May 20, 2016

May 20 Nanaimo

   

   All passengers needed to complete Canadian Border Services declaration forms, since Nanaimo is the first Canadian port of the cruise.  The morning temperature is 12 C with a light rain.

   At breakfast in the dining room, we could watch some tugboats working with log booms and saw one of the boatmen walking over the logs. The Nanaimo cruise terminal is within the working port. The downtown is 1.5 km away. The Downtown Nanaimo Business Association provides several shuttle buses to transport passengers to the downtown and historic Old Quarter including four stops along the circuit, with two stops staffed by ambassadors with visitor information.

   We left the ship to explore Nanaimo, in a light rain, just as the first excursions were leaving the ship.  At the cruise terminal, a visitor information kiosk with five or six volunteer ambassadors was assisting people and distributing fresh Nanaimo Bar squares.

    We used the visitor information map which was easy to follow. We walked along Front Street, past the Hudson’s Bay Company Bastion, a tower which was erected near the spot where settlers from Brierly Hill in England came ashore from the barque, Princess Royal, on November 27, 1854. Two early 19th century cannons are fired after a 15 minute preparation for firing ceremony, at 11 a.m., noon and 1 p.m.  We put away our umbrellas and continued to Church Street to see the Anglican Church and were greeted on the street by a friendly woman welcoming us to Nanaimo.  She had moved to Nanaimo two years ago from Saskatoon. Then we walked up Bastion Street over the bridge crossing the ravine, which is currently a roadway which was created from coal mining waste that was used as fill, to raise the land of the ravine bottom.  Up the hill into the historic Old Quarter and following the Wharf Heritage Walk was another information kiosk located by St. Andrews United Church on Wesley Street.  It is a lovely stone church with an oval interior, containing original wooden pews, perfect for choral or instrumental concerts. It was built in 1893, replacing the original wooden church.   We continued along Fitzwilliam Street past little shops and cafés and then on to Selby Street where we noticed the Taphouse restaurant, which is in the converted early 20th century railroad station. We had stopped at the station on a train in 2002.  As we looked at the station, another woman from Nanaimo stopped to chat to us about the ship and telling us that the day before a larger passenger ship had visited. We had walked 4.78 km.

    We walked on and circled back to Wesley Street. Then Gail and Gord drove by, while we were standing at the corner of Wallace and Fitzwilliam. They found a parking spot. We all strolled back to Wesley Street, as the clouds rolled away, and visited over coffee before driving back downhill to the waterfront area for lunch at the Lighthouse Bistro and Pub, overlooking the harbour. We watched the seaplanes land and takeoff and the ferries arriving and departing.

   We enjoyed the specials, pulled pork sandwich and soup or Fried Halibut and French Fries as well as wine or beer.  We had a great visit, then we walked along the waterfront as the seaplanes roared in their take-offs and landings, enjoying the view of the mountains and water.

    We walked back to the parkade and said our farewells, then, we walked along the waterfront, stopping at a Starbucks on the way back to the ship.

    We worked on writing the blog before getting ready for the final “Evening Chic” dress code night in the dining room.  Some people were dressed elegantly as they would for the old “Formal” nights.  Most people were dressed a bit more elaborate than regular “Smart Casual” evenings.  All six of us enjoyed dinner together, we will be leaving in Victoria, while Sheila, Mildred, Hillary and Richard will continue one more day and go to Vancouver.

   This evening we started with Scallops Rockefeller, followed by Creamy Tomato Bisque or mixed green salad.  For the entrée, we chose Broiled Lobster Tail with broccoli and rice pilaf.  A pause in the service occurred, when the staff from the kitchen paraded through the two levels of the dining room to applause and white napkin waving.  We finished the meal with Baked Alaska and coffee.

The entertainment tonight was the final production show by the ship’s singers and dancers called “Star Factory”.

Today’s distance walked 12.11 km.