Day 39, May 24, 2022 Halifax -- Deuxième Partie (Part 2)

Today we got a leisurely start, because we had nowhere to be until our tour began at 1:30 p.m. Each of us prepared our own breakfast. Patrise had croissant and scrambled cheese eggs; Doug had a bowl of cereal. After breakfast, Doug showered in the campground shower, while Patrise relaxed and continued to read her John Gresham novel. When Doug returned, Patrise showered; and then away we went to Halifax, making a brief stop for gas and getting sandwiches and snacks to hold us during the 4 hour tour.

We arrived in Halifax and parked the RV in the same area that we scouted yesterday, with 10 minutes to spare before our tour guide picked us up. We were very lucky that we were the only ones on the tour which could accommodate up to 6 people. Our tour guide’s name was Jack, and he hailed from Bedford, one of the neighboring communities. He was training a new guide whose name was Cierra, and she was from Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia.

He gave us an informative and historical tour of downtown Halifax and then took us out to a beautiful cove on the south side of the peninsula called Peggy’s Cove.

During the tour, we learned many interesting things about Halifax and Nova Scotia, including:

1. It was originally the site of a fort which is now called Fort Citadel. This fort was created to protect the harbor and the city of Halifax. The fort is located high on a grassy hill and it offered the best views of the entire city skyline.

2. We saw Pier 21 which served as their “Ellis Island” through which immigrants were cleared for relocation to Halifax.

3. We saw Millionaires' Mile, an area outside of town where wealthy shipping magnates and business owners built their palatial mansions. Needless to say, this is the most expensive real estate in the province. This area is near Point Pleasant Park. This land is still owned by Great Britain and they lease it to Halifax for 1 shilling (the equivalent of one quarter) a year. Nova Scotia was given a 999 year lease on the park.

4. We drove through their west end and saw Horseshoe Bend Park which is a lovely park that surrounds a quiet horseshoe shaped portion of the harbor.

5. Peggy’s Cove is an geological wonder that was created by glaciers during the last ice age. In and around the cove are many large boulders and rocks that will not be found anywhere else in Canada. The shape of the cove has created a situation where part of the water is salt water and another part of the water is fresh water. There is a famous lighthouse on the hill overlooking the cove that is surrounded by a small community of residents (35 at the last count). Taken all together, the views are breathtaking. We had lunch at the Sou’Wester Restaurant which has been owned by the same family who named the cove after Peggy. You need to Goggle her story. We both agreed that we could have stayed there all day long enjoying the view.

After leaving Peggy's Cove, we drove by the Swiss Air Flight 111 Memorial for an airplane that went down in September 1998 off the coast of Peggy’s Cove in St. Margaret's Bay. All passengers and crew members were lost. This crash changed the course of aviation safety for the better, due to the many lessons that were learned and new safety design standards and operating protocols that were implemented as a result.

6. The Fairview Cemetery is one of three cemeteries where bodies from the Titanic were buried that Nova Scotians were able to recover at sea. Sailors from Halifax (from over 700 nautical miles away) were called to respond to the tragedy of the Titanic sinking, because Newfoundland and Labrador’s harbor was frozen in and no ships could get out.

7. The stories of these folks’ death and efforts to identify who they were was amazing. Some of them have not been identified as of yet, but Nova Scotian’s are using DNA technology to try and discover who is whom to the best of their abilities. It seems like over 90 years later that the citizens of Nova Scotia are truly committed to treating people who die at sea with dignity and respect.

(This person was identified, because he. had in his pocket a gift his father had given him for good luck -- a small teddy bear.)

(Example of a grave stone for someone whose remains have never been identified to this day.)

(An example of the headstone of a Titanic victim who was not identified at the time of entombment, but was later identified by DNA techniques.)

(Example of a Titanic victim whose family put a more detailed headstone in place.)

(The Titanic's tragedy is reflected in the lives of whole families who were lost at sea.)

(This is not the "Jack Dawson" made famous in the movie Titanic. This seaman's name was "Joseph Dawson.")

While in this same cemetery, we saw the memorial to the unidentified victims of the Halifax Harbour Explosion, one of the most tragic events in Nova Scotia's and Canada's history.

When the tour concluded, we enjoyed a wonderful meal at Los Toros a Spanish Restaurant on the Wharf in Halifax. Dinner was delicious. Patrise ended up with the best dish, a vegan dish with pasta, roasted red peppers and protobello mushrooms in a wonderful crème sauce. I helped her eat it.

After dinner we headed back to the campground. It was another wonderful day. The weather was fantastic, bright and sunny with no clouds in the sky around the low to mid 60’s most of the day with a steady breeze. Too bad that this weather doesn’t last all year long here.

Tomorrow we leave Halifax and head to Digby, the Nova Scotia city on one side of the Bay of Fundy.