All photos by the author unless otherwise noted. Click on the photos to enlarge them.

After a delightful but tiring April trip to Madrid and Seville where I had to do all the arrangements, schlep luggage on and off trains, reserve museum entrances, and whatnot, I was looking for a more relaxing vacation. I thought immediately of Tauck, an upscale agency whose masterful tour directors take care of all details and one’s only task is getting on the coach. I found Tauck offered small-group tours in the Canadian Maritime Provinces, a destination that would combine well with my annual visits to Brockport NY where I taught for 30 years, and to Buffalo suburbs reuniting with family. Booking only a few months in advance usually means all “sold out” with Tauck, but given the age of most clients, there are frequent cancellations. I phoned a helpful receptionist who said there was indeed room for a single on June 19, so I signed on and booked an extra night in Halifax prior to the start of the tour. Air Canada flies from Mexico City to Halifax Nova Scotia with a layover in Montreal, departing at an atrocious 6:15 am, requiring me to leave home in Cuernavaca at 2 am.

June 18. The Air Canada flight to Montreal was fine with a good breakfast, but I needed the two-hour layover there for my connection to Halifax given what seemed like half a mile walk to passport control and long lines there and in security. The connection to Halifax was punctual and, as usual, Tauck sent a private driver to greet me in the baggage area. He was from Libya, just one of dozens of immigrants who crossed my path during the tour. I had time to get Canadian dollars at the ATM which I hardly needed since I could use credit cards everywhere.  I took out just 100 dollars to start with, which became 74 Canadian on my statement. The Loonie has taken a beating making travel in Canada quite a bargain for Americans. Arriving at the Prince George Hotel, now a Marriott, in downtown Halifax, I didn’t plan for any more than a long shower and early to bed given my 1:20 am wake up that morning.

Friday June 1  Halifax

Having scouted the web for what to do in Halifax, I knew I wanted to see the Public Garden, not on the tour agenda, and the harbor-front boardwalk. I wasn’t disappointed with either choice. What good fortune Halifax residents and visitors derive from such a splendid free garden.  The tulips and daffodils were long gone, but scores of rhododendron were at their peak, and gardeners were planting colorful annuals throughout the 16 acres.

After more than an hour in the garden, I booked an Uber to the boardwalk and found it more upscale than San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf. Diverse shops overflowed with merchandise for every taste and numerous restaurants offered outdoor tables with harbor views. Here I relished the first lobster roll of the trip. I chose another Uber for the steep up-hill route to the hotel and had plenty of time to rest before the start of the tour.

The program kicked off with a gathering of 26 participants in the hotel lobby. Tauck small groups are advertised at 24 pax, but I guess inflation creeps in everywhere. I hope it’s not a pattern. We met our talented tour director Clint Russell, a Newfoundland native whose hard work made the tour so pleasurable. Instead of a cocktail reception in the hotel, we boarded a coach driven by reliable George Brookins for a short drive to the hilltop Citadel, a stone fortress whose wooden predecessor was completed in 1749 to defend against possible attacks by a French army.  We were greeted by a piper and guide in full Scottish regalia. Of the many forts I’ve visited, this one is not near the top of my list, but it served as a fitting welcome to Nova Scotia. One bar woman was overwhelmed trying to serve 26 guests, many of whom requested time-consuming fancy cocktails. After a long wait, a helper arrived and I got a Canadian whiskey to take into dinner. What a surprise when I met the others at my table. Three of them, now from Texas, were born in Mexico! They knew well my home-city Cuernavaca including its most famous restaurant, and we chatted about the favorite spots we love throughtout the Republic. The beef fillet with salad and sides, wine included, was fine for a catered-welcome dinner, but the whole event didn’t measure up to the elegance of the welcome receptions on my previous Tauck tours. 

