Saturday & Sunday, July 25 & 26
Ship ahoy! We arrived shipside, got our luggage checked in, then waited online for boarding. We met some very pleasant seniors on the line and the time went by very quickly. And yes%u226compared to a lot of the passengers, we are not seniors! Our room was just as we expected and our luggage came very quickly. I unpacked while Jack made for the Internet place to get us signed up. We received a call from Cindy & Phil, our new friends from Reno, and arranged to meet after the Drill. As usual, we waited for the fire to lick our toes before we headed for our Drill Station. We always do this so that we won%u219t be stuck at the back of the line, sweating to death! After chatting a while, the four of us decided to go for dinner in the Lido, where we ate and chatted some more. We were really tired (from chatting, I guess) and fell fast asleep. We over slept this morning and missed our Meet & Greet with the Cruise Critic people. Oh well, we%u219ll meet them later%u226we have 35 days! Jack has gone to a lecture by Prof Thomas Foggin who will talk about how the Vikings affected the landscape and
It is very foggy today, and the fog horn on the ship is going very often. We can only hope that anything large in front of us will be picked up on radar, and anything small won%u219t hurt us! The fog appears to be trying to lift, so maybe things will get better. We are at sea today and our oceanview is very close to the water! Our room is on the Iceberg Patrol level, so we will have to be diligent!
Monday & Tuesday, July 27 & 28
Port# 1 Iles de la Medeline, Canada
We were up bright and early to meet our new friends Cindy & Phil from Reno. After breakfast, we got our tender tickets and we were boarded on an early tender ashore. This was the first time HAL sailed into Iles de la Madeleine and also the biggest ship ever to arrive there, so we caused quite a stir arrival. Most of the people are French Canadians, however, their happiness for our being there was very evident! A local approached us immediately and asked to help us, then she pulled out her cell phone and called the car rental person I had dealt with. The car was just a few yards away so we were off in a flash! The weather was overcast and foggy, but no rain. We drove all over the connected islands and had a great time. There was really just one main road running between the islands and it is about 64 miles long. In the afternoon we returned the car and walked the main town a little. Jack ate clam chowder and Phil ate fresh lobster at a sidewalk caf? before we returned to the ship.
Port# 2 Bonne Bay, Newfoundland, Canada
We awoke to fog, rain and chillier weather, but off we went for the tender, raingear in hand. This is also a new port for HAL, and again the biggest ship to arrive here. It was so fun to see the locals lined up on the shore or stopping their cars on the roads. The locals all had their cameras clicking and flashes going to get pictures of this big event! The whole town was ready for us with music, greeters, singing, and street dancing! Everything was open. Locals were gathering groups of people for walks around town, and even through their homes! What a wonderful welcome. We had arranged to go by Water Taxi across the bay to Norris Point, where we walked a little then toured the Discovery Center, a part of the Canadian Educational system. Students from all over Canada, interested in Marine Biology, are able to spend the summer here for credit. They were charming, showing us all around the center and lifting sea critters out of tanks for us to hold or examine (Ugh!)
Wednesday, July 29th
Port# 3 Red Bay, Labrador, Canada
Icebergs today! The weather is still cloudy and chilly, but no rain! This Basque fishing village has a population of about 275 residents! We arrived with our 1260 passengers and 1000 crew! Another new port for HAL and again, the largest ship to every arrive here. They Government of Canada had to build tender docks in these small villages for arrival and again the people were thrilled to have us! The only road was blocked for us to walk and the school bus was put into service for use as a shuttle. We went to the two local centers where they housed artifacts of ship wrecks on their rocky shores. A few years ago, they discovered a Spanish ship, from the 1500's, that had sunk near the village. This area was a large Basque whaling center then. They had found a smaller whaling boat from the ship and it was on display. The ship itself has not been raised yet; they are waiting until a new form of preservation to be developed for raising such a large project!
Yes, there were some very large icebergs off shore. A staff person said that we passed very close to one at about 6:00am, but we were not up to see it! We missed them again when we left, as we were at dinner! I'm sure that we will see more!
