Charlottetown, PEI

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NOTE: Due to some poor Internet Connections today Wed. May 18th is the first time I have been able to connect with Travelblog.org.





Day 6 - Tuesday, May 10, 2016 - Charlottetown, PEI - Weather forecast: partly cloudy - temperature: 8°C/46°F - actual: temperature 10°C/50°F - in the morning wind 30 knots - 7 Beaufort



Over the night the ship passed through the Northumberland Straits between New Brunswick and PEI. Earlier last evening the Captain informed us that he had the option of going either that route or around the north side of the island. The determining factor was if there was to be any fog in the strait near the Confederation Bridge. The ship could not use that route if the visibility was less than 1 kilometer. Since there was no expectation of fog we passed under the bridge in the early morning, around 5:00, and were docked in Charlottetown on schedule and cleared by the port authorities by 8:00.



To save some time this morning we opted for breakfast to be delivered to the room as we had arranged to meet a colleague from UPEI. Betty was our guide/driver for the day and first drove us around the city pointing out some of the more historical buildings and architecture and then out into the countryside to experience some of the natural sights of the island.



Betty made sure that we had numerous “photo opportunity” stops to capture the buildings, landscape, the sea, and, of course, the Confederation Bridge. Since the ship is in port just on the cusp of the tourist season finding a place for lunch had given Betty a bit of a challenge. A number of the restaurants she intended to take us to were not yet open for the season but she eventually found a very pleasant location with excellent seafood. This restaurant’s claim to fame was that it had a 60 foot salad bar that included the regular vegetable items but also chowders, shrimp and lobster-based salads to name a few.



Even though it felt as though she had driven us all over the island Betty had us back to the ship on time, providing me with the opportunity to get the blogs that I had written to that date sent out over the internet while Brooke took in a round of Bingo. It should be noted that Internet connectivity has been fairly good on this trip but every so often it cuts out just as I’m loading the picture portion of the blog. While we were thus occupied the ship cleared the dock on time and set sail for Sydney, NS, our next port of call.



I mentioned in a previous blog that the temperature on board ship was a bit on the chilly side with many passengers complaining about their discomfort. Well the complaints have been heard and on our return to the ship the temperature in our cabins and in the public places was noticeably warmer. The Engineering crew obviously found the problem and corrected it.



This evening we took part in a presentation by the Cellar Master, Miguel, on the different styles of Port Wine, explaining the history of the region and what goes into the making of Port. The presentation included a tasting of four different Ports accompanied by chocolate. The Cellar Master also demonstrated the art of making Flaming Spanish Coffee something I think I’ll leave to the bar stewards. When the demonstration ended we had enough time to catch the remainder of the second Showtime, which featured an internationally acclaimed pianist Tian Jiang.

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