Saturday June 20: Peggy’s Cove & Lunenburg

Since we had to be aboard the coach at 8 am, I went to breakfast when it opened at 6:30. My only difficulty on the tour was not having enough time for personal issues after breakfast, but frequent rest stops made it manageable. We departed punctually for the one-hour drive to our first stop, Peggy’s Cove, a fishing village on the shore of St. Margaret’s Bay, population alleged to be fewer than 50 permanent residents. While sunny, there was a stiff breeze off the water and I needed an extra layer to add to my clothing. In the shop at the site, I spotted a turquoise windbreaker with a hood and a zipper rather than pullover. It served me well the rest of the trip.

Our next stop was Mahome Bay, another fishing community along the South Shore of Nova Scotia. While the village is a popular tourist destination, our stop was brief, mainly for the clean unisex restrooms. From there we went on to Lunenburg, a UNESCO world heritage site founded   by the British in 1753 and populated mostly by foreign Protestants to offset its French Catholic rivals.

After a nice lunch of fish and chips at the Old Fish Factory, George drove us to the top of a hill where we began a walking tour led by June, a knowledgeable local guide. The town grew prosperous in the late 1800s due to the fishing industry, so many of the homes are historic landmarks from that period. St. John’s Anglican church was restored after a destructive fire in 2001. After the guided tour, we returned to Halifax.

Dinner was included at the hotel and, as usual, one could order any three dishes. After appetizers, everyone at my table ordered steamed lobsters, about 1 ½ lbs each, requiring some work since our lobster-eating class didn’t come until later in the tour. We finished about 8:30 pm leaving plenty of time to repack for our departure the next morning. 

Sunday June 21            Halifax to Prince Edward Island.

Another early wakeup for a quick breakfast before porters came to the rooms for our luggage at 7:45. At 8:30 we boarded the coach for a visit to the Pier 21 Museum of Immigration on the waterfront. After a guided tour, we watched an uplifting movie on the benefits immigration has brought to Canada. It included short interviews with immigrants from many countries boasting of their improved lives.  Of course, not all Canadians are pleased to see so many newcomers. After time on our own, we walked the boardwalk from 11 to 12:30 and got a quick lunch on our own before boarding the coach for a long ride to the ferry terminal.

After a long wait, George drove us aboard the ferry for the 75-minute voyage across the Northumberland Strait to Prince Edward Island. The lounge aboard was comfortable and I enjoyed getting to know other participants. The coach then took us to the Delta Hotel Prince George, now a Marriott Bonvoy property in Charlottetown, the capital of PEI.

Our late arrival gave us barely an hour before we had to reboard the coach at 6:20 pm for the short ride to our dinner at gourmet restaurant Abbiocco. We had choices of starters and main courses and I chose Caesar salad, Lobster Mafaldone (pasta in a creamy sauce), and lemon cheesecake with blueberry sauce. An early return to the hotel allowed me time to catch up on world news online before sleep.

Mon June 22           Prince Edward Island

Due to the early departures, I missed my habitual daily workouts, so I got up at 6:15 to do pushups and sit ups. Once again, we had to board the coach at 8 am, a bit early I thought to visit an out-of-season beach. A short photo-stop provided a view of the French River and the distant New Foundland Bay. I was delighted to see acres and acres of wild lupin coloring the landscape. (Lupin is native to Mexico where the indigenous people used natural selection to create dozens of varieties of beans). 

We went on to Brackley Beach in the PEI National Park. Some folks chose to take off their shoes and socks and walk in the sand; I didn’t. Before reboarding the coach, Clint treated us to a bag piper who piped a few tunes and explained his instrument, seeing us off on a musical note.

Our next stop was the Anne of Green Gables Museum, a farmhouse once occupied by the aunt and uncle of author Lucy Maud Montgomery, who called it “the wonder castle of my childhood.” The novel has been translated into dozens of languages and made into a movie which we viewed later on the coach TV screen. I knew nothing of the author or the book or any of the numerous other works she wrote, but she is famous and loved in Canada. After touring the home, a brief carriage ride around the property, and a cookie and lemonade, we departed for our lunch stop.

