Tag Archives: Canada

By Corey Sandler

Through the many entries in this blog, you can read about the great harbor of Halifax, and about the terrible explosion during World War I that killed and injured thousands. Today Halifax is booming in a good way, with waterfront condominiums and office towers and its cruise port is sometimes home to four or five ships at a time.

Halifax remains one of our favorite places to wander. A block or two in from the harbor shows the trading heart of the port and up on the hill is the old British Citadel. There’s also the lively student-city-within-a-city of Dalhousie University, and nearby to that the lovely old-fashioned Public Gardens, now shifted to fall colors.

And an easy drive across the island province of Nova Scotia brings you to the beauty and wonder of the Bay of Fundy, home to some of the highest tidal variations in the world.

Variety is a good thing.

Today the schooner Bluenose II was in port. The original Bluenose was launched on 1921 as a coastal fishing vessel and quickly became an unofficial symbol of the Canadian Maritimes. It foundered in 1946, but a replica took to the seas in 1963 and today serves as a grand ambassador of the region and indeed, the nation. I carry a portrait of her in my pocket… on the front of the Canadian dime.

**The Public Gardens, near Dalhousie University**

**Decorations on the facade of the handsome Bank of Nova Scotia**

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23 September 2019:
Louisbourg, Nova Scotia:
The Failed French Bastion

September 23, 2019 Corey Sandler

By Corey Sandler

Louisbourg is about 20 miles southeast of Sydney, on what was once a particularly lonely piece of coastline in Nova Scotia.

The times we have visited—even in summer—it has often been shrouded in fog and mist, sometimes nearly wintry. Today was reasonably temperate, but very windy; we were lucky to be able to anchor the ship and get ashore.

Here’s our ship at anchor:

*Silver Wind* seen from Fortress Louisbourg today

The principal attraction here is the Fortress of Louisbourg, a partial reconstruction of the 18th century fortress. The French named the port Havre Louisbourg after King Louis XIV. And the Fortress of Louisbourg was made the capital of the colony of Ile-Royale.

The location on the southernmost point of the Atlantic coast of Cape Breton Island was chosen because it was easy to defend against British ships attempting to attack Quebec City. The fort was also built to protect France’s hold on one of the richest fishing grounds in the world, the Grand Banks.

South of the fort, a reef provided a natural barrier, while a large island provided a good location for a battery. These defenses forced attacking ships to enter the harbor via a five hundred foot channel.

It was given the nicknames ‘Gibraltar of the North’ or the ‘Dunkirk of America.’

The original fortress, constructed between 1720 and 1740, was one of the most extensive (and expensive) European fortifications in North America.

The expense was so great that King Louis XV was said to have joked that he should be able to see the buildings from his Palace in Versailles.

Louisbourg was a large enough city to have a commercial district, a residential district, military arenas, marketplaces, inns, taverns and suburbs, as well as skilled laborers to fill all of these establishments.

For the French, it was the second most important stronghold and commercial city in New France, behind only Quebec City. In 1719, the fort was home to 823 people. The population would eventually reach more than four thousand.

The fort was surrounded by two and a half miles of wall. On the western side of the fort, the walls were thirty feet high, and thirty-six feet across. On the eastern side of the fort, fifteen guns pointed out to the harbor.

That said, it had a fatal flaw: its design was based on protecting against assaults from the sea. The back door, the defenses facing toward the land were relatively weak. And that, of course, was where the principal attack occurred.

The British would go on to advance into the Saint Lawrence River valley to take Quebec City and displace the French from New France.

The British ended up destroying the fortress and it lay in ruins for two centuries. In the 1960s, the Nova Scotia and Canadian governments helped pay for a massive reconstruction based on the original plans, creating a tourist attraction and providing much-needed jobs for unemployed coal and steel workers in the region.

Today dozens of locals work as interpreters.

Other Visits to the Fortress

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22 September 2019:
Les Îles-de-La-Madeleine:
A Small World of Its Own

September 22, 2019 Corey Sandler

By Corey Sandler

Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine are an offshore part of the French Canadian province of Quebec.

The small archipelago, with a total land area of about 79 square miles or 206 square kilometers, includes eight major islands: Amherst, Grande Entrée, Grindstone, Grosse-Île, House Harbour, Pointe-Aux-Loups, Entry Island and Brion. All except Brion are inhabited.

The total population of Madelinot, as they call themselves, is about 13,000.

