Little Lolly's Small Adventures: games

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Arrival in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and a flight back to the Netherlands.

Route from Sydney to Halifax

The Maasdam was supposed to have docked in Sydney yesterday but strong currents and wind made docking unsafe. There are no tugboats in Sydney to help ships, in need, so in the end the cruise ship was turned around and we headed back out to sea, sailing slowly to Halifax.

Judy from Shore Excursions gave me a call to ask me to help with tour brochure collation and folding. Two others came to help but poor Karen (one of the band member's wives) was not feeling quite herself but after taking a Meclizine tablet for sea-sickness, she started to feel better and was soon back in fine form, helping with the folding. Judy did the stapling in the print room and the brochures were done very quickly.

In the afternoon I packed and then helped Paul, who has been extremely busy, to pack. We had dinner later than usual because he kept getting calls.

Mike, one of the doctors, organised 'Games Against Humanity' (a card game) in the Officers' Bar and Marizaan and Linda (nurses) had some nibbles organised. As the evening went on people came and joined in the game. It was a lovely evening which ended fairly late, when all the cards had run out.

We didn't expect to sleep in this morning because Paul is usually up early anyway. The telephone rang around 8.30am but only one ring and then cut off. We ended up getting up, opening the curtains to bright sunny skies. We had arrived in Halifax.

Paul had a few things to do things this morning, tying up a few loose ends. We said our goodbyes to the on board medical team and anyone else we bumped into. We had a late lunch after which we disembarked from the ship and waited for the transport to the airport.

Flying to Toronto from Halifax soon!

We eventually made it safely to the airport but it was sod's law that we got stopped at every single red traffic light on the way! We have checked in now and are waiting for our flight to Toronto.

Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. Shelling a lobster & excursion: Island’s Finest: Anne, Lobster & Scenic Drive.

Friends joining us in our cabin for a game of "Werewolf"

Yesterday was a sea day. In between writing my blog I was able to help Paul with a bit of admin work. He's not only tidying up but also trying to sort out the filing system in his office which, in turn, will make things easier to look for as and when they are needed.

Last night we had a game of Werewolf and had a nice mixed group of people around to our cabin. We decided to make it more fun and asked them to come in their pyjamas or onesies. The medical team came in uniform because they had just clocked off for the evening but the rest came either in casual wear or in pyjamas. It was a fun evening with a few surprises during the game.

Arriving in Charlottetown, pier in the distance. Picture taken from
the Maasdam's on board camera.

Today when we arrived in Charlottetown it was cool with a threat of rain but nature took a surprising turn and later on the afternoon became bright and sunny again.

The Maasdam was late arriving in port so all the tours ran a bit late. It also meant that the cruise ship had to leave later than originally scheduled as well.

'The Bluff' within the national park. The red soil is beautiful, rich
in iron.

It was good to be back on lovely Prince Edward Island again and see a bit more of what the island has to offer. The tour I was assigned to was taken on a scenic drive through Charlottetown and into the countryside, passing amongst other places Rustico Port and Cavendish (which is situated within the Prince Edward Island National Park and where Lucy Montgomery - writer of Ann of Green Gables - grew up).

Green Gables House

We eventually ended up at Green Gables House. The Green Gables farm was owned by the MacNeill family who were cousins of Lucy Montgomery and Lucy visited the farm as a young girl which, in turn, inspired her to write about in her book "Ann of Green Gables". We had a bit of time to wander around the house and property, including the "Haunted Woods"and "Lovers' Lane" which were mentioned in Lucy's books.

It was getting on for lunch time and so we headed off in our tour bus to the Prince Edward Island Preserve Company which is owned by a Scotsman. The company's building is a former 1913 Creamery and has been turned into a preserve company. Initially it started off with making low sugar preserves and speciality food but it also now sells tea and spice. The property also has a restaurant and which is where we had lunch.

Lobster for lunch was one of the main highlights of the tour. Some people opted out and had something equally delicious instead. Instead of sitting with the guests I sat with the tour guide (Sandy) and driver (Cliff) - both of whom decided not to have lobster for lunch. And you will find out why in a minute.

Making and packing preserves

Lobster, not a lobster roll which is a bun with a bit of lobster meat in it. The lobster, the 'thingumy' with a hard shell, pincers, long feelers and tail. That was what I was presented with on my plate. The lobster stared at me from my plate, her tail curled underneath her as if she was resting a bit. I love animals and if she was alive I would have been ok with it perhaps holding her briefly before releasing her back into the water. But I cringed - I had to eat the poor thing. I know she was dead, cooked and ready to eat but I had to somehow get at the meat. How the hell was I going to get the shell off. I had been given what looked like a nut cracker and a long fork-like object. Again I cringed - I know she was dead but it was almost as if I could feel the lobster's pain if I were to peel her shell off.