Fisherman’s Wharf and Pier 15 Restaurant in North Rustico PEI is famous for its lobster suppers, 60-foot salad bar, and all-you-can-eat mussels. It doesn’t open until 4 pm so it was exclusive to our Tauck group for a less extravagant lunch. Our menu included the delicious mussels my tablemates didn’t do justice to, so I ate most of the bucket. There was more to come: the best lobster roll ever, filled with large chunks of the juicy crustaceon, plus potato salad, green salad, and strawberry shortcake. What a feast.

To cap off the afternoon, we visited Raspberry Point Oyster farm, a brand famous to oyster aficionados, with sales from Boston to Chicago and beyond. The proprietor, James Power, gave a lecture on the farm and its products and showed us the machinery used to power-wash the oysters and sort them. The last process is a camera that determines the size of the bivalve which has to be at least three inches long or be returned to the water. Then he shucked oysters for everyone to try. I had only eaten them raw once, years ago when my palate was more conventional, so I was pleasantly surprised how delicious these were. Despite the heavy lunch, I savored two and could have devoured more  but there were 26 of us waiting their turns.

We returned to the hotel in Charlottetown by 4 pm so I had plenty of time to transfer photos from my cell phone to the laptop for the eventual blog post. Given the huge lunch, I assumed most fellow-travelers would skip dinner, so I didn’t try to link up with anyone for the evening. Clint gave us a list of recommended restaurants and I set out alone at 7:30. Walking along Queen Street,  I saw a sign for a restaurant featuring “Deep fried Oysters.” I was seated without a reservation and savored a bowl of lobster bisque, loaded with generous chunks of the crustaceon, followed by a small plate of fried oysters, making a fairly light but delicious dinner. It walked back to the hotel early enough to read world news on the laptop before sleep. It seems the nightmares now come before you fall asleep instead of after.

Tues June 23        PEI to New Brunswick             

At last, a relaxed morning with no wheels-up until 10:30, so I could work out before breakfast.  We departed lovely Charlottetown and headed across the Confederation Bridge into New Brunswick, arriving at Shediak Bay, self-annointed “lobster capital of the world.” The bay, an extension of the Northumberland strait, is a center for tourist boats and deep-sea fishing. Evidently numerous lobster boats deposit their catches here for export.  The voyage on a lobster boat was a hoot. The host Emory provided a comical explanation of what happens on a lobster boat during the season. Then he recruited help from our group to pull up a trap holding two lobsters. Harvesting isn’t permitted in off-season, so this was just an educational event.

Next, Emory took a boiled lobster and showed us how to pull it apart, open the tail, and crack the claws. He made it look so easy, but it was more of a slog for me when we were each served a 1 ½ pound lobster to work at. Cooked in seawater, it needed no condiments to enhance its natural flavor. Served with potato salad and coleslaw, it was a savory meal. The vegans chose to feast on chickpea salad. They had vegan options at all meals.

The weather for our voyage was overcast with a chilly wind, so I stood on the upper deck just long enough for someone to take my photo in the hooded parka I was now glad I purchased in  Peggy’s Cove. 

Shediak Bay is about 30 miles from Moncton, the nearest large town, and site of our next hotel, a Delta Marriott Bonvoy. That night’s dinner was in the hotel’s gourmet Windjammer restaurant. The menu was a remarkable feast with amuse bouche, Caesar salad, palate cleanser, tenderloin of beef, dessert, and chocolate truffles. Bar drinks were not included so I splurged on two Crown Royal Manhattans to be charitable to the Canadian economy. I was back in the hotel room by 9:15 with time for photo-editing and checking email. This was the only one-nighter on our agenda.  We faced another early departure the next day.

Wed June 24       Moncton to St. Andrews NB

We set off at 8:15 on a cool overcast morning, making our first stop at Hopewell Mud Flats on the Bay of Fundy where a park ranger explained the phenomenon of some of the highest tides in the world. The tides and erosion eat away at the monumental rocks called “flower pots,” narrowing their base until they eventually collapse. A spacious building houses photo displays of the tidal wonder as well as a gift shop and clean restrooms.