The islands today are primarily French-speaking, although they include some of Quebec’s oldest English-speaking settlements in places like Old Harry, Grosse-Ile, and Entry Island.

Most place names have a French and English version. Cap-aux-Meules or Grindstone. Île d’Entrée or Entry Island.

The first to visit and inhabit the islands were Basque fishermen in the 1600s. By 1765, the islands were inhabited by 22 French-speaking Acadians and their families, who were hunting walrus and working for a British trader. There were also Portuguese, Basque, and British.

Today, many Madelinots fly the Acadian flag and identify as both Acadian and Québécois.

The islands—though they sit in a very prominent place at the outer reaches of the Saint Lawrence—were never a hotly contested territory between the French and British, or the British and the Americans. They were just too small, and too difficult to sustain and defend.

Local lore says that some of the population are descendants of survivors of perhaps 500 to 1,000 shipwrecks on and around the islands, most of them occurring in the 18th and 19th centuries.

The Church of Saint Pierre in La Vernière, built in 1876, is by some accountings the second largest wooden church in North America. (The largest is not all that far away, Saint-Marie Church in Nova Scotia.)

Saint Pierre was built mostly out of wood salvaged from shipwrecks—specially blessed before being recycled, which apparently did not prevent it from being struck numerous times by lightning.

One modern small industry is a glass-blowing workshop, La Méduse, which as its name suggests in French, specializes in glass representations of jellyfish.

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21 September 2019:
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island:
Anne of Green Loonies

September 21, 2019 Corey Sandler

By Corey Sandler

In some of the most unlikely places, Charlottetown on Prince Edward Island is not known for Queen Charlotte, not remembered for the Charlottetown Conference of 1864 that led the way to Canadian Confederation, and not thought of at all for almost anything else…

except for the work of a relatively minor author named Lucy Maud Montgomery.

To be precise, it is not the author but one particular character from her books who has come to represent this island. Lucy Maud Montgomery became famous with a series of novels that began in 1908 with “Anne of Green Gables.”

You sometimes have to remind people that Anne was a fictional character. She is everywhere.

Charlottetown is the capital of Canada’s least-populated province, Prince Edward Island.

And who was Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz? She was consort of King George III, Queen of Queen of Great Britain and Queen of Ireland from her wedding in 1761 until the union of the two kingdoms in 1801, after which she was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until her death in 1818.

Almost overlooked by some visitors to Anne-world is the role Charlottetown played in the establishment of the Confederation of Canada. That real event is commemorated with statues, plaques, and historic buildings all through town.

More Scenes of P.E.I.

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19 September 2019:
Tadoussac, Quebec:
So Near Yet So Far

September 19, 2019 Corey Sandler

By Corey Sandler

The small village of Tadoussac, Quebec is passed by thousands of times each year by freighters and cruise ships heading to or from Quebec City and Montreal, and also by cruise ships that leave the Saint Lawrence for a sidetrip up the Saguenay River.

Not all that many ships actually pull over to visit; the locals are happy to see us.

Tadoussac was first visited by Europeans in 1535 when Jacques Cartier stopped here on his second voyage. He reported that the Innu people were using the place as a base for seal hunting.

Later that same century, Basques conducted whaling expeditions from here, with the French taking over as the colony grew.

Sitting on the east side of the Saguenay River meant that there was no road or rail crossing to connect Tadoussac to Quebec City and Montreal; the only bridges were hours further up the river to the north. Today a ferry shuttles back and forth across the mouth of the river.

Tadoussac became a tourist destination more 150 years ago, and that continues to this day. The first version of the grand Hotel Tadoussac was built in the mid-19th century, and the slightly younger replacement remains popular.

There are several federal and provincial natural parks and preserves in the mostly untouched wilderness to the north.

When the cold, fresh water of the Saguenay meets the relatively warm, salty water of the Saint Lawrence the result is a rich marine environment, including an abundance of krill, tiny crustaceans near the very bottom of the aquatic food chain, among the species with the largest total biomass on the planet.

That makes the area very attractive as a breeding ground for Beluga whales, and we usually see some near the mouth of the Saguenay at the Saint Lawrence. Belugas give off high-pitched whistles or chirps. Early sailors and hunters gave them the nickname sea canaries.

Mature beluga whales are near-white, which helps them blend in with what is left of the pack ice in the Arctic where they spend much of their time.

