October 17, 2024 - Lunenburg, Nova Scotia - Thursday

October 17, 2024 – Thursday                       Day 22 of this journey 

Lunenburg, Nova Scotia 

Clear skies this morning. We are at Lunenburg on schedule. The tenders are dropped, and we quickly see zodiacs out scouting the area for later water activities. This is the last day until southern Chili that the water toys can be launched. Once in the United States, we will not be allowed to have the toys in the water. It has something to do with the Jones Act. 

We have a busy day ahead of us. It starts with a private breakfast for the Longitudinal World Cruisers at 8:00 am. Besides a few waiters, it is mostly senior staff that are taking care of us. It certainly makes us feel special. 

Our first excursion is a walking tour of Lunenburg. We are to meet downstairs just before noon. Then tender into the dock and join our tour group. We had thought the tender ride would only be about 15 minutes, but we’re anchored much further out than usual, and it takes over 30 minutes to get to shore.

Typical tender ride

Lunenburg golf course

Lunenburg is a very colorful village. It is still a commercial fishing port, but quite small and tourism has become a major part of its industry. It is a UNESCO site, so buildings are preserved (at least on the outside). Every house/building is painted a different color, and most are very vibrant colors. Initially, the houses were painted with leftover paint from a fishing vessel. The owner would paint his house to match his boat. It made it easier for him to spot from the water. 

The primary product being fished in this area is lobster, scallops and crab. 

It’s a pretty steep hill just behind the waterfront. But our guide takes it slowly and pauses enough everybody seems to be able to keep up. An interesting side note is that all churches in this community are painted white with black trim. It doesn’t matter what denomination they are.

These are some pretty wild colors

A piece of the Berlin Wall. The town does not want to forget.

Episcopalian Church (I think)

Just an interesting door

Even from the outside, the stained glass was beautiful.

We left the tour a few minutes early as we have a 3:30 pm kayak excursion and need time before that to change clothes. We are glad we had a good breakfast and a little bit later than usual as lunch today was not in the cards. 

We struggle into drysuits, booties and special flotation devices, then board a zodiac to head out to where the kayaks are parked. In the afternoon, the wind had picked up again, so the zodiac ride is fun. Part way to the kayaks, we come across another zodiac with the beverage manager handing out mimosas commemorating the final day for quite a while for the water toys.

Although the bay near the ship was choppy, by the time we got out to the kayaking area, it was pretty much smooth. It is a very protected area and quite beautiful. We are at a very low tide, so you see all the lichen and sea grass exposed on the rocks along the shore. 

We successfully make it into our kayaks and head out at a gentle pace. We paddle around the area for about 45 minutes to an hour, then meet up with the zodiac and we are able to get back into it. Not particularly gracefully, but we make it. The kayaks are all hooked together, and we head back to the ship. We were the last group out, getting back aboard just before 5:00pm.

Romey - one of our intrepid kayak guides

Very shallow water with lots of grass and seaweed.

Headed back to the ship towing the kayaks

Just beautiful scenery

Once back on board, Russ takes our backpacks back to the room, while I make a run for Vodka. We need to shower and change as we have dinner at 6:30 pm. with a small group of World Cruisers. One of the couples has taken on the project of getting everybody together to have dinner together. This will happen numerous times before we get to the Antarctic. It is nice to get to know a little more about each other. Each gathering will be a slightly different group.