Photos

TSH and Diva are back. The photos are on Flickr. This is a link to the Greenland ones. The rest are on the Flickr pages just before and after.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/16236990@N08/sets/72157632482745089/page28/ 

Last full day of holiday

Getting off Silver Whisper was as upsetting as usual but it did not happen until a leisurely served breakfast had been consumed. Living on a cruise ship is a bit like being royal (well, at least, it must be. TSH and Diva have no direct experience). Life is ordained by others and there is a regular calm immutable schedule. But within constraints, you can do what ever you like and people will feed you, pour you drinks, pick up wet towels and do the laundry.

Check-in at the Casablanca hotel (at the end of the first day, a good choice). Then the subway to Brooklyn Bridge, to obtain a good view of many of the city highlights. The walk was made more interesting by the presence of many many many school children walking across the bridge to take part in a demonstration outside City Hall. Something to do with education and what kind of schools children should attend and who should make the decision.

The next walk was to Ground Zero, via a deli where panninis were enjoyed. The new memorial is only partly completed but the water features are stunning. Two pools, each occupying the space of one of the twin towers. Both made of granite edged with the names of the victims and both containing a two tier waterfall starting at ground level and finishing out of sight far beneath the surface. A new museum is complete structurally but still being fitted out.

Another subway ride to the Hi-line, a walk constructed along the track of an overhead railway which used to serve the industrial premises in the meat-packing district close to the Hudson river. This gave an interesting view of buildings which are not well-known but represent the way in which NY's original wealth was created.

A walk back to the hotel via a restaurant and then a short visit to the Casablanca's complimentary bar completed the enjoyable day, which was enhanced by warm, clear sunny weather.

From disappointment to another highlight

Silver Whisper anchored off Martha's Vineyard in the early morning of the last full day of the cruise. The weather was grey and cloudy and the sea was choppy. So much so that the captain decided it was unsafe to operate the tenders (from a position of total ignorance Diva was in full agreement). So we had another day at sea. Baby butler had remembered to put cases on the bed so packing had to be done. And another cancelled excursion meant more gifts from the shop, using up the cruise credit!!

But then the announcement came that the sail in to New York (which is what this trip is about for TSH and Diva) was to happen in the early evening instead of the early next morning. Good in some ways, but this coincided with the dinner booking at La Terrazza. After much debate, the booking was cancelled and baby butler instructed to bring wine, pizza and New York cheesecake (yes, I know) to the suite at precisely 18:30. And he managed it!!

So then it was up to the observation lounge, where there were many people and an air of anticipation similar to that for Greenland. Champagne was drunk as the famous skyline appeared in the far distance. It was windy but not cold and very clear after the storms of the day. TSH was, of course, the first to spot the Statue of Liberty. As the Silver Whisper drew nearer, the commentary contained 'Bring me your tired, your poor......'. Brilliant poem for a special monument. The lights in the buildings drew attention to the spectacular architecture, the most poignant of which was the new Freedom Tower, part of the replacement for the World Trade centre. Silver Whisper sailed up the Hudson River to Pier 88.

Immediately after Silver Whisper docked (next to an aircraft museum including Concorde and a space shuttle), there was a spectacular firework display laid on for our benefit. The ship is full of the well-travelled and world-weary but everyone enjoyed that sail in, agreed it was special and applauded the fireworks.

TSH and Diva met the Captain on deck and thanked him for the day, including the original safety decision. He was obviously very pleased with himself for how he had snatched all-round joy from the jaws of disappointment.

Boston

Diva and TSH are in Boston today, parked next to Brilliance of The Seas with the flight path into the airport just aft of the ship. TSH wore a raincoat for the first time since Falmouth but there was not too much rain to interfere with the planned walks. They have visited the Paul Revere house and walked the Freedom Trail. They also encountered lively drum music performed by a group from China (or maybe Taiwan).