**The beautiful North Coast near Tadoussac**

Other whales attracted to the region include larger humpbacks, finbacks, minke, and even the occasional giant blue which can reach 30 meters or 99 feet in length. That’s enough to stop traffic; we can hope.

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18 September 2019:
Quebec, City:
Outward Bound

September 18, 2019 Corey Sandler

By Corey Sandler

We were here in Quebec Citycame just a few days ago, on our way to the navigable end of the Saint Lawrence River for most ships, the large city of Montreal.

Montreal is a very cosmopolitan city on the river, with its back up against the notable hill known as Mount Royal (as in Montreal.) Today it is about half Francophone, and the other half a rich stew of English and Asian and European languages.

On the other hand. Quebec City is a decidedly French city, the cultural and political heart of French Canada.

**Sea smoke, the early morning fog on the Saint Lawrence River**

**In a reflective mood, in Quebec City’s old town**

**One of the chambers of the Quebec Parliament**

The historical core of the city is the lower town along the river.

Up above, reachable by some serious steps or by a hillside funicular (more like a slanted elevator), is the grand upper town. It is the site of the Chateau Frontenac, the Quebec Parliament, and what seems like more fine restaurants than there are residents of the city.

You can read more about Quebec City by clicking on that tag at the bottom of this blog.

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17 September 2019:
Montreal to New York:
Quebec and New England and New York

September 17, 2019 Corey Sandler

By Corey Sandler

We have arrived at the end of our cruise from Iceland, reaching the glorious cosmopolitan city of Montreal, one of the most diverse and vibrant places on the planet.

Under a spectacular blue sky, we went for a hike up The Main, Boulevard Saint-Laurent. Here are some of the sights of today:

Street Murals of Montreal

The singer-songwriter Cheryl Wheeler has a lovely song called “When Fall Comes to New England.” It is a piece of musical poetry about the spectacular colors and atmosphere of this part of the world in autumn,

**Homage to Montreal’s secular saint, Leonard Cohen**

She sings:

The nights are sharp with starlight
And the days are cool and clean
And in the blue sky overhead
The northern geese fly south instead
And leaves are Irish Setter red

Irish Setter red…

It is next-to-impossible to predict when the leaves will turn from green to red and yellow, or when the first frost will add icing to the fields. But we can hope.

This part of the world is where we live when we are not aboard ship, and we are very partial to this place and this time of year.

This cruise begins in Montreal, and then we are due to stop in Quebec City and Tadoussac on the Saint Lawrence River before beginning to head down the coast.

We will call at Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island and then nip into Les Iles-de-la-Madeleine, the Magdalen Islands. This isolated archipelago is not quite French, not quite Anglophone, still holding on to some of its Acadian and colonial past.

From there we head over to Nova Scotia for calls at Louisbourg, the site of a massive French fortification that failed to prevent the British advance into Canada. And then to the big city of Halifax on that island.

Entering into New England proper, we are due to visit Bar Harbor, Maine and then make an appearance in Salem, Massachusetts which does not often receive cruise ships.

Our ship is due to sail into Cape Cod Bay and then transit the Cape Cod Canal to make a call at Oak Bluffs on the resort island of Martha’s Vineyard.

And then at the end of the cruise, an early morning all hands on deck sail-in to New York City.

Here’s our plan:

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15-16 September 2019:
Quebec City:
In the Shadow of the Chateau

September 15, 2019 Corey Sandler

By Corey Sandler

We arrived this morning for a two-day visit to beautiful Quebec City, the penultimate port of call on this cruise. On Tuesday we will complete our trip from Iceland with a call at Montreal.

The Chateau

**Chateau Frontenac on a previous visit**

There are few more attractive and enjoyable port towns than Quebec City. The food aboard ship is marvelous, but the lure of the bistrot and cafés is almost irresistible.

So, too, just the joy of time travel in the lower city, which is the oldest part of Quebec as well as strolls through the more ornate upper town which is dominated by the Chateau Frontenac, one of the iconic hotels of the world.

You can read more and see other photos from our many visits to Quebec City by clicking on the tag at the bottom of this blog entry.

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14 September 2019:
Saguenay, Quebec:
Up the Fjord and Back in Time

September 14, 2019 Corey Sandler

By Corey Sandler

The Saguenay River and the small town of La Baie a few hours sailing up the Saguenay River from the Saint Lawrence is one of the great daytime voyages of the world, in the company of the Norwegian, Chilean, and Alaskan fjords.

