I bumped into Roy Tan at the coffee bar and emailed my photos of him with the red umbrella as he is keen to show them to his wife. He did an impromptu performance in the atrium which has better acoustics than the main stage.
Thursday, October 3, 2019
Day 54 - Another Day At Sea
We are in the North Atlantic Ocean heading for Portland, Maine tomorrow morning.
We spent another day reading and eating. Anita made the effort to go to the hydro pool but I finished my Jack Reacher book.
I bumped into Roy Tan at the coffee bar and emailed my photos of him with the red umbrella as he is keen to show them to his wife. He did an impromptu performance in the atrium which has better acoustics than the main stage.
I bumped into Roy Tan at the coffee bar and emailed my photos of him with the red umbrella as he is keen to show them to his wife. He did an impromptu performance in the atrium which has better acoustics than the main stage.
Day 53 - At Sea
After leaving Gaspé we had the first of two days at sea. Fortunately the sea was calm. We spent the day reading and eating. As it was a quiet day I am posting some more photos from Percé.
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| Cruise ship terminal at Gaspé |
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| This new factory employs 500 people in Gaspé making fibreglass arms for wind generators which are mostly sent to Texas |
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| This is Indian Rock. According to local folklore he wouldn't face the sea as his love had been drowned |
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| Percé Rock and historic buildings |
Wednesday, October 2, 2019
Day 52 - Gaspé and Percé
We went ashore by tender, which really means by lifeboat but it seems the lifeboats are called tenders except in an emergency. Fortunately the ride each way only took 10 minutes because we were crammed in on narrow seats, with many seats requiring passengers to sit facing each other so close it is difficult to avoid knocking knees.
Our land transport comprised a fleet of school buses. The ship was anchored in Gaspé Harbour and the city of Gaspé is a long way from other cities and does not have lots of buses available for cruise ships, especially when two ships are in port the same day.
Our first included tour was to the
Forillon National Park which was only mildly interesting. We visited an historic shop and paused on a bridge to take photos through the bus windows of this moose eating shrubbery in the creekbed.
The mostly French speaking citizens of Gaspé are anxiously anticipating the opening of moose hunting season. Only the males can be hunted, except one in ten hunting groups is permitted to take a female moose, which apparently provide more tender meat. Neither of our English speaking female tour guides shared much enthusiasm for this tradition which culminates in a parade of vehicles driving around the streets of Gaspé displaying moose heads. When the season first opens hunters can only use bows and arrows, but later guns can be used. No hunting is allowed in the National Park but that is being reconsidered because the moose population in the park is too large.
Our second trip was five and a half hours long as the drive from Gaspé to and from Percé took an hour each way. The main attraction is Percé Rock which is a UNESCO recognised geological formation just offshore. We were driven up to a viewing platform in smaller shuttle buses.
The viewing platform has some glass flooring so we had to remove our shoes to prevent scratching the glass. The view was impressive but the glass platform didn't add to the experience.
We had missed lunch so queued for 20 minutes at a café for Croque Madame, coffee and hot chocolate. At least we were out of the cold 4°C weather. After a cursory visit to a couple of the tourist shops we headed back to catch our return bus. The pick up location had been specified as the tourist information office. The day before a fire had destroyed the nextdoor motel and another building so we we lucky not to have been caught up in that disaster.
Percé is an historic village focussed on tourism. Over winter only 150 people live there, with many houses boarded up until next June. It is quite an attractive village.
We were probably a few days too early to see the peak of the fall colours, but there were some attractive vistas. The red berries are on native dogwood trees.
Our ship's internet connection has been very unsatisfactory. It was out altogether for 24 hours. This part of our cruise is described as scenic cruising but there is no scenery only water. This Viking cruise has not lived up to the standard set when we cruised the Norwegian coast and the Baltic a couple of years ago.
Our land transport comprised a fleet of school buses. The ship was anchored in Gaspé Harbour and the city of Gaspé is a long way from other cities and does not have lots of buses available for cruise ships, especially when two ships are in port the same day.
Our first included tour was to the
Forillon National Park which was only mildly interesting. We visited an historic shop and paused on a bridge to take photos through the bus windows of this moose eating shrubbery in the creekbed.
The mostly French speaking citizens of Gaspé are anxiously anticipating the opening of moose hunting season. Only the males can be hunted, except one in ten hunting groups is permitted to take a female moose, which apparently provide more tender meat. Neither of our English speaking female tour guides shared much enthusiasm for this tradition which culminates in a parade of vehicles driving around the streets of Gaspé displaying moose heads. When the season first opens hunters can only use bows and arrows, but later guns can be used. No hunting is allowed in the National Park but that is being reconsidered because the moose population in the park is too large.
Our second trip was five and a half hours long as the drive from Gaspé to and from Percé took an hour each way. The main attraction is Percé Rock which is a UNESCO recognised geological formation just offshore. We were driven up to a viewing platform in smaller shuttle buses.
The viewing platform has some glass flooring so we had to remove our shoes to prevent scratching the glass. The view was impressive but the glass platform didn't add to the experience.