Next on the agenda was a lunch stop at the Tides Restaurant in Alma NB where we could choose one dish. My choice was a large seafood chowder, but it wasn’t easy turning down the lobster roll. Back on the coach, Clint treated us to huge cinnamon sticky buns, as if we were undernourished. After lunch we drove along part of the 30-kilometer Fundy Trail Parkway, with stunning views of the rocky shores and a stop for a view of Fuller Falls on the edge of the Fundy escarpment. From there we drove another two hours before arriving at the famous Algonquin Resort Hotel in St. Andrews-by-the-Sea NB, home of Canada’s most famous golf course. 

It’s alleged that Stephen King, who lives in nearby Maine, stayed at the Algonquin where he was inspired to write his novel The Shining.  But the Stanley Hotel in Colorado was the actual model for the novel. The public rooms at the Algonquin are more upscale than the small unimpressive bedrooms. I had only an hour after check-in until the included dinner, as usual a three-plate offering with several choices in each category. 

Thurs June 25      St. Andrews-by-the-Sea

After breakfast, it was just a short drive to the wharf in St. Andrews where we set out on a whale-watching voyage  that I had especially looked forward to. We boarded a schooner, the Jolly Breeze, just large enough for our group. We were fortunate to have a sunny morning since the ship was surprisingly not covered in a region with frequent rain. Despite the sun, it was a chilly morning with a stiff breeze as we left Passamaquoddy Bay and sailed into the Bay of Fundy. I’m glad I wore a sweater under my windbreaker and didn’t need the blankets the crew passed out to most passengers to offset the windchill. We could see the coast of Maine to the west and enjoyed the beautiful scenery of pine-covered islands and picturesque lighthouses.

It was over an hour before a crew member spotted the first whale, diving and surfacing but never breaching. This was a Minke Whale, one of the smaller breeds of cestaceans. It surfaced only briefly and I wasn’t speedy enough to snatch a photo, but others were more successful. There were several sightings but they may well have been the same whale circling the area near the schooner. We were on the water for almost four hours but the time passed very quickly and, even if we hadn’t sighted a whale, the voyage was especially scenic and stirring. 

By 1 pm we were back at the hotel for a soup, salad, and sandwich lunch buffet. At 1:45 the group went to Minister’s Island to visit the estate of William van Horne, president of the Canadian Pacific Railroad. Only one person, guess who, skipped the visit and went instead to Kingsbrae Garden, allegedly one of Canada’s finest. It was within walking distance of the hotel, but the Algonquin bellmen will take guests anywhere within a few miles of the hotel. I took the ride because I expected a lot of walking in the 27-acre park. Driver Mookie gave me the phone number to call when I wanted a ride back. Great service! The garden didn’t live up to my expectation. The rhododendron had dried up but the peonies were at their peak, and the multiple varieties lent the most color to the walk. Gardeners were maintaining the beds of immature perennials, but few other flowers were blooming. The goats, ducks, and a peacock with faded colors didn’t provide much attraction for the handful of visitors. Within an hour I phoned for the ride back to the hotel where I had time to edit photos and check mail.

At least the afternoon was restful with plenty of down time before an awesome 7 pm dinner buffet Like Oscar Wilde, I can resist anything but temptation, and the seduction was prolific. Seafood chowder, various vegetables, salads, and salmon preceded a huge bowl of steamed lobsters with cups for melted butter, followed by an assortment of desserts. Across the room, another table teemed with mussels and shrimp and a waiter sliced generous cuts of prime rib. My over-indulgence reminded me why I usually avoid buffets. The evening finale was a presentation by an indigenous story-teller. I didn’t attend due to hearing issues and fearing an early walkout would insult the presenter. I had plenty of time to repack for an early morning departure.

Friday June 26          St. Andrews NB to Wolfville NS.

Our coach departed the Algonquin at 8 am, and by 9:30 we arrived at Acadian Sturgeon & Caviar Inc. for an unusual tasting. The institute, founded by Romanian immigrant Dr. Cornel Ceapa, raises sturgeon and sells the fish and caviar to numerous outlets. The nearby St. John River is a major source of the fish, and the institute has breeding pools to hold some of the huge fish that provide exquisite caviar. Ceapa gave an enthusiastic explanation of his work, most of which I couldn’t hear, followed by a presentation by the chef who guided the diners through a sampling of three caviars and a variety of other appetizers, followed by a grilled fillet of sturgeon. Each of the six courses was accompanied by excellent sparkling wines.