(I remember when I was a young girl mum and dad took the family on holiday to Mombassa, Kenya, and whilst there, one day we had crab for lunch, The restaurant served the crab whole on a wooden breadboard, and we were given a small wooden 'club' to crack open the shell. The crab wasn't the problem because we were used to catching them and holding them by their carapace before letting them go. The problem was taking the shell off - because of thinking that the dead crab maybe could feel pain. Mum and dad ended up having to get the meat out of the shell for me. And I have had issues with peeling seafood ever since however I am slowly overcoming that problem. Except now I was presented with something a helluva lot larger!)

Sandy and Cliff both looked at me rather bemused. It was difficult for them to understand how I felt,but they tried to. They seemed to have a gut feeling that I was a novice at shelling a lobster so they talked me through it: which part to break off first and what to do next. Piece by piece, under the tuition of our guide and driver, I managed to dismantle the lobster's shell and retrieve the meat - including sucking it out from the legs. How do I know that the lobster was a female? She had eggs/roe underneath the back part of her carapace when I opened her up.

Charlottetown - lobster greeting near the pier

The meal was delicious but the whole process was very messy. However, it was well worth it in the end. We had been given plastic aprons/bibs to put on to keep our clothes relatively clean - depending on where sauce and juices splattered. I certainly made a good job of getting stuff all over me and the table - and that is why Sandy and Cliff had something else to eat instead. They did't want to make a mess of their uniforms!

After lunch it was a very happy group who boarded the tour bus back to the pier. Sandy kept the guests entertained with stories and history about Prince Edward Island and the places we passed. He even had photographs to show us - what the island looks like in different seasons. There was also an album of pictures from snowfall during the awful 2014/15 winter.

Route to Sydney, Nova Scotia

By the time we arrived back at the pier I was very tired so ended up having a nap. We had been due to meet up with Karen and Nick for dinner in the Canaletto Restaurant but the later departure threw our arrangements around a bit. So we all ended up ordering from the main dining room menu and having it delivered to our cabin, having a lap dinner instead. Karen and Nick didn't mind - as long as it filled hungry stomachs. And we enjoyed their company.

Tomorrow we arrive in Sydney, Nova Scotia, if all goes well!

PHOTOGRAPHS

'The Bluff' in the national park

House of Green Gables

Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. Excursion: Fair Isle Food Tour.

The game of 'Werewolf' is just beginning.

Last night Paul and I rearranged our cabin in order to host a game of "Werewolf". Paul ordered some nibbles and drinks, and we had a great evening of trying to figure out and eliminate the 'werewolves'. I believe the game is similar to 'Mafia' - for those of you who play the game 'Mafia'. In the end the first game ended in a stalemate and the second game ended with the 'villagers' winning.

Lambing shed at Ferme Isle Saint-Jean

The Maasdam docked in chilly and overcast Charlottetown but it didn't dampen anybody's spirits. People wanted to get off the ship and explore!

The tour group I was assigned to today was small but it was nice. Smaller groups can make visits a bit easier.

Milking equipment.

After a 40 minute drive we arrived at Ferme Isle Saint-Jean where we were warmly greeted by the owners, Gabriel Mercier and his wife Deirdre. Oh boy, we were in for a bit of a treat. Whilst in the lambing shed/barn Gabriel talked about raising lambs and sheep, and the production of cheese and yoghurt. Sheep's cheese is a good alternative for people with lactose intolerance.

We were then taken to the milking shed where the milking process was explained, and then we were treated to some cheese and yoghurt tasting. Oh boy, it was delicious. One cheese was fried a bit to change the chemical composition a bit. We were given a bit of the fried cheese and the uncooked version of it. Both were nice.

Afterwards we had the opportunity to purchase products such as sheep's cheese and yoghurt, wool skeins and wool blankets. I know Paul loves cheese so I bought to blocks of sheep's cheese to bring back to the ship so that he won't feel "left out" 😃.

Gouda maturing in a cool cellar.

Back on the bus and a short journey up the road, we arrived at Glasgow Glen Farm where we were in for another cheesy treat. Originally the business was owned by a Dutch woman for 25 years and the current owners took it over after she retired.

Cheese-making equipment.

Our host, Jeff, talked about the making of Gouda cheese and the adding of spices or herbs, or even beer, to give it different flavours. We were able to go down into the cellar to see the variety cheeses being stored in a stable cool environment, and tasted plain mild Gouda, garlic and herb Gouda (my favourite!), and finally onion and red pepper Gouda. This was followed by a bit of pizza with Gouda cheese topping.

