Titanic victims are buried. We passed it on our excursion but didn’t stop. I wish we had time for that. Next time.