Along the way–sometimes accompanied by beluga whales and other sea creatures–we pass abeam of Notre Dame du Saguenay, a statue of the Virgin Mary erected in 1881 by a traveling salesman who fell through the ice one winter and credited his survival to divine assistance.

**Notre Dame du Saguenay. Photo by Corey Sandler**

Cruise ships have come up the river to see the foliage and the statue for all the time since, and in recent decades the little town of La Baie has become a port of call for a small number of cruise ships each year. What sometimes seems like the entire town comes out to greet guests and escort them to the parks and trails and other enticements.

We reached the town of La Baie at lunchtime, and I went with a group of guests for a return visit to one of the most spectacular pageants anywhere: La Fabuleuese Histoire d’un Royaume, the Fabulous Story of a Kingdom.

More than a hundred local residents plus horses, cattle, a goat, a pig, and a gaggle of trained geese appeared on stage. Few shows on Broadwsy or the West End can match this production for its showmanship.

Here are a few scenes:

You can read more about previous visits to La Baie and the Saguenay fjord by clicking on the tags at the bottom of this blog post.

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13 September 2019:
Sept-Îles, Quebec:
Islands in the Stream

September 13, 2019 Corey Sandler

By Corey Sandler

The Gulf of Saint Lawrence is considered the largest estuary in the world;

An estuary is a tidal inlet, a partially enclosed body of water that is influenced by rivers flowing into it as well as the open ocean.

The Saint Lawrence estuary begins at the eastern tip of Île d’Orléans, just downstream from Quebec City, the highest reach of ocean tides on the river.

At Sept-Iles, the river is considered to meet the Atlantic Ocean.

The town, now greatly dependent on natural resources and tourism, is the meeting point of French and Innu cultures.

The city of Sept-Îles extends along a natural bay whose entrance is protected by a natural rampart of seven islands: Grande Basque, Petite Basque, Corossol, Petite Boule, Grosse Boule, Manowin, and De Quen.

I went out today by inflatable Zodiac boat to visit a mussel farm on Grosse Boule. It was an exhilarating trip, briefly interrupted by sightings of two whales in the river.

Here is some of what we saw on the island today:

**Grosse Boule island. Photos by Corey Sandler, all rights reserved**

The scenery on the river is attractive, and there are many excursions for tourists. But Sept-Îles is primarily an industrial town; about 25,000 people live in the city, many of them directly or indirectly employed by the iron ore shipping or aluminum smelting industry.

Extraction of iron ore began in 1954 at a mine in Schefferville, more than 250 long and lonely miles to the north. The Schefferville mine closed in 1982, although new technologies and increased demand may result in a reopening.

Today most of the iron ore comes from Labrador City in far-western Labrador on the border with Quebec.

There are few roads into the wilderness; the ore is transported to Sept-Îles on the privately owned Quebec North Shore and Labrador Railway, loaded on ships and sent to processors around the world. The iron company is primarily owned by Rio Tinto.

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12 September 2019:
Havre St-Pierre, Quebec:
River Town

September 12, 2019 Corey Sandler

By Corey Sandler

Havre St-Pierre is in Quebec, which is the largest province of Canada on the mainland of the world’s second-largest nation.

Havre-St-Pierre is a big place, too. It sprawls across 3,900 square kilometers or 1,504 square miles, about the same size as the greater metropolitan area of Montreal.

But only about 3,500 people live in the municipality of Havre-St-Pierre, which works out to about 3 per square mile. Montreal, which lays ahead of us, has more than 4 million residents.

Today the port is in heavy use as a shipping port for iron and titanium ore.

Fishing concentrates on snow crab, scallops, and lobster in the Gulf, and salmon and trout in the freshwater rivers and lakes.

In 1857, the first European settlers were mostly French Acadians who came across from Les Isles de Madeleine, the Magdalen Islands.

Since 1948, the Quebec Iron and Titanium Company, owned by the Anglo-Australian company Rio Tinto Group, has mined deposits of ilmenite, a mineral composed of iron and titanium, at a site about 40 kilometers or 25 miles north.

Their railroad, the Chemin de fer de la Rivière Romaine, brings the ore to the port, where it is loaded aboard bulk carriers and shipped upriver to Sorel-Tracy near Montreal.