Once again we could buy some cheese if we wanted to. I decided not to this time - the sheep's cheese was enough. Paul can get Gouda cheese back in the Netherlands any time.

Roddie, our bus driver and guide for the day, was going to take us via a coastal route to our next destination, Carr's Oyster Bar, but unfortunately the road was closed so we went an alternative route.

Oyster time!

At Carr’s Oyster Bar a short talk was given about growing oysters and then we were given a demonstration of oyster shucking (opening up the oyster in preparation for eating) with a fresh oyster which was on a bed of ice. One by one guests were invited to eat an oyster from the newly shucked shells, sprinkled over with a bit of fresh lemon juice and a bit of sauce (if necessary). At least one guest declined.

I admit I felt a bit squeamish at the thought of eating a live oyster (even though it was probably very cold from its shell being on ice) but after seeing another squeamish guest give it a go (with much encouragement from her husband), I gave it a go, squeezing some lemon juice over the oyster flesh and sucking it off the shell. Yes, it went "down the hatch" and tasted quite nice! We were also treated to a small lobster roll to finish off with. At least 3 people decided to sit down and have a quick oyster meal, buying some at their own expense, and swishing it down with ½ a pint of beer.

Beehives at Island Honey Wine Company

Whilst at the venue we had a bit of time to have a wander around an exhibition of butterfly collections, stuffed birds and large and small mammals.

Time for some tasting.

All too soon we had to get on the bus for the next part of our tour: Island Honey Wine Company. The company is small family run business and organic. There are beehives on the property, lavender plants and orchards. Sheep 'mow' the grass to keep it down, ducks and hens keep the pest population down. Manure from the sheep fertilise the ground and of course bees play an important role in pollinating the flowers and producing honey. All Fruit and honey go into making a variety of mead and other wine.

After a wander around the farm, with the owners' dog for company, we were told about the making of mead and finally we were invited to sample some of the products. I ended up getting a bottle of plain mead rather than one of the other flavoured ones and hope that Paul won't be too cross with me for getting something nice 😉 (well.... I did get him some cheese, remember?!).

Distilling equipment.

Our final booze tasting took place at Deep Roots Distillery. The owners bought a small farm and started planting an apple orchard as a hobby. The apples were sold at the side of the road but as the orchard got bigger, the owners decided to do something with the apples that couldn't be sent to market - blemished apples or apples that had fallen to the ground. The idea of a distillery cropped up and eventually it was built. With trial and error, ciders, brandies, vodka's and other distilled products came into production. The distillery is small but it is all about quality rather than quantity; and it is also organic.

This kitty was very friendly and wound herself around our ankles
when we were outside the distillery building.

The owner gave us nice talk about keeping pests down with natural means, including insect pheromone sticks tied to tops of trees, and also about the distilling process, how the use of wooden barrels comes into play with flavouring his products, and what he has managed to make up to this point in time.

After that, it was time to taste a few of the products. I gave a tequila a miss as well as almost a version of 'moonshine', but the other products I did try when they were offered. I was tempted to get a bottle of maple liquor but decided that one bottle of wine (that I had bought earlier at Island Honey Wine Company) was enough for the time being.

Time was not on our side and our guide/driver had to get us to our last and final venue, the Red Island Baked Potato Restaurant for a bit of baked potato sampling. Fortunately the restaurant is situated in the cruise ship terminal so we were able to hear a little bit about potato-growing on Prince Edward Island and taste some baked potato and locally produced cider before making our way back onto the ship. I guess it was a good way to end the day after sampling some alcohol!

I must say that the tour, overall, was nice. It gave us a good idea of what Prince Edward Island has to offer in the way of food and alcohol. And each place we visited – the owners did their best to describe the making of wine or cheese, and we were able to see distilling or cheese making equipment from behind a glass panel at times. It was nice that guests could sample the end product and had opportunities to make purchases if they wished to do so. Even though most places weren’t open to the general public until mid/late June (when the ‘season’ starts) the farms and distilleries were able to accommodate us very nicely and were happy to have us around.

Snow has been predicted for Prince Edward Island and the temperatures have been falling. It was 6°C when we arrived in Charlottetown but it has now gone down to 4°C. Brrrr... I had a nice long warm shower when I got back...

The Maasdam's route to Quebec.

Oh yes ... the windows on the bridge fogged up due to humidity inside vs cold outside. So the window heaters were switched on, despite warnings not to, and one of the windows cracked ... It has been boarded up but is not hampering visibility because there are plenty of other windows to look out from!

PHOTOGRAPHS