Before noon, we left Carters Point NB for a drive to the ferry across the Bay of Fundy from St. John NB to Digby NS. We arrived well before vehicles boarded the vessel for the 2 ½ hour voyage. The spacious ferry had a large refreshment area and theater-like seating for movies. I found a comfortable spot to read and never heard the announcement for bus passengers to return to the vehicle. Clint found me and ushered me aboard the coach to applause, and then we waited another fifteen minutes before the vehicles debarked. It was another 90-minute drive to the Old Orchard Inn in Wolfville NS. There was little time to spare before a three-course dinner at 6:45. I chose shrimp and crab cakes followed by crab dumplings in a creamy cheese sauce, and apple pie ala mode, a savory ending to a long day.

Saturday June 27        Wolfville NS

 I had time to work out before breakfast and a 9 am coach departure for Gran Pré (Great Meadow in French) another UNESCO World Heritage site. It consisted of an exhibit hall, an expansive meadow, and a few restored buildings to honor the heritage and tragedy of the Acadians, French speakers who were brutally removed from the Maritime provinces between 1755 and 1764. A brief movie illustrated the expulsion and the burning of their villages, the high mortality rate, and thousands of exiles settled as far as Louisiana. I had forgotten that I long-ago read Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s epic poem Evangeline.  

The next stop was a visit to the Benjamin Bridge Winery for a tour and tasting. I took many of my own tour groups to wineries in Spain and Italy, and I visited others in  several countries during my travels, so the early-morning tasting didn’t tempt me; I stayed on the coach with my book.  Afterward, most of the group chose to get off the coach in the university town of Acadia for shopping or lunch on their own. Several others returned to the hotel for an afternoon at leisure.

This final destination, Wolfville, didn’t really offer much for visitors and, for me, it was a let-down since one expects a tour to end with a bang. Of course Tauck needed a final hotel close to the Halifax airport.  As much as I enjoyed the previous day’s sturgeon & caviar event, I would have preferred to skip it and spend an extra hour returning to Halifax for the last day. A voyage on the harbor would have made for a more climactic finale.

After a light lunch at the hotel, I had packing to do for my early departure the next morning. The farewell reception began at 6 pm with cocktails, cold cuts, cheese and crackers. The meal consisted of a large salad followed by a choice of haddock, chicken, or pasta, not nearly as extravagant as one expects from a Tauck farewell dinner.

As a former tour leader aware of all the effort and stress our director Clint Russell coped with   during this adventure, I asked him to let me make some remarks after dinner.  I first thanked the group for being so congenial and companionable, and quipped that Clint appreciated their personal hygiene. Then I thanked George Brookins, our superb driver and delightful companion. Finally, I extolled Clint’s outstanding performance through so many events over eight days. He is one of the top tour directors I have traveled with and the most attentive to me personally. I was pleased that Clint said he was moved by my remarks and many in our group thanked me for making them. I went around the room saying good night and goodbye to everyone since I had a 3:30 am private driver to the Halifax airport for a 7 am flight. The group transfer wouldn’t get to the airport until 10 am, so I swallowed the extra cost.

My enduring memories of this tour will be many. I expected New England without all the people, and that’s pretty much what it was. The scenery was dominated by water everywhere, rivers, lakes, bays, beautiful seashores, pine forests, and lupin everywhere. For seafood lovers, this was an extravaganza. There were no unforgettable monuments one finds in Europe, no breathtaking natural wonders like those in South America. But the scenery in the Maritime Provinces is extraordinary and easier to enjoy when one’s only daily task is getting on and off the coach. Canadians everywhere were delightfully friendly. Our tour director Curt Russell showed us the best of this part of his homeland, and our group was cheerfully compatible. Good luck and happy travels to all of you who shared this adventure