Titanium is used to make white pigments, and alloyed with iron, aluminium, vanadium, and molybdenum or other elements to produce strong, lightweight metals for aerospace, military, industrial, and medical products. It is also used in jewelry in pure form or as an alloy with gold.

The other form of mining in Havre St-Pierre is aimed at the wallets of tourists. A bit west up the river is the amazing natural phenomena of the Mingan Archipelago, the largest group of erosional monoliths in Canada, limestone monoliths formed over thousands of years by wave action, strong winds, and seasonal freezing and thawing.

I went with guests by boat today to Le Petite Íle au Marteau (Little Hammer Island) to see some of the monoliths and the old lighthouse that faces out into the wide mouth of the Saint Lawrence.

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1 November 2018:
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada:
Banking on Beauty

November 1, 2018 Corey Sandler

By Corey Sandler

I’ve been in Halifax dozens of times, and greatly enjoy the mix of architecture: old wooden wharves and ship’s chandlers along the water, solid stone offices and banks in the commercial center, and modern glass cubes that mirror the view all around.

Today I set out on a photo expedition that led me into a 1930s wonder, hidden in plain sight.

The Bank of Nova Scotia, on Hollis Street, is easy to pass if you are distracted by the impressive Province House and the Citadel above.

But today, as I turned the corner, I stopped to admire its design: many old banks were designed with a salute to the local economy and to project the solidity of the financial institution within. That is very much the case here.

Built in 1930, it is very much a classical design inside and out, with some subtle–financially conservative–flourishes of Art Nouveau.

The building is surrounded by a cornice with medallions of old French, English, Canadian, and Nova Scotian coins. Other decorations include seagulls, Canadian geese, bear, silver fox, codfish, and beaver.

When I finished taking photos outside, I opened the massive doors to the bank, fully expecting to be body-slammed by a security guard; instead I was welcomed within.

The main banking hall has a 33-foot (10-meter) ceiling, with some handsome metallic lighting pendants.

And then I turned around to look above the main doors of the bank and saw a handsome mosaic that depicta the arrival of the Cunard steamship Brittania on her maiden voyage. Samuel Cunard, founder of the shipping company that still bears his name, was born in Halifax. His parents were Loyalists who fled north after the upstart Americans declared rebellion.

The Brittania was launched in 1840, one of four ocean liners in the first years of the company: Brittania, Acadia, Caledonia, and Columbia.

Charles Dickens crossed the pond on Brittania to Boston in 1842, and did not much enjoy the voyage. He wrote about it in his book, “American Notes.”

Elsewhere in town I stopped to photograph the old schooner Silva, and a collection of wooden pulleys and equipment nearby.

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30-31 October 2018:
Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada:
Northeastern Pumpkin Time

October 31, 2018 Corey Sandler

By Corey Sandler

It has been a stormy few days in Canada, and our plans to visit Saguenay Fjord were blocked by bad weather in the watery canyon,

and then our planned call at Baie-Comeau on the Saint Lawrence River were actually blown away by high winds that damaged the dock.

Instead, we had an extra day in Quebec City, and after an unplanned day at sea an extra afternoon in Sydney, on the island of Cape Breton in Nova Scotia.

The fall colors were somewhat dimmed by the storms, but I still found much to point my camera at:

The Pier at Sydney, Nova Scotia, in the land of the Ceildh or Celtic Barn Dance.

A glorious tree…

and the same scene with a bit of photo magic: a virtual oil painting.

I went with guests to the Eskasoni reserve, home to several thousand Miq’Maq indigenous people. They work hard to keep alive their language (part of the Algonquian group) and their culture.

Roasting bannock (a native bread) on an open fire.

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27-28 October 2018:
Quebec City, Quebec, Canada:
Discovered

October 27, 2018 Corey Sandler

By Corey Sandler

It is cold and windy here in Quebec City, which should not be a surprise as November approaches. I went for a long walk in the city, up and down the Terasse Dufferin along the river, and into the neighboring suburb of Faubourg. Here is some of what I saw:

The high winds have caused a change in our itinerary. We are forced to skip our journey into Saguenay Fjord tomorrow and will instead overnight here.

In my destination lectures for guests aboard ship, I I usually introduce Quebec City like this:

There are two types of people in the world. Those who love Quebec, and those who have not yet been there.

We have been lucky enough to have been here many times and love it still. Just last week we had the opportunity to remain at our dock until late in the night and watch the sun set and the lights go on at the spectacular Chateau Frontenac in the upper town of Quebec City.