We had missed lunch so queued for 20 minutes at a café for Croque Madame, coffee and hot chocolate. At least we were out of the cold 4°C weather. After a cursory visit to a couple of the tourist shops we headed back to catch our return bus. The pick up location had been specified as the tourist information office. The day before a fire had destroyed the nextdoor motel and another building so we we lucky not to have been caught up in that disaster.
Percé is an historic village focussed on tourism. Over winter only 150 people live there, with many houses boarded up until next June. It is quite an attractive village.
We were probably a few days too early to see the peak of the fall colours, but there were some attractive vistas. The red berries are on native dogwood trees.
Our ship's internet connection has been very unsatisfactory. It was out altogether for 24 hours. This part of our cruise is described as scenic cruising but there is no scenery only water. This Viking cruise has not lived up to the standard set when we cruised the Norwegian coast and the Baltic a couple of years ago.
Monday, September 30, 2019
Roy Tan - Pianist Arranger
Yesterday morning I was waiting for my late breakfast in the Explorers' Lounge. It was a waffle with fresh berries and Brunost, a caramelised goats cheese popular in Norway. A tall young Asian man started talking to me about the breakfast offerings. He clearly wasn't a passenger as this ship carries a geriatric payload. He told me he was one of the entertainers and ended up sitting with me to eat his waffle.
I realised he was probably the person in this photo that I had posted on this blog the day before and showed him the picture. Viking provide these large red umbrellas on rainy days.
I now know his name is Roy Tan and he is an incredibly talented entertainer, pianist, arranger and composer. Tonight we saw his first performance of a new show titled "Soundtrack" where he played well known film scores - it was wonderful. We can't take photos during shows so I downloaded a couple from his website.
Day 51 -
The Viking Sea spent the day cruising slowly along the St Lawrence River into the Gulf of St Lawrence. Most of the day we cruised about 10 knots to protects whales in the area, so far unseen. Most of the day we were not close to land so no fabulous views.
We read, played cards and scrabble, and walked a few laps of deck 2. In the morning the sun was out so one side of the ship was warm and the shaded side quite cold. The temperature hovered around 6°C most of the day. I took a couple of photos of the ship's facilities. This is the main pool area.
A lot of art works are on display around the ship, including works by a Norwegian artist named Munch which are projected onto this large screen in the atrium on decks 1 and 2.
The Viking Singers were performing in the atrium for the Explorer's Club which includes everyone who has been on a
We read, played cards and scrabble, and walked a few laps of deck 2. In the morning the sun was out so one side of the ship was warm and the shaded side quite cold. The temperature hovered around 6°C most of the day. I took a couple of photos of the ship's facilities. This is the main pool area.
A lot of art works are on display around the ship, including works by a Norwegian artist named Munch which are projected onto this large screen in the atrium on decks 1 and 2.
The Viking Singers were performing in the atrium for the Explorer's Club which includes everyone who has been on a
Sunday, September 29, 2019
Day 50 - Saguaney
Our ship is anchored in the Saguenay Fjord in front of the town La Baie. We decided to stay on board and not go ashore by tender boat. The temperature outside is 9°C and with the windchill factor feels like 6°. It is warm and cosy sitting by the covered pool area on deck 7. The pool area is covered by a large glass roof which the crew slides on or off depending on the weather.
After leaving Quebec yesterday we passed under power lines, escorted by a pilot boat.
Parts of the Saguenay Fjiord are declared as marine and land national park, where visitors and locals go hiking, sailing and skiing in winter. Phosphate and bauxite mining occurs around the small city of Seguenay and ore is shipped out or treated at the aluminium smelter. A fairly new wharf was built to accommodate cruise ships but the Arcadia got there first.
After leaving Quebec yesterday we passed under power lines, escorted by a pilot boat.
Parts of the Saguenay Fjiord are declared as marine and land national park, where visitors and locals go hiking, sailing and skiing in winter. Phosphate and bauxite mining occurs around the small city of Seguenay and ore is shipped out or treated at the aluminium smelter. A fairly new wharf was built to accommodate cruise ships but the Arcadia got there first.
Saturday, September 28, 2019
Umbrells in Lower Town
After lunch back on our ship I went walking around Old Quebec Lower Town, while Anita opted for the onboard hydro pool, ice bath and steam room. Light rain was falling but it wasn't cold. Several walking tour groups were clustered under their umbrellas. Two other cruise ships are berthed in Quebec today, and yesterday there were six ships.
The Fresque des Québécois is a 420 square metres trompe-l'oeil mural painted in 1999 located on Notre Dame Street. Several such murals were commissioned to celebrate the 400th year of the city's existence. They tell the story of Quebec City and its inhabitants
Pictures of the other frescos can be found online. I particularly like this one as the painted figures and real people appear to be standing on the street together.
The Fresque des Québécois is a 420 square metres trompe-l'oeil mural painted in 1999 located on Notre Dame Street. Several such murals were commissioned to celebrate the 400th year of the city's existence. They tell the story of Quebec City and its inhabitants
Pictures of the other frescos can be found online. I particularly like this one as the painted figures and real people appear to be standing on the street together.
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