Boston is an interesting compact city with some historical buildings as well as well designed newer buildings. Old stone buildings with gold domes are set in front of acres of modern glass. They passed Legal Sea Foods, where Diva remembers eating on previous visits long ago. But Filene’s is being reconstructed, with just the façade currently standing, so no Filene’s basement (renowned sale shop) today.

There was an interesting farmers market but it was felt to be unfair to sample the produce as there was no intention of purchasing anything.  

As it was Boston, Diva had a cup of tea – TSH settled for a decaffeinated cappuccino.

Lunch was taken late so it had to be on the pool deck (under shelter) whilst the rain continued to fall. TSH found that a beer went well with the blue cheese and bacon burger and French fries.

Tonight is the Captain’s farewell party – it is never held on the last night – so this is the beginning of the end of the cruise. Diva and TSH are trying to find out what time they have to get up when Silver Whisper sails into New York in order to see the ship pass the Statue of Liberty. It was the request from Diva to see the sail in or out of New York which resulted in booking this cruise. Missing it is not an option.

New England Fall

Bar Harbour Maine is on a small island called Mount Desert Island. Silver Whisper is anchored in a wide bay dotted with rocks, islands and lobster pots, along with Seabourn Sojourn and Holland America Eurodam. There is a lot of tender activity throughout the day.

TSH and Diva do their fourth choice of excursion, which is a short drive around the island. There is autumn colour today, estimated at over 50%. The leaf colours are yellow, orange and red and they pick up the light so that they look like explosions of colour as they come into view. The bright colours are punctuated by the silver grey colours of the trunks. Ironically, these effects are due to a massive fire in 1947 which burned down many wooden dwellings, as well as the evergreen trees which have now been replaced by the deciduous trees which acquire the colours. The dwellings are in fact very large smart houses which are the second (third, fourth… ?) of extremely rich Americans.

The island is home to Acadia,  a US national park, which is closed because of the Government shut-down. It is possible to walk into it but there are many cars parked by the roadside because the car parks are closed. Diva wondered why the people did not just remove the barriers to enter their own national park and in fact she later discovered that just such an act of civil disobedience is planned for a few days time.

TSH saw a seal but is disappointed there were not many more.

Titanic and Marianne

Diva and TSH provide the kiss of death to more excursions. They were notified in the evening that the planned excursion for Bar Harbour was not running so booked another which by the following morning was also cancelled. If the fourth choice does not run it’s back to the shop to spend more on board credit.

On the last day in Canada for Diva and TSH, they were greeted on the quayside of Halifax by a bagpiper and a drummer playing traditional Scottish music. Later, after TSH had seen a train, they enjoyed walking on the boardwalk. They visited the maritime museum to see the exhibit about how the search for bodies from the Titanic was coordinated from Halifax and many of the bodies were buried here. This exercise served Halifax well when they had their own disaster in 1917. Two ships, including an ammunition ship, collided in the harbour, triggering the largest man-made explosion ever (eventually eclipsed by Hiroshima). Many people died and many bodies had to be identified and buried. The US city of Boston helped with organising the aftermath and building new dwellings at a fast rate.  

On the way back to the ship, a busker was singing the Leonard Cohen song ‘So Long Marianne’ (he did not write a So Long Diva and TSH). And it’s the last day.  And Diva is writing a dissertation about Cohen. How spooky is that?

Quite a lot of Irish influence in this part of Canada which is noticeable in the names on signs and some of the music that Diva and TSH have heard. 

Back to English

Sydney is a small town in the Cape Breton Island  area of Nova Scotia. The Celtic influence is strong, with a giant model of a violin (fiddle?) (plywood? – for the Cohen fans) on the quayside and an energetic set of young musicians playing Irish/Scottish music inside. The language is now English. Once more, the locals are friendly – cars stop to allow people to cross and TSH and Diva have been greeted by many strangers in the street. One woman said that Coronation St was her favourite TV programme.

Not much Autumn colour here, in spite of the fact that it’s a few degrees cooler.  But still dry and very pleasant.

