Saint John, the Bay of Fundy, and St. Martens, New Brunswick, Canada

 

“Canada is a country of startling beauty, from the rugged coastline of the Atlantic provinces to the snow-capped Rocky Mountains.”

David Suzuki

Saint John is a lovely seaport city in the province of New Brunswick, Canada and located on the Bay of Fundy which is known for its Reversing Rapids and extreme tides. Tidal changes on this bay range up to 50 feet from high to low tide and is recorded as the worlds highest tides.  The Reversing Falls  is caused by bay tides that collide with the Saint John River. The city of Saint John was founded on June 24, 1604 by Samuel de Champlain when he landed at Saint John Harbor which was during the feast of St. John the Baptist which is how this city got its name. It is the oldest incorporated city in Canada being established by a royal charter on May 18, 1785 while King George III was ruling. This city is the second most populated city in the province of New Brunswick.

Our first impression of Saint John after getting off the ship was all the colorful shipping containers that were made into shops. What a creative and a smart way to have shops at the port. They even had one of the containers just for the crew of the cruise ship so they had a place to go and relax off the ship. I thought that was a great idea as they could close them up at night and for the winter.

Saint John High School

New Brunswick Museum

We have been here on a few trips and always enjoyed our time in this city. On one of our trips, we walked to the Reversing Rapids from the cruise port which was an easy two mile walk along the Harbor Passage. It was a pretty walk along the harbor and it was a beautiful, sunny fall day. We passed The Place Fort La Tour which was a French colonial fur trading post that was established in 1631 by Charles La Tour. This fort was attacked and rebuilt five times and then abandoned in 1654. This post contained a few wooden buildings with two bastions on the harbor side. Then we walked up a hill and passed many lovely homes as well Saint John High School, which was founded in 1805 is the oldest publicly funded school in Canada.  We also passed the New Brunswick Museum, an impressive looking building that was built in 1842. It is currently closed because of building repairs caused by a leak.  We were impressed by how friendly the people in this city are, especially to tourist.

Reversing Falls

See the man in the Kayak in turbulent waters?

We went back to the falls on our next trip to this town, arriving by a bus tour that we booked through the ship called The Best of Saint John. This tour started with a trip to the falls in the morning when it was near high tide and the water was really moving. We saw a man on a kayak trying to make his way up the river. We all got nervous when he flipped over but fortunately was able to right himself quickly. We were cheering him on from above. We were told some of the rescue squad in town practice doing this during rushing tides. What is Reversing Falls you ask? Reversing Falls are a series of rapids where the river if forced through a narrow gorge and then out to the Bay of Fundy. The tide cycle here is about every 12.5 hours. Only during slack tide can boats go past on the river.

City Market

My husband Joe enjoying this great restaurant.

Billy

Fresh seafood at Billy's

Inside the City Market

On our first trip, we walked up to the City Market and stopped at Billy’s Seafood Restaurant right at the front of the market for a meal. When we walked in, there were glass display cases with the most beautiful looking fresh seafood on display. We knew then, we would have a great seafood feast that was fresh. We had a great meal and got to meet Billy himself who was a great guy and very personable. After a nice meal, we walked through the market which sold many unique local crafts, pictures, meats, snacks, and trinkets. This market dates back to the 1870’s and is open Monday through Saturday year round.

Kings Square

Bandstand

Across the street from the market was a small but beautiful park named King’s Square in uptown Saint John and was established in 1785. There are many monuments and plaques honoring individuals who have contributed to the history of the city. Sitting in the center of the park is a two-story bandstand which was donated in 1909 by the City Cornet Band. Bands play during the nice weather on the second floor of the bandstand. We were there on a gorgeous fall days and the trees seemed to glow with the fall colorful fall leaves on display.

Inside Steamers Lobster House

Walking around the city that day, we passed many nice murals that had been painted on the sides of brick buildings. Before getting back onboard, we stopped at Steamers Lobster House for a drink. It was nice talking with the bartender and some fellow cruisers.

Harold

Now back to our bus trip on we did on the second cruise. Our guide was named Harold and he was dressed as a Loyalist in full costume. He was a hoot and gave us great information about the town. After we visited the Reversing Falls that day, we headed to the City Market. It was fun walking around the market again. The meats in the display racks looked fabulous and there were many people selling paintings, snacks, and many souvenir items. Many locals were buying food to take home. I could never tire of the market as it changes somewhat throughout the year. Billy’s Seafood was closed that day as we arrived at the market early and the restaurant wasn’t open yet.

After exploring the market, we loaded back up on the bus and headed to the quaint fishing town of St. Martins and the Bay of Fundy. It was a great ride to the bay with curvy road and beautiful landscapes. We passed nice views of lakes, small towns, gorgeous pine trees, and numerous country churches. What a beautiful country.

Saint Marten's lighthouse

Vaughan Creek Covered Bridge

Hardscrabble Covered Bridge 

We stopped at the picturesque fishing village called St. Martins. As we exited the bus near the lighthouse, there was a gentleman who was singing Elvis Presley songs. Later, he played the bagpipes which was lovely and in such a perfect setting. He was full of energy and was fun to watch. In this town, we saw two covered bridges, Hardscrapple Covered Bridge and Vaughan Creek Covered Bridge, a small lighthouse which is a visitor center and museum, and a few shops and even an ice cream shop. On the water were fishing boats that were mostly out of the water since it was low tide. When the weather is warmer, all the shops have beautiful flowers gracing the front of their shops but we were here at the end of the season.

Caves Restaurant

The Bay of Fundy and the Caves

Wishing Rock

Our next stop was Caves Restaurant to get some seafood chowder, a biscuit, soda, and a cookie which was a part of our tour. The chowder was delicious. The staff did a great job getting our group fed and out the door quickly so we had time to see the caves on the beach before the tide came in and pick up the special stones that had a seam through the entire stone making a complete circle. These special stones are called wishing stones and as stories are told, if you find one, pick it up, make a wish, and toss it into the ocean and your wish will come true. We picked up quite a few and brought them home to our grand children. The caves were interesting to see but had a stream in front of  them so we couldn't get to them.  

On our way back to the Reversing Falls, Harold passed around a bag with small unusual items in it to see if anyone knew what they were. That was fun. He held up an item, and asked if it were old or new. If you got it wrong, he would shout out “Where are you from? Kitchen or living room? No. That would be easy wouldn’t it.” It was funny as we got all the items wrong. He had a great personality and made the trip fun.

Then we headed back to the Reversing Falls. We got to see the river near slack time and it looked much different than it did this morning with its raging rapids. It was very peaceful looking and the water was barely moving. The boats started being able to make their way up the river. Then it was onto our last stop.

O'Leary's Irish Pub

We headed to O’Leary’s Irish Pub in downtown, Saint John. We all piled out of the bus, and into to pub. It was super crowded at first till the group before us left. There was a great Irish singer singing all the songs we knew from our hometown pub, the Foxes Lair in Augusta, Georgia with Dr. John Fishers famous singing voice. All in our group could get a free beer or wine. The beer was a very light beer so Joe was able to order a nice dark beer to enjoy while listening to the singer. I wish we had more time to stay, sing, and enjoy this place. It was fun.

Then our time was done in Saint John and we were dropped back off at the ship. We had a grand time. As we exited the ship, we were told that it was Harold’s last day of doing tours. He had been doing them since 1980. We were sad to hear that as he was great. We wished him well as he did to us. May he have a blessed retirement.

We really enjoyed this city. We loved the people as they were all so friendly and they made it special visiting here. There slogan, Small City, Big Heart fits this city so well. We are all ready looking forward to our next visit.

Till next time. Bye for now.