Land Ho! St. John's, New Foundland

Wednesday, September 26, 2012
St. John's, New Foundland, Canada

After four days at sea, (and it was no easy four days.  I think one of those days I spend a little sick) it was great to finally get onto dry land.  And this land happened to be Canada.

Time to let this thing rest.

The first thing I did was wake up and escort a tour.  Today we were going to signal hill, the spot where the first wireless transatlantic signal was received.  Then after that we were going to a geology museum (boring, so no pictures), and then back to the ship.

Funny thing about signal hill...

No signal on signal hill.

It is however, a great place to get a shot of St. John's.

 Click to enlarge panoramas.

Cannons are still placed guarding the entrance to "The Narrows."  Normally, I'd insert a joke about Canada's military prowess, but not tonight.  This is actually a really cool historical display that shows how well protected the bay was.  I'll talk more on the narrows later, and you'll see what I mean.

When the Titanic was sinking, the distress signal was first picked up here on signal hill by the little son of the man who was manning the station that day.  Though only a child, the son was dutiful and took down all the information, and delivered it to his father who then notified the authorities.

As a result, cruise ships leave the Titanic tourist attractions in Cobh, Ireland, only to be greeted by Titanic tourist attractions in St. John's.

More Titanic.

There was more than enough room for Leo to fit onto that crate.  I'm just saying.

Looking across the Narrows at the Lighthouse on the other side.

After Signal Hill, and the boring museum, we drove all the way around the Narrows to get a look at Signal Hill from the other side.  I know, that sounds kind of boring, but actually the reason we did this was to get a look at the Devil's Crack.

This cleft into the mountain is actually the entrance to a cave of unknown depth.  The Canadian government declared it unsafe to explore.  As if to only prove this point, there was a man recently who ignored the law and went in.

He's still in there.

Looking back up at Signal Hill.

Bird.

Took a break after the tour and walked around the city for about four or five hours.  It's actually a really cute little town.  It's very hilly though, so your jogs would be more like hikes.  There's nothing to do but hang out at all the local pubs and restaurants, and you know what, that's charming in a way.

Honestly, it may not have been much in the way of entertainment, but now that I look back on it, St. John's is a perfect place to go if you want to get away from everything and still be around people.

I would NOT want to be here in the winter though.  Oh, no!

Ice Cream!

Originally, we were scheduled to sail at six pm, but fortunately we got the good news that we would be staying overnight and departing in the morning.  Some crew members hopped on a bus and caught a movie in the mall one town over.  I stayed in St. John's because I liked it.

Here are a few pictures of the town early in the morning on the next day as we sailed out.

 I love the paint scheme of this city.  It was actually an incredibly brilliant marketing scheme by the local paint company.  They invented their own names for all of these colors and advertised them as the colors of St. John and the whole city took to painting itself this way.

Okay, so The Narrows.  In short, it's an incredibly gap between the two hills that mark the entrance into St. John's Bay (hey, that's a JC Penny's brand that I like!).  Because it's so narrow, ships have to be careful when going through.  Historically, it made the city incredibly easy to fortify.  The fortification of these cities is something I really got into while I was in Canada.  Just wait until I show you Quebec City!

In the mean time, here's my video of us sailing out of The Narrows!

Goodbye, Signal Hill.

Next Stop: Sydney, Australia-- er... Nova Scotia?