The Chateau was built as a grand hotel hotel by a railroad company in the 19th century and has been lovingly maintained and restored. It is in many ways the symbol of Quebec.

On a cold night on the Saint Lawrence here is some of what I saw:

A few days ago I journeyed with guests to Mount Sainte-Anne for a hike in a beautiful hidden canyon. It was the last day of operation for the season: winter is coming.

From there we crossed the Saint Lawrence to Ile D’Orleans to visit a winery that specializes in vines that can withstand the extreme cold. In addition to traditional wines they also harvest ice wine, which can only be crushed at below freezing temperatures.

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26 October 2018:
Montreal, Quebec, Canada:
Turnaround

October 26, 2018 Corey Sandler

By Corey Sandler

We’re back in the great cosmopolitan city of Montreal, a city that on its face is very French.

But it is truly Quebec’s melting pot.

In the most recent census, Francophones were estimated as 49.8 percent of the population, followed by English at 22.8 percent. And the rest? Just about every language, ethnic group, race, and heritage cheek-to-jowl.

The diversity brings a wonderful vibrance to the culture: music, theater, and food.

Here in the province of Quebec, we have learned the local definition of autumn: it means winter is coming soon. Temperatures are already below freezing by night and just barely above by day. But few places are as vibrant this time of the year.

For those guests leaving us here, safe travels. And welcome aboard to new friends.

We are set to make one more journey eastbound on the Saint Lawrence River and then down the northeast coast of Canada and the United States and once more into New York harbor.

Here’s our plan:

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Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession: The Tragic Legacy of the New World’s Least Understood Explorer (Kindle Edition)

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25 October 2018:
Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada:
Midway

October 25, 2018 Corey Sandler

By Corey Sandler

We are back in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, a less-visited town midway between Quebec City and Montreal. You can read more about this place in my blog posting of October 5.

In the three weeks since our last visit the temperature has fallen sharply: about 32 Fahrenheit or 0 Celsius this morning.

In town city workers are installing 4-foot-high poles along the side of streets: when snow begins to fall soon, this week help the snowplow find the curb.

When the poles are completely buried, it is time to hibernate.

I took this photo out in the country, the last glow of fall colors for this season:

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Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession: The Tragic Legacy of the New World’s Least Understood Explorer (Kindle Edition)

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24 October 2018:
Québec City, Quebec, Canada:
Below the Chateau

October 24, 2018 Corey Sandler

By Corey Sandler

In Atlantic Canada and much of the Northeast, it sometimes feels as if winter arrives with the turn of a switch.

We arrived this morning in Quebec City to find temperatures at the freezing mark with a forecast of snow this afternoon. For some of us this is merely ordinary, but for those who live in warmer climes it can be a bit of a shock.

I went out for a walk in the morning to capture the scenes of the season, including some of the remaining colors in the trees as well as decorations for Halloween. Strolling around the Old Town at nearly every intersection we could see of you of the famed Chateau Frontenac.

Here is some of what I saw:

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Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession: The Tragic Legacy of the New World’s Least Understood Explorer (Kindle Edition)

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23 October 2018:
Saguenay, Quebec, Canada:
Autumn in the Fjord

October 23, 2018 Corey Sandler

By Corey Sandler

We have returned to Saguenay, a pretty little town at the navigable end of a spectacular large fjord.

About 7:30 this morning we turned to starboard and entered into Saguenay Fjord.

As is often the case we were saluted by the spouts of many whales who feed and breed at the confluence of the St. Lawrence River and the Saguenay.

About 10 in the morning we passed abeam of Notre-Dame-du-Saguenay, the famed 19th century statue of the Virgin Mary that is atop one of the ridges of the Fjord. I have discussed Notre Dame in previous blog entries about Saguenay.

Here in the town, we were greeted with a superb autumn day. A strong sun more than made up for the chill in the air.

On the pier we were met by local performers, some of whom participate in a summertime theatrical presentation about the region.

We also went for a walk to Saint Alphonse Church, a place beautifully framed by the autumn leaves and decorated within both with the icons of the Catholic Church as well as the symbols of Halloween.

