Signal Hill

Our last port of call, before heading back to New York, on this voyage is Saint Johns Newfoundland.  From the Labrador Sea we sailed into the narrow passage that protects the harbor of Saint Johns. From my balcony on the port side it almost looked like “The Narrows” were going to protect the harbor from a ship this large.

Lighthouse and Rusty Weapons Protect the Entrance.

The dock in St. Johns is right along the downtown section of town, and as soon as we were along side it became evident that we were in a much larger city than we have been accustomed to.

The level of noise was amazing. Cars, trucks, back up alarms, busses even musicians, and a gorilla bagpiper, were all contributing to the morning soundtrack.

Saint John’s Harbor

As we were in no hurry to leave the ship, we waited   over espresso before walking down the gangway and into town.

We thought we needed Canadian cash to charter a cab, to take us to signal hill, so we wandered all around the town looking for a ATM machine, and then a cab.

The ATM was finally found, and that proved easier than hiring a cab, as it was a holiday weekend, and all the cabs were frantically hauling our shipmates around town.

Interesting Figure

Back at the dock we waited for a taxi and ended up sharing it with some other passengers that wanted to go to the same places, and so off we went to signal hill.

I had wanted to visit the hill because it is where Morse code messages sent by Marconi, from Europe were first received. Of course it was crowded but it stands as a memorial to early communication.

The Little Castle On Signal Hill

I do not know why but everyday at noon the Signal Hill staff fires off their gun. From where I stood it didn’t look like they ever hit anything, but it certainly had the amerikans mesmerized just to watch a gun in action.

Girl and Gun

On this day the gun wouldn’t fire, even after several attempts, it wouldn’t fire, and so the staff suggested we all come back tomorrow to see if it worked then.

Being at the mercy of the ship we did not have the option to return, but our taxi driver suggested a picturesque cove he would show us if we wanted. We wanted and so off we went.

Our driver also took us to a beach around the other side of the island before dropping us off at the top of the hill at the local shopping mall called the rooms.

Never hiring a taxi in a port before I wasn’t sure how it would turn out, but it turned out excellent. We got to see places we wouldn’t have been able to see, and the price was more than reasonable.