FORT CARLETON MARTELL TOWER, NEW BRUNSWICK

 

REVERSING FALLS

 

NEW BRUNSWICK

The last port of call was St. John, New Brunswick. (Not to be confused with St. John's in Newfoundland.) St. John is Canada's oldest incorporated city. High on a hill above the town is Carleton Martell Tower, an old stone fort, built for protection against possible American attacks during the War of 1812. The interior recreated the sleeping quarter of soldiers stationed there.

The main claim to fame for St. John is the Reversing Falls Rapids at Fallsview Park. Twice daily tides from the Bay of Fundy rise faster than the river can empty. This causes the river to actually flow backwards, creating the rapids. Tides in the Bay of Fundy can be 50 feet high but they aren't that high by the time they get to St. John. You can see Partridge Island in the harbor where immigrants landed. Many Irish arrived here during the Potato Famine in Ireland. Acadians who were Loyalist to the king of England also flooded here during the American Revolutionary War.

Of course we had to visit the Old City Market on Germaine Street that has been in operation since 1876. We picked up some delicious lobster rolls for lunch. The beginning of many lobster rolls we were to consume on the rest of our trip.

We were excited as we arrived the next day at Liberty Island in the good old US of A. The view from the ship as we arrived gave us a beautiful panorama of the Statue of Liberty with the skyline of New York City in the background. It was a bittersweet memory for Lovern as this is what she saw with smoke rising from the city in the aftermath of 911 and her return from the death of her son in The Netherlands.

On to Massachusetts, Connecticutt and New Jersey.

MARKET IN NEW BRUNSWICK

COMING INTO NEW YORK

LIGHTHOUSE ON THE WAY INTO ST. JOHN'S HUGE HARBOR

NEWFOUNDLAND FISHING BOATS

HOUSES, DOWNTOWN ST. JOHNS, NEWFOUNDLAND

NEWFOUNDLAND HOUSES WITH FORT ON HILL

NEWFOUNDLAND

Our cruise from Iceland to Newfoundland encountered hurricane level winds and high seas in the North Atlantic. The winds buffeted the huge ship and even caused it to heel over. Many of the passengers looked concerned and clutched tightly to handrails or sat on steps for stability. We were used to this weather from our sailing days and my walker gave me a rare advantage over others. The outside doors were locked to prevent passengers from going outside but Zoe had to check the winds anyway. So when we got to our cabin, she opened our sliding door to go out on to our veranda. I thought the wind would blow our cabin away from even the brief opening and she quickly slammed it shut. It was too dark to see the waves unfortunately.



The heavy weather slowed our progress to St. John's, Newfoundland and we arrived too late for the scheduled tours but we found a doubledecker tour bus outside the gate and took a city tour anyway. St. John's is North America's oldest European settled city and the capitol of Newfoundland. It is also Great Britain's oldest overseas colony and the continents most easterly point.

Brightly painted Victorian homes line the streets. High on a hill overlooking the city is Signal Hill where Marconi received the first wireless transatlantic signal in 1901. It also gives a great view over the city.