One result of missing ports and having other excursions cancelled is that the on-board cruise credit which Silversea offered as part of the package has not been spent. It’s not possible to transfer it to another cruise so it is necessary to spend it in the Silver Whisper shop. One necklace so far and TSH is calculating what is still left and what can still be bought.

Whale

The day at sea for the journey through the Gulf of St Lawrence towards Prince Edward Island should have been uneventful except for the Galley Lunch (Buffet style, laid out in the Galley, extremely wide range of choices, everybody eats even more than usual). The weather was colder but still clear and the water perfectly flat.  But in the afternoon, a school of dolphins could be seen leaping out of the water in classic style. There were several groups, all around the Silver Whisper. After they moved away, in the excitement of seeing this for the first time ever, Diva swallowed the wrong way and started to cough. The water TSH brought did not totally solve the issue, so he went down to the suite for some mints. And whilst he was away, a hump-back whale came out of the water and dived, showing its forked tail. TSH only saw the ripples. And Diva is very sorry.

A day in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, once more brings sunshine and blue sky. Anchored (new anchor) in a very pleasant location and tendered in. Thermal vests and fleeces have not been needed for days now.

One of Charlottetown’s claims to fame is that it is near where Anne of Green Gables was written and set. So …. AoGG chocolate and ‘Anne and Gilbert, the musical’ as well as many themed tours. TSH has never read the books and it’s so long since Diva did that the details are blurred, so no participation in any of that.

Arrangements keep changing. The planned tour to Acadia National Park, planned for a few days time, has been cancelled because of the US Government’s funding difficulties.

Whales, geese and dancing

The bright city lights left behind, the Silver Whisper made its way into the River Saguenay.  The Destination Consultant says it’s a fjord, which is an inlet of the sea, as opposed to a river, which empties water into the sea. But how can a tributary of the St Lawrence river be an inlet of the sea?

The province of Quebec is thought to have 3% of the earth’s fresh water supply. (Today’s second  fact).

The river looks like a fjord, edged with rounded peaks about 300-400 feet high. They are covered with evergreen trees, interspersed with a smaller number of deciduous trees which are showing deep orange or red as they move into Autumn (Fall). The trees seem to be growing directly out of the grey rock.  Low cloud drifts in ribbons across the lower slopes.

There are few signs of habitation but at one point the river (?) widens and there is a small cluster of buildings, including a small church with characteristic grey stone and spire. At a narrow point, a statue of Notre Dame de Saguenay can be seen high up on the rocks. Silver Whisper played ‘Ave Maria’ and the ship did a complete circle so those on board viewing from their balcony could have a view of the statue.

Saguenay is situated at a wide point, where the land becomes flatter. This port surpassed expectations. There was nothing spectacular to see but it was clean and pleasant, with a promenade along the water front. And then there was the welcome. A troupe of amateur performers were dressed in a surprising array of costumes. Mostly early settlers, with a priest in a white cassock (ruining the effect with a mobile phone pressed to his ear) and a man in a dark suit and a bowler who looked like a Funeral Director. And a woman in a crinoline with a man in a striped suit. And an extremely politically incorrect Native North American in full battle dress (The actor did not appear to be a native North American). And there was blueberry juice and blueberry pie and a wood cutting demonstration. They played music, which mostly sounded Celtic, overlayed with  some jazz. The Dancing looked Celtic, which is not surprising, given their Irish and Scottish ancestry.  But the area is mostly Fench-speaking.

Saguenay won a prize for ‘most welcoming cruise point’. This was the first visit by a Silversea ship.

The weather is beautiful, clear blue sky, with the morning chill giving way to an afternoon high of about 23C.

The big disappointment of the day is that TSH and Diva see not a single whale, in spite of close scrutiny of many dark patches and seemingly unusual currents. There were reputed to be one or two at one time but no sighting was made. Later update: A large white shape could have been a Beluga. Vast numbers of Canada geese seen.