By train across Canada 2025

 It was an hour and a half on a bus to Lunenburg. We were fortunate to find that the Smugglers Cove Inn could pick us up as there is limited taxi and no Uber in Lunenburg. We have been fortunate to have a couple of days of warm, but not too warm, sunny weather. The Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic has some magnificent displays of the history of the Atlantic Fishery including the moratorium on Cod Fishing that Canada introduced in 1992.  There were some fascinating old films shown of how the Cod used to be long lined fished from Dories and then loaded onto a mother ship.  The Theresa E Connor was the last schooner to fish for Cod with Dory’s. Her hull is now being repaired on the slip of the museum at the east end of town.  The story of the Bluenose is fascinating. The original Bluenose I was a fishing schooner and also raced very successfully against a US schooner out of Gloucester Massachusetts. She then fell into disrepair and was wrecked in 1946. A beer company, r...

 We took a four hour bus tour to Peggy’s Cove on July 3rd. There was an excellent tour guide who filled in a lot of the major history events that have affected Halifax. Stories of how the bodies from the Titanic were buried in three different cemeteries, that there was a memorial to the Swiss Air flight that crashed off Nova Scotia in the 1990’s, of the harbour where convoys were assembled in WWII.   The weather at Peggy’s Cove was perfect. We had an hour and three quarters to wander around. Here are some pictures.

 This morning we awoke to a torrential downpour but it had cleared by 10 am. The first stop was the Maritime Museum. There is so much maritime history in Halifax. Firstly the harbour’s development throughout at least four wars including the war of 1812 between the British and the Americans. Cunard originated here. The Titanic survivors arrived there in 1912. There was the 1917 Halifax harbour explosion. It was the harbour from where convoy’s set out in WWII. Several small boat sailors like Joshua Slocum came from Nova Scotia. Halifax was a major immigrant screening centre from about 1928 to 1971. It has been one of the two naval bases for the Canadian Navy (the other being Esquimalt in Victoria).    It was a half hour walk from the Maritime Museum to pier 21 the immigrant museum. However we were able to stop for lunch at another very nice fish restauraunt. The Halifax waterfront is a great promenade and  tourist attraction. In the evening our friend Jill from Victori...

 We mixed with the crowds for Canada Day as everything was free. Firstly there was a parade of military bands. Then I walked up to the Citadel. The museum within the Citadel of this history of the formation of Halifax and its harbour and its use by the French, the British and finally Canada through several wars was most interesting.  The water front was very crowded and we took the ferry across to Dartmouth where we had lunch. In the evening we found a local restaurant that served Haddock and chips. Delicious. This was the entry to the ribs fest that was happening in Dartmouth. There was a huge crew to go through security so we did not go.

 We had  a very comfortable ride in a VIA passenger train in business class from Ottawa to Montreal. At Montreal we boarded the Ocean sleeper train. It was more modern than the 1956 train we rode from Vancouver to Toronto. The carriages had been constructed for the England to France Channel tunnel in about 1990 but for some reason could not be used so they were sold to VIA rail. As before the service was excellent. The food not so good. The cabin’s were more cramped but comfortable. We travelled through Quebec, Prince Edward Island to Nova Scotia. The scenery was mostly small towns and small farms. The we approached the Bay of Fundy and glimpsed that from the train.   VIA rail we are told is consistently late. We arrived in Halifax two hours late at 8.15 pm. Then we took a Uber cab to the hotel. It is only the third time I have ever used Uber and impressed with the technology. These are the two engines that pulled us from Montreal. Montreal all seen from street level. The...

 On Saturday June 28th 2025 we were driven to Montreal by granddaughter Isabelle. It was a two hour journey. The Nadeau family were having their annual Lobster Party. There were about 30 people there. It was most enjoyable to catch up with many of them whom we had met before. When daughter Sarah and Martin got married 23 years ago (in August) several of them came out to Victoria for the occasion. Here are a few pictures from yesterday.