Halifax is another Atlantic port in Nova Scotia, and is the province’s capital, largest city, and cultural hub. We were welcomed by a bustling waterfront as we arrived, so the first order of the day was to stroll along the four-kilometer Harbourwalk, which winds along the colourful wharf.
We started our walk from the “historic properties,” where three blocks-worth of warehouses and Victorian houses dating back to the 1700s have been restored and given a new life as modern-day bars and restaurants, upscale shops, and charming boutiques. We passed by the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, but did not have the time to go inside. We also saw booths where one can book boat tours and whale-watching excursions. The boardwalk ends at the Farmers’ Market and the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 1, then it was time for us to go back, for we booked an excursion for the afternoon.
We signed up for the historic city tour, which took us on a drive around the vibrant capital city. Stunning 18th and 19th-century buildings were interspersed with ultra-modern glass towers. Passing through downtown Halifax, we saw the Province House, referred to as “a gem of Georgian architecture” by Charles Dickens himself, who passed through here in the 1840s. We stopped at the Halifax Public Gardens where we took pictures by a pergola and fed the swans and Canada geese swimming in the pond dotted by fountains and small bridgeways.
The excursion also included a drive up to the Halifax Citadel National Historic Site, which is a majestic hilltop fortress built in 1828 and was considered the crown jewel among the most advanced British military fortifications of its day. Inside, we posed with costumed military guards, listened to some live bagpipe music, and watched a military exercise.
It was a particularly hot and humid day, so we unconsciously stayed in the air-conditioned gift shop longer than we were supposed to. By this, I mean that we totally lost track of time and forgot that we were supposed to make our way to our bus at a certain time.
As we were paying for our souvenir items, we heard some loud drumming, a musket shot, and a public announcement through a megaphone. Thinking that another military demo was about to start, we quickly ran outside to see what the commotion was about.
The 18th-century soldier stood straight and rolled down a piece of parchment paper to make a proclamation. He announced rather dramatically, “Bus # so and so is leaving in five minutes and the driver is waiting for missing passengers X and Y. Passengers X and Y, if you can hear this, please make your way to your bus immediately.” It took us two seconds to realize that it was our bus number being called out and that the names of “missing passengers X and Y” were ours. Oh my! That’s when we realized we were late. Where had time gone? We shouted a grateful “thank you” to the soldier and made ourselves disappear in the crowd. How embarrassing!
So off we ran to the parking lot as fast as we could, found our bus, and with heads down like puppies guilty of a naughty deed, we boarded the bus and apologized profusely to the driver and our fellow passengers. Most of the grandmas and grandpas were just laughing. One of them asked us how we liked the “special announcement,” to which we replied, “Loved it! It certainly got our attention and embarrassed us to pieces! But there were a handful of them who were also shaking their heads, rolling their eyes, clucking like mother hens, and muttering, “These young people!” Oh well!
The rest of the tour went without further delay and we even got a bonus. Our bus driver stopped in front of the Fairview Lawn Cemetery where several victims of the Titanic sinking are buried. One hundred twenty-one victims are interred there, more than any other cemetery in the world, since Halifax was the closest harbour to the site of the wreckage and a lot of bodies turned up on its shores. The driver mentioned that one of the graves in there is marked “J. Dawson” and following the release of the 1997 film which starred Leonardo di Caprio in the role of Jack Dawson, the grave gained fame and many film fans trooped there to leave flowers and ticket stubs.
To this day, there is still a stream of flowers being left by fans who were obviously moved by the story. However, according to filmmaker James Cameron, the character in his movie is fictional and not at all inspired by this grave. In fact, recent research has revealed that the grave actually belongs to Joseph Dawson, an Irishman who worked in the Titanic’s boiler room as a coal trimmer. Our bus driver just thought he’d let us know, even though this was not part of our tour. He said that if we wanted to go inside, we should register for the “Titanic Tour” which would also take us to the Titanic exhibit at the museum. Perhaps, he is a huge fan of the movie, that’s why he felt compelled to take us there.
I would have loved to see the Titanic exhibit (although a few months later, we went to see the one in Victoria, British Columbia). For some reason, the poignant story resonates with me, and looking at mementos from the ship brings me some comfort. My husband pointed out that it’s probably not a good idea to see an exhibit about a sunken ship while we were on a cruise that would take us sailing in the Atlantic Ocean. Good point!
However, I told him that I’d still love to go back to Halifax for this, as well as for the Haunted Halifax tour. Being a harbour city, Halifax certainly has a fascinating history of shipwrecks, ghost stories about hanged pirates and merchant seamen lost on the high seas, blood-thirsty privateers, and heroic sea adventures bedecked with tales of spurned lovers, ill-fated captains, and other maritime controversies. I would also love to go back for a trip to Peggy’s Cove, which we did not get to visit on this cruise.
Photo Credits:
Halifax Canada Train Vacations, CanadianImmigrant.com. Kate Horodyski (Culture Trip), CruiseHalifax.CA, Halifax Citadel Facebook page, your-nova-scotia-holiday.com, halifaxexaminer.ca
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