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October 8, 9, 10
We were up very early to catch ferry, a catamaran called The Cat, which takes passengers and cars between Portland, Maine and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia part of the week and Bar Harbor, Maine and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia the rest of the week. We got there in plenty of time. Cars are requested to be at the dock no later than an hour before sailing (it sailed at 8 am) and we arrived about 6:30... Since we left the motel before it started serving breakfast, we snacked on Clif Bars while waiting our turn to board.
The boarding process is fascinating. One reason they want all the vehicles on the dock no less than an hour before sailing is so that they can sort them by size. The largest ones (tour buses, for example) will board first and small cars, like my Subaru, will drive on last. We weren't the very last, but there weren't that many cars loaded after us...
Once the car was parked and locked, we headed for the fantail and grabbed a spot on the railing to watch the rest of the loading and the disembarkation. It appeared to use thrusters to move away from the dock before engaging the huge engines. We moved slowly through the harbor, then headed for the open sea. It would take close to six hours to cross to Yarmouth. These photos were taken from the fantail of the ferry before we retreated to the comfort of the interior.
The photo on the left above shows an American flag flying high over the Casco Bay Bridge near the waterfront. The photo in the center above shows a reflection of the loading ramp connecting the ferry dock with the catamaran. The photo on the right above shows the turbulence caused in the water as the ferry leaves the dock.
The photo on the left above shows a tugboat assisting a container ship in the busy harbor. As the center photo shows, the Portland harbor isn't restricted to large ships. This fishing boat is starting its day early and is passing the harbor and skyline of Portland as it makes its way to the fishing grounds. The photo on the right above shows the skyline of Portland above the wake of the slowly moving ferry. The fishing boat in the center photo is rapidly falling behind.
The three photos above are of three of the lighthouses we passed as the ferry made its way out of Portland harbor. The one on the left above is Spring Point Ledge Light. The center one is Portland Head Light. And the one on the right is Ram Island Ledge Light.
This photo is the last one I took from the fantail. It shows the wake generated by the powerful engines of the catamaran.
We spent the time napping, snacking, and watching movies, including parts of Pirates of the Caribbean part 3 and Shrek 3. We arrived in Yarmouth about 2:30 local time. I wish we could have watched the Cat pull into port, but, when we were about 20 minutes out, everyone was directed to their vehicles. Soon it was our turn to drive off and pass through Canadian customs and immigration. The officials ask a lot more questions than they ever did before when entering Canada.
We drove the Evangeline trail to Halifax, which passes around the southwestern corner of the province. We took the highway, which made better time, but couldn't see much of the coastline. We stopped at an arm of the Bay of Fundy called Minas Basin. The tide was about half way out and a lot of the shoreline was exposed.
We soon arrived in Halifax and checked into our hotel, a Holiday Inn Express. We got settled in, then went out for dinner downtown at Murphy’s on the Water. The food was okay, but the staff didn't seem interested in taking care of customers. We had a long wait by the door before anyone noticed we were there and it was like pulling teeth to get the waiter to stop by. I think they were all more interested in the party going on at the bar than the dining room...