Nova Scotia

When I first set foot on Nova Scotia, the band at the port quit the Celt music and a massive confusion of tourists crowded the area looking for their buses. We were the last ones to board the bus but lucky for me, I was put on the front seat next to the guide on kilts. I've always found men wearing kilts rather idiotic looking. The day was once again gorgeously pleasant. The drive to Peggy's Cove was lined with beautiful trees, many with red leaves. Gradually as we approach the coast,
deciduous gave way to coniferous until there's nothing but a few bushes and then simply white granite. Peggy is a very tiny town which tourists outnumbered the local population. The place was filled with tour buses and herds of people. The famous lighthouse is the famous post office. I had to snail mail something from there and so I bought and mailed Tomaso a postie. The sea was calm, not a single wave, and hopping around on the granite was the only way to get away from the crowd. On our way back, the guide on kilts told us the heroic stories of rescues and recovers and the generosity of the Haligonians. Because of the geographic location, this area was bound for air and naval mishaps and the local fishermen and towns people are used to giving a helping hand, which included the poor American flights passengers on 9-11. We passed by the memorial of Swiss Air 11. And there's the Titanic museum in town. The stories made my eyes watered. It was hard to think about these events on a sunny glorious day like today.

Back in town, we walked up to the Citadel but to my great disappointment, there's really nothing up there except a little museum of army paraphernalia. M had reserved afternoon tea here but was cancelled. Coming down the steep hill we were looking for a outdoor place for lunch but ended up having steak and kidney pie and local beer at an Irish pub (that was really great, lunching at an Irish pub in Nova Scotia!).

I missed the evening formal dinner because I felt really sick. Or perhaps my body was telling me to skip it altogether since it couldnt stand anything 'formal'. With an entire week of all you can eat food, my body was sick of food and protested. I simply slept. About 11PM, the captain's voice came on to ask for blood donors. A passenger needed blood critically. A few minutes later the stateroom phone rang. Mom asked if I were OK. I told her the critically ill passenger wasnt me! Later at 3AM, the ship stopped and anchored. I fell back to sleep. The next morning we've learned that the Canadian coast guard came, collected the sick passenger and safely delivered him back to a hospital in Halifax. He got his blood and was doing fine.

I couldnt say if I liked Halifax or not. We havent really seen much of the town, but both M and A really enjoyed Peggy's Cove and had secretly selected a house there.

 Peggy's Cove

 Peggy's Cove Lighthouse