Went into Charlottetown early to see the “tall ships” as they are referred to – these are all sailing ships with masts and sails. There were 12 to 13 tall ships, a Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker and a HMCS naval ship. It was drizzling a little in the morning when we went to the ships so we stopped in at a local restaurant and had breakfast.
After breakfast we made our way over to the ships and stopped by the kiosk for the “Hippo” amphibious tour we always like to take where ever we go if they are available. The “Hippo” gave us a tour of all the landmarks in Charlottetown along with an exuberant narrative of all the history. In the process we went down a very narrow street and ripped the side mirror clean off of a BMW.
There was a slight delay in the tour while the driver of the Hippo and the BMW owner “calmly” worked our the details. Tour continued. We soon drove into the water and sailed alongside all the “tall ships” which was really cool – I took a video of it but it is two and eight seconds long and I don’t know if I can compress it down small enough for the blog.
After the Hippo tour we made our way over to the tall ships and I made friends with a potato – moments after this picture was taken I backed up and tripped over a big piece of iron on the sidewalk. Fortunately I fell straight back and the only injury was a cut on the tip of my index finger which bled profusely making it look worse than it was – but it did attract a lot of attention from pedestrians. A little hydrogen peroxide and a bandage from a nearby first aid station and I was as good as new.
At the tall ship I had to check my backpack so there were no suspicious packages in the area. We passed through the gate and immediately set upon by a band of 7 pirates. We posed together for several photos and they were a nice group of guys who put on a good show.
We later ran into them at the restaurant where we decided to have lunch and there was a long line and the manager would not let them go to the head of the line – having little time to spare before returning to work they decided to go somewhere else. None of the 20 or so groups waiting for a table was going to allow that to happen so everyone raised their voice in protest and told the manager that they could and should be bumped right to the head of the line. The manager did just that and they were seated almost immediately. Throughout their lunch they were approached by many children who wanted to have their picture taken with them and they accommodated every wish. I had a conversation with them as we left and told them how great they were and they would be featured in our blog. They wanted the blog address and have already registered a comment.
Then we toured the Peruvian ship and the US Coast Guard ship. The Peruvian ship was the most impressive sailing ship I think I’ve ever seen. It was huge – it is the largest of it’s type and class in Latin American and is a training vessel for navy cadets. It is 379 feet long and has over 36,000 square feet of canvas sail when fully deployed. The crew numbers 243. I asked how much rope was used and they had no idea and wouldn’t even make a guess. The US Coast Guard ship has a crew of 150 cadets and 50 navy seamen. The Cadets basically operate the ship for 6 months with instruction from the navy crew but the cadets are 100% accountable and responsible for their duties. Men and women serve equally on board doing similar jobs and working side by side.
After walking through two of the tall ships we walked over to Victoria Park to take in the festivities – it was a longer walk than we anticipated – we did hear the last two numbers from the band on stage and we thought they were really good but the walk was not worth it. Everyone was going all out for Canada Day – flags and banners everywhere and 12 out of every 10 people were wearing some sort of clothing with Canadian emblems, children had face paint, older people had flags stuck in their hair and a storm trooper from the dark side side even got into the spirit.
After a long walk back to the car we decided to head back to New Glasgow and the into North Rustico where all the fishing boats (about 25 boats altogether) are docked – each captain had decorated his boat for Canada day and they were going to parade their boats around the harbor and a panel would select the best decorated boat. I started at one end of the wharf and asked each captain if they had room for two more passengers and finally found one that did. We got to ride around the harbor for free and the captain kept handing out beer the whole time – if you weren’t finished the last one he’d tell you to hurry up as we didn’t have all day to drink everything he brought on board. It was a fun ride as with the Canada Day festivities and celebrations along with ample beer it was a good time.
We were both beat by the end of the day but went to a local restaurant and shared a plate of scallops. PRC
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We woke early and drove into Charlottetown which is about thirty minutes from our RV site, near North Rustico. Charlottetown is the capitol of Prince Edward Island. It also has important historical significance as the talks began here to unify the provinces into the country of Canada. We went early as we knew it would be crowded and wanted to make sure to find a parking space. Once we secured a parking space we had breakfast in a little café.
We planned to see the tall ships that were in harbor but ended up first taking a tour with the amphibious bus that tours the city and the harbor. We learned that Prince Edward Island is the smallest of Canada’s provinces with a population of 150,000. A significant number of folks are of Irish and Scottish ancestry, including our guide. The population of the province has decreased quite a bit. Consequently PEI has recruited from students from several Asian countries to increase the population. This is the reason for a number of Asians of college age.
Then we toured the tall ships. There were a number in harbor including ones from Peru, UK, Finland, Holland and the US. The two largest were the Peruvian and American ships. By far the Peruvian ship was the largest and most impressive.
There was also a pirate ship in port. (Peter made some new friends as you can see by the pic.) We went to lunch for lobster bisque and there was a long line. The pirates were on a short lunch break so all the people waiting in line, including us let them go ahead. See, I told you Canadians are just so nice, even to pirates.
I thought that poutine was the most Canadian dish ever, but I was mistaken. There are dessert shops called Beavertails that sell scrumptious treats. (The beaver, not moose, is Canada’s official animal). Someone told us that you’re not Canadian unless you like beavertails. And, all this time I thought it was poutine which I tired of quickly. This is a challenge I could not ignore. So, Peter and I split a brown sugar and apple beavertail. They come in several different flavors. I did see a t-shirt yesterday that said “Sex, drugs and lobster rolls.” (No comment)
Fortified, we decided to walk to Victoria Park where there were more festivities. The park had the atmosphere of the state fair with lots of booths and kiddie rides. We did enjoy the entertainment though. It started to rain and we walked back to our car.
We headed back “home” which is near the fishing village of North Rustico where there were more activities going on including local entertainment and food booths. The entire town must have been there. We were there to see the boat parade and maybe the fire works. Little did I know that we would be part of the parade. Peter talked to one of the fishing boat captains and we ended up as part of the crew. A few local people and tourists joined us. The captain had an ice chest of pop and beer for his passengers. Remember, these Canadians are friendly. The best part of the boat ride was meeting and talking to some of the young people on board. This included a sweet, friendly couple, both 17 years old. They wanted to know all about AZ. Was it in the middle of the US? And of course what about the scorpions and rattlesnakes? We also got to hang out with a group of (east) Indian Canadians. They were a lot of fun.
The day wasn’t over yet (although my back had just about had it.) We walked across the street to have a light dinner which was salad and seared scallops which we split.
We opted out of watching the fireworks as were beat after a long exciting day. Tomorrow we will take it easy and do laundry. We also have some mackerel to grill. JY
Canadian Maritime Provinces 