Annapolis Royal to St. Martins, Friday, 9-Jun-2023
/We left Nova Scotia for now, taking a ferry across the Bay of Fundy to New Brunswick. Before doing that, we went over to the Gilbert's Cove lighthouse, then hung out in Digby while waiting for the ferry.
Gilbert's Cove Lighthouse
Knowing we had a lot of time before the ferry, but not wanting to miss the only sailing of the day, we didn't plan too much until the late afternoon sailing. We left Annapolis Royal, went past Digby a bit, and turned off the highway to go to Gilbert's Cove Lighthouse. As we were pulling up, we saw that the tide was way out, with huge mud flats near the shore. After we got out of the car, we saw people in the low tide digging for clams.
The lighthouse wasn't really open yet for the season, but the women inside invited us in to look around. The first thing we did was climb up the ladder-like stairs to where the lamp was. It was very tight up there, with the stairwell taking one complete side of the lamp housing. We did get a good view in all directions.
After climbing down, we looked around at the artifacts they had all along the walls. As we were leaving, all three women wanted to make sure we signed the guest register. We figured it helps them show how many people visit the lighthouse to help with funding.
Exiting the lighthouse, we walked around the grounds to look at it from the outside. It's like a small house with a small tower with the light at the top. We weren't noticing a lot of wind, figuring that being protected from the Bay of Fundy by the Digby Neck and being quite far in St. Mary's Bay helps with that.
Ferry, Digby to St. John
We got back in the car and headed to Digby; the ferry would leave from just north of town. We filled up the car, got groceries, then found a restaurant for lunch. Digby is known for its scallops, so that's what we ordered. Pan-fried, they were very tender and tasty.
Since we still had time, we grabbed our laptops and headed to a café to spend a bit of time before checking into the ferry. We were supposed to check in at least an hour before sailing, but we still had time to not feel rushed before getting to the ferry dock more than an hour beforehand.
We arrived very early to check into the Bay of Fundy Ferry and ended up being close to the front of the line. As we waited in the car, other lanes started to fill up, but not all of them, so we knew the ferry wouldn't be packed. When loading time arrived, we were instructed to the upper level for vehicles. There seemed to be only one entrance for vehicles, so when we got to the upper level, we were near where the cars turned around to face the other way.
After getting our dinner and bags, we went up to the passenger level. There were windows along the front and most of the sides, but none towards the back. We looked at the upper deck (all outside), and we could see the stern and the starboard side, but not the front and just a bit of the port. We went back inside to stake out a table next to some windows.
We pulled out of Digby, through the Digby Cut, and into the Gulf of Maine on our way to the Bay of Fundy. We were on the starboard side, so saw Victoria Beach go by.
Once we got out into the bay, there was quite a bit of fog so we couldn't really see much. As we got closer to St. John, we ate our dinner, then a refinery near Deep Cove and another one at Courtney Bay. We rounded Partridge Island and then pulled into the dock. Once the boat was secure, we were let back down to the car level. Since we loaded in the beginning on the upper deck, we needed to wait until the lower deck drove off before driving off.
Now in New Brunswick, we drove over to St. Martins, where we were staying in a cabin. Since it's a spread-out campground, we're pretty far from the Wi-Fi base station, so things are a bit slow, but we're still able to get things done. With our food in the fridge, we settled in for the night.
