Sunday, 23 September. Another day at sea! The day was hazy but warm (high 60s)). We attended two lectures after breakfast, one on Saint John, New Brunswick, our next stop; the other, titled The Telephone Book, was an alphabetical collection of memories by the ship lecturer, who was even older than us.

After a leisurely lunch in the Michelangelo dining room, we watched the movie Marigold Hotel in the Princess Theater. We'd both seen it before, but it was worth seeing again. In the afternoon the ship began sailing along the south shore of Cape Breton Island and the Nova Scotia peninsula.

At the end of our last formal dinner that evening, we celebrated Jane's birthday (three days early). We were served a rich chocolate cake (in addition to the regular dessert) while the waiters sang happy birthday.


That night we set our clocks back another 30 minutes (5th of 6 hours), getting back in synch with the rest of the world.

 

Pilot boat of Saint John

We had signed up for a city tour by bus, and it left at 12:40. As we left the pier, we drove through the Trinity Royal Preservation Area, the oldest surviving part of the city. The original wooden buildings of the area were destroyed in the Great Fire of 1877. They were replaced by the present Victorian brick buildings. Except for the churches, most of the building we passed were very unattractive.
 

Our ship seen from the Tower

The phenomenon of the Reversing Falls is caused by the tremendous rise and fall of the tides in the Bay of Fundy, at 28 feet the highest in the world. The tidewaters of the Atlantic are at normal levels when they enter the wide opening at the south end of the Bay of Fundy, but the Bay is much like a funnel. As the shores narrow and the bottom becomes shallower, the water is forced higher up the shores and into the mouth of the Saint John River.

At low tide the river level is 14 feet higher than the level of the bay, so the river flows into the bay, as rivers normally do. At the point of the Reversing Falls, there is both a narrow gorge and an underwater ledge, so the river water tumbles downward as it flows out. As the bay tides begin to rise, they slow the course of the river and finally stop the river's flow completely. This short period of complete calm is called slack tide. It is the only time that boats are able to navigate the Falls.

Shortly after this slack tide the bay tides become higher than the river level and slowly, at first, the river begins to flow upstream. As the bay tides continue to rise, the reverse flow gradually increases and rapids begin to form over the underwater ledge. At high tide the tidal waters are actually 14 feet higher than the river, and seawater is roaring up the river.


After high tide the bay tides begin to fall and the upstream flow of the river gradually lowers until the bay tides fall to the level of the river, once again resulting in a slack tide. The river then resumes its normal course and begins to flow into the bay. The bay tides continue to fall below the level of the river until at low tide the rapids are again at their peak. Then the cycle repeats itself.


About 1:30 the bus dropped our group off at King's Square so we could visit the City Market. This is the oldest continuing market in Canada. The original farmers’ market on this spot was chartered in 1785, and the market has been in this building since 1876. It still had a lot of produce, but there was also plenty of things for the tourists. We spent about half an hour browsing the stalls.

 

Imperial Theater

We got back to the ship at 3:00 and went out on our deck for pizza (Jane) and bratwurst (me) for lunch. At 4:00 we went out again for an hour to explore the area near the ship. This was part of the Trinity Royal Preservation Area, the oldest part of the city. Our bus had driven through this area when we left the ship, and the guide had identified many of the old, but mostly unattractive, brick buildings.

We walked down Water Street past the Coast Guard Station, stopped briefly at a vendors' tent, and wound up at Barbour's General Store (1867). It was an authentic old general store building, but not on its present site. It was moved here in 1967. Although it still sells merchandise, it really is a museum to recreate a Victorian-era experience. The counters were stocked with items that would have been seen on the shelves in the 19th century.
 
In front of the store was a cluster of several comical wooden sculptures, known collectively as People Waiting. We also saw a life-size moose statue nearby.


We walked up a block to Prince William Street and walked back in the direction of the ship. Both sides of the street were lined with historic brick buildings. [Photo: #154-158, Seamen's Mission (1908); #160, Vroom and Arnold (Insurance) Bldg, (c. 1880); #162, Troop (Shipping) Building (1883).] I still found most of them unattractive.
 

Restored row houses

In St. Patrick's Square at the end of Prince William Street, we came upon the Three Sisters Lamp (1849). Its three small red globes served as a navigation guide. They can be seen up to three miles out to sea. If the three globes appeared individually, sailors would know they were heading straight into the harbor, but if only one or two could be seen, sailors knew they needed to correct their course.