PART TWO: CRUISING NORTHEAST CANADA

We arrived in Montreal after a two hour train ride from Ottawa, called an Uber and quickly boarded the Regent Seven Seas Navigator – all easy and stress free!

The Navigator is a small ship with a capacity of 495 passengers and 350 crew members. There is only one pool and we never had any trouble finding a couple lounge chairs in the shade. Much of this crowd was not lay-by-the-pool kind of people.

Lou and I like to explore the ship as soon as we board. That way we can take our photos before all the areas are full of people. This is Galileo's Lounge on the top deck. If there is fun to be had, it is up here on Deck 11. There was an ABBA night with our cruise director, Dru, doing a great job of DJing on our roughest night at sea. I even managed to dance a couple times with my walking boot on while the ship rolled back and forth.

The Compass Rose dining room with only open seating. We never had to wait and always had a table for two, usually by the window, except the night we dined with a gentleman traveling alone. For our tastes the food was a little too "foo-foo" and way too much steak, veal and lamb for me. 

The atrium elevators. Overall, the crowd seemed old to me, not necessarily in age but in attitude. Deluxe walkers of all types were abundant throughout the ship. They should have had a "Bernie Sanders Lookalike" contest. I saw many travelers who would have been finalists.

Our suite was on Deck 9. It's probably the largest cabin we've had on a ship and the balcony was a great upgrade. There was even a walk-in closet that was big enough to maneuver around inside.

The bathroom was a real treat. It had a shower and a bathtub (you can see the very edge of the tub in the lower right). Neither the tub or shower was huge, but it was definitely appreciated by me.

There wasn’t any time to explore Montreal on this trip but we’ll do that another time. Our first port was Quebec City, Quebec. We were here several years ago on a road trip and unfortunately it rained the whole time. This time we had much better weather, overcast but no rain.

This is all we saw of Montreal, the skyline as we sailed out of the cruise port.

Quebec City - the famous Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac. Our tour wasn't until 11:30 am so Lou  headed out and explored the old town. Since I'm still recovering from two broken bones in my foot, I waited for the bus ride and saved my walking for later.

Our tour took us to "an award winning winery" for tasting. I'm no connoisseur but being a California girl, I know what wine tastes good and what I like. In my opinion, this wine did not taste good and I didn't like it.

The highlight of this tour was Canyon Sainte-Anne. There are three bridges (two are suspension bridges) that cross this cascading waterfall as it rages down the mountain. The upper bridge is visible in the upper left (you can click on any photo to enlarge it). This is the only bridge a vehicle can cross. I took the shuttle down to the halfway suspension bridge. Lou hiked the whole thing down and up.

The suspension bridge that is halfway down. If you know me, you know I am terrified of heights. I was determined to at least try to walk partway out onto the bridge. It moves and you'll notice there are big gaps between the slats. I went out about a third of the way, snapped a few photos then slowly made my way back. I handed my camera to a fellow traveler to take this picture.

Here's a photo I took looking down at the bottom suspension bridge where Lou went. He said he actually saw me on the bridge above and couldn't believe I walked out on it. I could have used him to hold on to since I couldn't reach across to both railings. I had to let go to move to the other side and that was scary as hell. But the scenery was gorgeous! I walked back up on the trail to enjoy it.

They had some beautiful hanging plants in the open air cafe. This fuchsia was amazing!

I have no idea what flower this is but it sure was pretty.

Our second port was supposed to be Baie-Comeau, Quebec, but it was changed to Saguenay, Quebec, due to smoke from the forest fires. The cruise line and cities did a great job of putting together replacement excursions at the last minute. It didn’t make any difference to us. Saguenay was a great place to visit.

The town of Saguenay as we cruised up a narrow fjord to the port. 

 

Our shore excursion travelled to the small area of Chicoutimi where in 1996 a huge flood destroyed 30 homes and damaged hundreds more. This is "The Little White House" which was the only home standing after the flood. The owner had reinforced it and anchored it to the rocks.

The Sacre-Coeur Church also survived the flood but was damaged and rebuilt.

The Old Chicoutimi Pulp Mill is a National Historic Site of Canada. It was constructed between 1898 and 1923. It is no longer a pulp mill but used for other purposes.

After a day cruising the St. Lawrence River, we had yet another schedule change. This time Corner Brook, Newfoundland, was replaced with Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, due to large icebergs in the water! Once again, the crew scrambled to provide us with beautiful, last minute sightseeing excursions.

Typical houses of Charlottetown. We were sorry to miss seeing Newfoundland but Prince Edward Island (PEI to the locals) was a great substitution. It is Canada's smallest province.

The Confederation Bridge links Prince Edward Island with mainland New Brunswick. It was opened in May 1997. The 8 mile long bridge is Canada's longest.

We saw many lighthouses but only learned the names of a few. This is Borden-Carlton Range Light.

By this time, the cold I caught was settling in to be a nasty one. We docked at Sydney, Nova Scotia on Breton Island where Lou and I were taking different shore excursions. He was heading to the Alexander Graham Bell Museum in Braddock while I was supposed to visit Fortress Louisbourg, a National Historic Site. I woke up coughing, sneezing and sniffling so I cancelled, stayed on the ship and rested.

Since I missed my shore excursion, Lou and I took a walk around Sydney after lunch so I could see a little of the area. I'm glad I did because this is one of my favorite photos of the whole trip. I love how the reflection is stunningly clear.

Another nice photo op on our walk around Sydney. The clouds finally gave us some beautiful views.

Low Point Lighthouse as we cruised out of Sydney.

Houses along the river as we headed towards Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Our last stop in Canada was Halifax, Nova Scotia. We had stocked up on cold medicine at a Superstore, Canada’s Walmart, so I popped a bunch of pills, sucked some cough drops and headed out. I wasn’t going to miss our tour of Peggy’s Cove. I’m really glad I didn't, it was my favorite place in Canada on this trip.

 

Peggy's Cove is a small rural community of 30-some people located on the eastern shore of St. Margarets Bay in the Halifax Regional Municipality.

There was lots of scenic beauty in the fishing village of Peggy's Cove. 

Peggy's Cove Lighthouse on the rocky coastline.

Our tour guide brought out a couple of live lobsters to show us and explained the difference between the males and females. The two small protrusions underneath are hard on the male and soft on the female. Lou has the male in his right hand and the female in his left hand.

Some rugged coastline in Peggy's Cove.

My final post will be online in the next few days. 

PART THREE: BERMUDA AND NEW YORK

If you are reading this first, you might want to go to the previous post to start at the beginning. 

PART ONE: OTTAWA - CANADA'S CAPITAL