27 May 2005

On the Ferry to Newfoundland!


[The yawning maw of the ferry to Newfoundland]

So, we are on the ferry for Port-aux-Basques, Newfoundland; amazingly, there is a first-rate internet kiosk here. No pic upload, of course. [Further Update: have now added pics in St. John's.]


[Dave at the ferry terminal in North Sydney]

We set forth yesterday morning from Charlottetown, taking the ferry from the Island to Pictou, NS. It's been raining fairly heavily for the last three days; our current ferry to Newfoundland was delayed four hours for rain and fog. Dave nobly drove from Pictou to Cape Breton, while I snoozed.


[aboard the ferry from PEI to Pictou, NS]

In St. Peter's on Cape Breton (the capital of Richmond county, the bottom quarter of Cape Breton) I performed at the Bras d'Or Lakes Inn; about 10 people in the audience, and about a 35 minute show.


[The Bras d'Or Lakes Inn in St. Peter's, Cape Breton, NS]

People seemed to like it, however, though the sound system gave me a strange falsetto.


[performing in St. Peter's. For the occasion, I used a special extended rhabdos with a light fixture on top]

This performance wasn't part of the "regular scheduled" programme for the Tour, but Mr. Richard McIntosh of St. Peter's had written me such a friendly note, asking if I might stop on the way to Newfoundland, and I've always held Cape Breton in such high regard as a centre of Canadian culture (particularly the musical aspect), that musique obligeait. The wind howled, like the Micmac beasts of legend only, past the window long past the time I fell asleep.

Rose bright and early this morning, and have now read every column inch of today's Globe, waiting in the ferry terminal. This ferry, I must say, is absolutely immense. Few passengers today, but one can guess what it would look like at high season! I am entirely surrounded by charming Newfoundland accents. We will be stopping tonight in Corner Brook, to cut down on the long drive tomorrow. How exciting to finally see the Rock after all these years!

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Update
: We're now about halfway to Newfoundland, and I'm reading Lieutenant Hornblower so as to profit from these nautical surroundings. This is certainly as far out on the briny deep as I've ever been -- I'm starting to see what they mean when they talk about "swells," for instance. But it's really quite calm, even for an Ontario stomach. I just had a full conversation with a gentleman from Newfoundland -- very friendly, but I have to admit I only figured out what we were talking about at the end of the conversation. But we were standing out on deck with the wind whipping by, so I don't feel too bad.

I guess we have now reached our sixth time zone! (Newfoundland is 3 1/2 hours behind GMT.)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Must have been eerie, on the open sea surrounded by fog. Sounds like a novel. Wonder where the 1/2 hour came from.

Anonymous said...

Fabulous pics. Love the rhabdos!