14-Sept-24 Halifax, Nova Scotia
Very sad morning. Disembarkation day. Say goodbye to the housekeeping lad. The one who cleans toilets in the morning. Then delivers food to each waiting station at night. And grabs you off the Zodiac landing gantry. Lots of jobs he does.
Cabin has been absolutely spotless throughout the voyage. He’s been brilliant. As they all have.
He exits someone’s cabin having been cleaning it. Wearing blue latex gloves. Sees me in the corridor. I wish him well and thank him for everything. To which he approaches and proffers said blue latex gloved hand to shake mine. On the assumption said blue latex gloved hand has just been cleaning a toilet we make do with an elbow shake. Elbow to elbow. Nice and hygienic like.
Expedition crew line the gantry as we disembark. Have learnt a lot of new things from these very bright young things. Most in the twenties and thirties. Enjoying life. Living life. As it should be.
Jump in taxi for the short distance to hotel. It’s CAD20. Hmmm. That’s a bit bloody steep. And he is told so. More like CAD10 sort of trip. Flat fare apparently. But know I’m being ripped off.
As it’s still only 0900hrs when I try to check in to hotel it’s no surprise the room isn’t ready. Sit in a little glass pod in the business centre area for a few hours completing some work for a deadline on Monday. Being looked at by everyone who walks past. Like a goldfish.
OMG. Now have high speed internet. Quick as a flash. As brilliant as Starlink was for 300 odd people onboard ship in remote polar regions it was only 1-2MB/s. The old dial up speed. Remember? In the old days. Well it worked but took ages to upload all those blog photos and videos dear reader. Two to three hours per day on the trip doing blog, dear reader. Just for you.
Quick walk along the harbourfront boardwalk. A lot of development appears to have taken place since I last came in 2010. Why. Might you ask was I here in 2010.
Well.
I had travelled by train all the way from Vancouver to Halifax. You can read about that little jaunt on the ‘Around the World in 60 Days’ blog on this website, dear reader.
And now.
I have travelled from Vancouver to Halifax. By ship. Well. OK. Technically Nome. But you know what I’m getting at. Flew from Vancouver to Nome then ship.
So. You could say that I have now circumnavigated Canada?
Fantastic views over the city from the top of the citadel. But. Hear some very, very sad news. From home. Someone I know has, very sadly, just been given two weeks to live. And now in the final few days.
It rams it home that life is for living.
And a reminder that a few years from now you won’t remember how much it cost to travel. But you will remember the memories you made.
So. Travel often.
At the end of my rail journey from Vancouver to Halifax in 2010, I had a celebratory dinner in a restaurant called Salty’s. Across the quay from hotel.
For old time’s sake decide it’s as good a place as any to also finish my North West Passage expedition.
So as I’m walking back to hotel. Pop in to make a reservation for later that evening.
What name is it? She asks.
What telephone number is it? She asks.
Give her a number ending in seventy three.
See her write it down on the reservation sheet as 723.
No, no. It’s seventy three.
Ah. Scrubs out 723. And see her write down 703.
No, no. It’s seventy three. Seven. Three.
Ah. She scrubs out 703.
And then says. Oh we don’t need a number.
And that, dear reader. Is what I thought would make a couple of amusing lines in today’s blog.
Make every day count!
