It's not often that you find yourself in two very different environments within one week like this week. From the utterly desolate north of Newfoundland where the temperature is already below 7 degrees (and the heating is on) to the warm sunny Bermuda where it is almost 30 degrees (and the air conditioning is on). What they have in common is that both countries belong to the British Commonwealth and that's all there is to it.
This week is mostly about traveling. We have two long travel days back to Nova Scotia in the car and on the ferry (with also Marinthe's birthday 🎉🎉🎉). Then two nice days in Halifax; the first with only rain and the second with nice sunshine but cold). Then two fine flights from Halifax to New York and after a short transfer on to Bermuda.
Well, and now 'suddenly' in Bermuda. We are in a nice cottage that is part of 'The Saint George's Club'. With a nice pool, in the old town of historic St George in the north of Bermuda. What a transition. Almost unbelievable ... we have to process that ourselves. Here we stay for over a week until the SeaQuest arrives.
And of course, this week we'll also be following closely how the crew and the SeaQuest are doing. That is constantly in our heads. Especially when they are not sailing. They stay a few days in Horta in anticipation of the course of the hurricanes Maria and Lee. In the meantime they polish the white polyester and it looks nice and shiny. It also appears that our painting from 2010 is still very clear on the quay while here every day the garbage truck turns, and the SeaQuest is close by. Now the trip to Bermuda should be just fine 😉 .
As soon as it is clear that Lee is going north and is not in the way they leave. For us, this is a good lesson in patience ... we ourselves would have left two days earlier via a southern route. So we are very happy when they really leave and start the last stretch of sailing towards us. When the SeaQuest will arrive in Bermuda remains to be seen. We calculate with qtVLM (routing program) that the route will be between 10 and 14 days. In the coming days we will keep an eye on what route they take at what speed and whether this corresponds a bit with what qtVLM advises and what percentage use of the polar diagram (speed diagram of our boat) fits best (70, 80 or 90 %).
The past week from day to day. On Monday Sept 26 we drive the 800 km back to Port aux Basques. Just a day of sitting in the car, but fortunately with little traffic and therefore very relaxed driving. Again no moose seen 😅. On the way we call Grandpa Wim for his 81st birthday 🎉. We sleep in the same B&B and eat in the same tent as on the way there and have a very nice conversation during dinner, these are very valuable family moments for all four of us.
It's a cozy B&B, and as a result we were able to celebrate Marinthe's birthday the next morning in a somewhat homely atmosphere. With balloons, a chocolate cake with 16 candles, earrings and a necklace from the store in Trinity and a voucher for a good straightener. The rest of the day is somewhat less of a birthday ... we spend six hours on the ferry and then four hours driving in the car to Halifax. It's 11:30 pm when we arrive at the house (via Airbnb) in Dartmouth/Halifax. A bit uncanny, but we are tired so we just go to sleep.
For a moment we (especially Mira) hesitate whether to stay in the house for another night, but the house itself is fine and there is good wifi. Despite the rain we go into town.
First to the Maritime Atlantic Museum with an exhibition about the Titanic. Not only about the disaster itself but especially about the role the city of Halifax played in the days after the disaster with rescuing survivors and salvaging the dead. Many 1st class passengers were saved and almost all 3rd class passengers drowned. Impressive to see. As a 'warm-up' the girls on the ferry had already seen the movie Titanic. Appropriate because not far from here the Titanic sank through a Newfoundland iceberg. And the first signs of the disaster were picked up by 'Marconi's remote wireless outpost at Cape Race' on Newfoundland. Many of the dead were buried in Halifax.
It keeps raining so we flee into a big shopping mall. There we find a nice straightener for Marinthe and two nice swimming trunks for Toine 🏊🏻. In the evening the birthday dinner at Montana's (with nice steak and ribs) and that is another nice family moment.
The second day in Halifax is nice and sunny. We look at the Citadel and the old fort with a nice view of the city and then we walk down the Harbourwalk to the end, past two big cruise ships, to Pier 21. Especially Toine is always happy to see cruise ship tourists 😉 . Many immigrants have entered Canada through the immigration office at Pier 21. So did Teun and Trudy in May 1951. It is now a very nicely decorated museum. With also the archive with info about everyone who entered. Unfortunately Teun's data are not accessible to us because of the privacy law. At the end of the afternoon we drive to the hotel at the Airport and organize all our bags and throw away stuff that may not enter the plane. We have dinner there and go to bed on time.
The alarm clock goes off at 4 am (but Toine has been awake since 2.15 am). Straight to the airport, check-in and also already through US customs. We have the last 'early morning flight' of the season at 6 AM (and that's why it's seen that one of our bags is too heavy and we actually have to pay an extra $100). We are seated at the very back of the plane right next to the engines. What a noise. Otherwise, a fine 2-hour flight with nice views of the islands near Boston, Long Island and New York. Transferring has never been easier; it is only two gates away. The flight to Bermuda is very relaxed. Again, fairly in the back of the plane but it is only half filled. It is only a 1.5 hour flight, and on the way we see only the sea and finally Bermuda.
Arriving in Bermuda is a treat. What a beautiful blue water, great temperature and very friendly people. Going through customs was a bit of a hassle because we don't have a return ticket and we are leaving on a date that we don't know exactly yet. We have to go with them to a small office and after paying airport tax we are allowed to go through. We spend the afternoon in and around the pool. According to the internet, Bermuda seems to be quite expensive; eating out and supermarkets more than twice as expensive as in the Netherlands? The first impression after a lot of shopping in the supermarket is not so bad. We eat 'at home' and we'll be doing that more often in the days to come. After a game of bridge we go to bed on time.
Today it rains all day and it is immediately a bit cooler. For the rest of the week the weather looks good. We can swim every day, even in the rain! There is also a tennis court with four rackets that we can borrow from the reception. We will undoubtedly have a great time the coming week with lots of swimming, tennis and some sightseeing now and then. With, in addition, following the route of the SeaQuest. We are very glad we chose Bermuda, because sailing to Halifax now is not a good idea with all the weather systems. They first sailed west for almost two days and now south-southeast for the last 5 hours. Long live the position report of the Iridium Go which neatly plots almost every hour (see under tab "Where are we?")👍.