The Halifax Explosion

An explosion of new info, that is. I've been in the Fax for about a week now, and I've got tons of new stuff to write about. Despite a bit of rain, Julie's family have been busy, busy, busy showing me around the province. First things first, though, I had to shave half my beard to keep Julie from fussing.

Last Tuesday, we hit up Point Pleasant Park, on the very tip of the Halifax Peninsula. Just last week, it was declared that the water in the harbour was safe to swim in for the first time in 30 years. So of course, we had to try it out.

The park is really nice, despite extensive damage caused by Hurricane Juan 5 years ago. There's a few old forts and a cool seal/tree trunk sculpture, pictured below.

This past weekend was really busy. We went to Peggy's Cove, Lunnenberg, Grand Pre and Blomidon. Peggy's Cove is gorgeous, I guess there's a reason it's the most photographed lighthouse in the world.

There's a bunch of neat tidal pools around, and the waves crashing into the rocks around the lighthouse is a sight to behold.

The town itself is so quaint, I don't know how to describe it. I guess it's the essence of the maritimes.

While we were in the area, we had to stop by Paddy's road, and the Swiss Air Memorials. There are two memorials (below), which triangulate on the crash site of Swiss Air Flight 111, which crashed unexpectedly 10 years ago.

Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of Lunnenberg. Needless to say, it's one of those things you just have to see. The village is entirely Victorian, with those big old houses packed onto tiny old streets; it's something else.

Our next day consisted mainly of Grand Pre, an old Acadian settlement, and Blomidon, which is in the Bay of Fundy, with tides up to 15 meters high (the highest tides in the world). Just as an example, check out these boats, which can sail away only during high tide or with lots of effort.





Grand Pre is a neat little place, where you can learn the Acadian tragedy. There's some nice grounds, with a statue of Evangeline, a fictional character symbolizing the Acadian people. The Acadians won most of their farmland by building dykes out into the Bay of Fundy. They also wear Sabos and build windmills, leading Julie and I to believe that the Acadians were secretly Dutch.

While we were there, we also saw the rare yellow-billed white duck, now with affros.

Blomidon itself is a gorgeous spot, right on the edge of the Acadian valley. The red mud flats are totally covered during high tide, but when we went, the ocean was half a kilometer away. Julie was very happy to be reunited with her ocean roots.

That's all for now, take care folks.