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If you would like to purchase an autographed copy, please see the tab on this page, “HOW TO ORDER A PHOTO OR AUTOGRAPHED BOOK”

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Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession: The Tragic Legacy of the New World’s Least Understood Explorer (Kindle Edition)

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

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21 October 2018:
Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada:
Peeking at Colors

October 21, 2018 Corey Sandler

By Corey Sandler

The colors of autumn are spectacular, but fragile. They appear when the temperature and water levels are just so, and can begin to fade or blow away with the arrival of storms.

We are once again in Sydney, Nova Scotia on Cape Breton and this sleepy town is beginning to lose its brightest colors.

But a glistening sheen from light rain and a few tricks of the photographer (me) cast a different light on them.

Here is some of what I saw today:

I found a spectacular red tree:

And the same tree treated as if it were an oil painting:

And a scene in Wentworth park, solarized for art’s sake:

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If you would like to purchase an autographed copy, please see the tab on this page, “HOW TO ORDER A PHOTO OR AUTOGRAPHED BOOK”

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Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession: The Tragic Legacy of the New World’s Least Understood Explorer (Kindle Edition)

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

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20 October 2018:
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada:
Shades of Gray

October 20, 2018 Corey Sandler

By Corey Sandler

We are back in Halifax, a handsome port that glows in the sun. Today we are in the cold rain of autumn. Just like its history: today Halifax is written in shades of gray.

In September 1943, during the dark days of World War II, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill came across the Atlantic for a conference of the Allies in Quebec.

He then made a visit to Hyde Park, New York to see American President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

From there he came to Halifax.

Halifax was the most important gathering place on this side of the pond for the Atlantic convoys bringing food, supplies, and men to Britain and later to Russia.

Meeting the town mayor Churchill was said to have declared, “now, sir, we know your town is more than a shed on the pier.”

Despite the security risks, he insisted on taking his morning constitutional, something that is commemorated by an evocative statue in the Spring Garden area near Dalhousie University.

From Halifax, he was met by the cruiser Renown, which brought him home. News of Churchill’s visit was kept secret for a week until he was safely back in London.

THE OTHER SIDE, ANOTHER TIME

The island of Nova Scotia’s tangled history includes Le Grand Derangement, the Great Disruption.

That occurred when the British expelled thousands of French Catholics from the region known as Acadia. It was a sad story, with little in the way of defense for the events.

On a recent visit to Halifax we drove west to the shores of the Bay of Fundy, and there we found one of the Canadian government’s remembrances of the events at a place called Grand Pre.

Today it is a peaceful and lovely spot:

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————-

If you would like to purchase an autographed copy, please see the tab on this page, “HOW TO ORDER A PHOTO OR AUTOGRAPHED BOOK”

Here’s where to order an electronic copy for immediate delivery:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IA9QTBM

Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession: The Tragic Legacy of the New World’s Least Understood Explorer (Kindle Edition)

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

Around the World with Corey Sandler

Tag Archives: Canada

24 September 2019:
Halifax, Nova Scotia:
The Great and Terrible Harbor

23 September 2019:
Louisbourg, Nova Scotia:
The Failed French Bastion

Other Visits to the Fortress

22 September 2019:
Les Îles-de-La-Madeleine:
A Small World of Its Own

21 September 2019:
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island:
Anne of Green Loonies

More Scenes of P.E.I.

19 September 2019:
Tadoussac, Quebec:
So Near Yet So Far

18 September 2019:
Quebec, City:
Outward Bound

17 September 2019:
Montreal to New York:
Quebec and New England and New York

Street Murals of Montreal

15-16 September 2019:
Quebec City:
In the Shadow of the Chateau

The Chateau

14 September 2019:
Saguenay, Quebec:
Up the Fjord and Back in Time

13 September 2019:
Sept-Îles, Quebec:
Islands in the Stream

12 September 2019:
Havre St-Pierre, Quebec:
River Town

1 November 2018:
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada:
Banking on Beauty

30-31 October 2018:
Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada:
Northeastern Pumpkin Time

27-28 October 2018:
Quebec City, Quebec, Canada:
Discovered

26 October 2018:
Montreal, Quebec, Canada:
Turnaround

25 October 2018:
Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada:
Midway

24 October 2018:
Québec City, Quebec, Canada:
Below the Chateau

23 October 2018:
Saguenay, Quebec, Canada:
Autumn in the Fjord

21 October 2018:
Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada:
Peeking at Colors

20 October 2018:
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada:
Shades of Gray

Cruise Photos and Stories by Corey Sandler