Year 3 Day 147 – “Living the Dream”. Tuesday, 9/26/2023. We are in Halifax, Nova Scotia today. Halifax is located on one of the largest and deepest ice-free natural harbors in the world. It is North America’s first inbound and last outbound gateway. The port of Halifax has minimal tides and is two days closer to Europe and one day closer to Southeast Asia (via the Suez Canal) than any other North American East Coast port.
If interested, you can actually view a live webcam by clicking here. It is fun to look at your ship while docked. Nova Scotia Webcams – Pier 21 | Westin Nova Scotian Hotel, Halifax Last night we stayed out after dinner later than normal. We were in the casino till 9:40pm. Late night for us. It was pretty disgusting though. It was white night and my white dress smells like smoke this morning. Today is a beautiful sunny day. We had a little breakfast and got off the ship and walked the Halifax Harbour walk. The boardwalk is constructed of durable heavy timber and is open to the public 24 hours a day. The Norwegian Pearl is docked here today also.
We always have to stop and watch any kind of construction going on.
Just like any boardwalk there were many places to stop and eat.
and there were many musicians entertaining. From a traditional Saxaphone player to a Scottish attired bagpipe player. I would imagine as the evening gets later more entertainers will appear. I never heard of the term busking before. Busking is the activity of playing music in the street or another public place for voluntary donations. Nova Scotia believes that busking adds to the vibrancy of the city and waterfronts. They do not run a managed busker program on their public spaces. There is no permit, permission or process to be there. They, however, have some very simple guidelines that they enforce and ask everyone to follow. 1-Spaces are available between Museum Wharf and Tall Ships Quay ‘On the Honour, On the Hour.’ 2- You do not need a permit to busk on the Halifax waterfront and there is no audition process. 3-No transactions, product, exchange of goods. 4- You may be asked to adjust your volume. Amplification is not permitted in residential areas. Please be respectful of nearby businesses and residents in terms of noise levels. 5-The waterfront is for family-friendly entertainment. 6-The use of sharp or dangerous objects is prohibited, including juggling knives, chainsaws, hatchets and flaming objects. 7-Please be respectful of pedestrian flow and safety by keeping corridors clear. 8-Donations can be accepted but should not be expected or solicited from audience members. 9-In accordance with our Blue Flag Marina designation, balloons are not permitted. 10-Certain areas may be not available for busking. At the discretion of Build Nova Scotia, you may be directed to another area.
We had a really nice view of Georges Island Lighthouse. It is concrete octagonal lighthouse, built in 1917. This light house replaced an earlier tower built in 1876. The light-keeper’s house remains standing a few hundred feet to the north. The lighthouse is operated by the Canadian Coast Guard.
Look at these well-fed pigeons. There were a lot of these guys wandering around begging for food.
We were kind of amazed in the slots in the lumber that the boardwalk was constructed of. We were not sure if the slots were for traction or what.
After exploring the boardwalk, we walked up on the next street from the harbor. Halifax has a current population in 2023 of 420,000. The building construction is so unique. It is common to find Scottish five-sided dormers in older Halifax homes. This is unique because most dormers have only three sides. The five-sided dormer style was brought to Nova Scotia by Scottish immigrants.
On the way back on the ship we found the free Wi-Fi and a lot of crew members. At all ports you will find the crew wherever the closest free Wi-Fi is to the ship. In this case it was at the port.
Late in the afternoon we found our way to the Oliver or Twist Lounge on Deck 12. This is a glass-enclosed lounge that seats 45. Great place to relax and enjoy the views.
Good By Halifax – Hope to see you soon!
We have had great weather this trip with very mild smooth seas. Tomorrow is a Sea Day. Here are your thoughts to ponder today.
Today’s product recommendations are cruising essentials: 1) It is so nice not to have to worry about stapling your luggage tags to your luggage handles and to have them rip off. We have these plastic holders on our luggage and love them. We use them for Royal Caribbean cruises and also fold the MSC tags to fit in them when we travel with MSC cruise lines. Here’s a link: https://amzn.to/3RAGgED 2) A lanyard is great to have. It makes it so easy to carry your seapass card and some tip money around the ship. These are really nice. Here’s a link: https://amzn.to/3PTVLGB 3) I have found that a nice toiletry bag is essential, and this is the one I love. Here’s a link to it: https://amzn.to/3EO2Y4F 4) Packing cubes – I can’t say enough about them. I would never go on vacation without them again. Here’s a link: https://amzn.to/3Rxx8AA 5) You have to have a small purse for getting off at ports or for carrying a few things with you around the ship. Great for when you have no pockets to carry the cell phone. This one is beautiful. Here’s the link: https://amzn.to/3ETJNpS 6) Room Thermometer- I leave one of these packed in my bag. The temperature fluctuates so much, and I like to try and keep my room at a stable temperature. This keeps me honest with myself. Here’s a link: https://amzn.to/46tNoXH
To view the complete daily diary, click here – This starts at Year 1 Day 1: Living the Dream – Deestimes – Make every step of the journey count