836. Bay of Fundy

Where: Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick, Canada

When: July 22-25, 2010

With: Dave

When I lived in New York City, my apartment was on the west side. At one point during my time there, I spent a year on a hellish project in upstate New York that required me to commute up the West Side Highway every day. One of the only things that got me through that commute and that time was when I would occasionally be stuck in traffic next to the cruise terminal at West 51st Street. I would stare up at those big, beautiful boats and dream about walking out of my car, boarding, and sailing off to somewhere tropical and far away from work. 

Once the project was over, I absolutely insisted we take one of these cruises. Nothing long was necessary, but something where I could literally roll my suitcase out the door, walk 15 blocks, and board a ship. Upon researching, we found a 4-day cruise that actually went north to Canada. That was different. So we signed ourselves up for this Carnival Bay of Fundy cruise and fulfilled my wishes. 

Cruise ships just make me happy upon boarding. Something about the cheesy lights, the size, the top of the world views, I just love them. After the walk from my apartment, customs and boarding, we got a couple glasses of champagne and took a quick spin around our digs for the next couple days.

We soon made our way upstairs and outside. Lo and behold, up on deck, we found a hammock. It was odd to be swinging on a hammock on a cruise ship with the NYC skyline in the background. However, if we keep drinking fruity cocktails, it will all make sense, right?

I did take a moment to reflect that I could now see the commute I had hated for so long from up here and I was grateful it was over and I'd fulfilled this wish.

One of my favorite and silly moments of every cruise is when passengers must report to their muster stations. Usually, I'm half in the bag, wearing a life vest, and slightly unsure whether I'll remember any of the safety briefing in the event of an actual emergency. While lined up and listening to the protocol, we had to set our drinks down. So. Far. Away. This is vacation people, don't take my fruity cocktail away!

Once we got moving, it was cool to see the sites of the New York harbor from a ship, including the Colgate clock, the Statue of Liberty, and Ellis Island. 

Goodbye New York City!

Once we pass under the Verrazano Bridge, its open ocean from there!

Ahh international waters!

Another favorite of cruise ships! The towel animals! Here's my favorites. 

The next day was open sailing, a surprisingly rare treat on a cruise that usually packs in a port every day. We were lucky enough to score a lounge-bed in the adults-only front of the ship and spent the day relaxing and sipping on rum drinks with umbrellas. It was glorious. 

A quick side note on our dinners. This was my first time on a cruise with just one other person, as in the past I've been with large groups. We could have paid extra for a private table, but we decided it would be fine at a larger table, imagining we'd be two out of ten. Instead, we were sat at a table for four with another couple from West Virginia. They were very nice, but they were CHARACTERS. On the night of the Captain's Dinner, the formal night of the cruise, the wife wore a full prom dress with a low-cut back and was sure to get a photo of the tattoo she had of a heart with her husband's name written into it at the small of her back. We were not so fancy...

So the cruise was the Bay of Fundy cruise and is also the name of the post. So what is this destination, you may ask? The Bay of Fundy is a narrow bay that sits between the provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia and sees a greater change from high to low tide than anywhere in the world. Some parts have a 55 foot change between them. And since tides change from high to low every six hours, it's possible to walk out along the bay at low tide in the morning, and need a boat back at high tide by afternoon. 

Exiting our chariot, the Carnival Glory, for the day's excursion.

Officially in Fundy National Park. 

The Bay from way up high. 

First we stopped in the small town of Alma to walk the beach that soon would grow massively, as it was currently high tide.

Here's how it looked at mid-morning. 

And by the time we drove back through Alma at the end of the day, here's what we found:

The best before and after photo I snagged: the same three boats tied up in the bay.

Our ultimate destination in Fundy National Park was the rock formations that appear at low tide and show how the change in water has eroded the rocks into really cool shapes. 

The view from above. At high tide, these just look like little islands covered in trees. 

Before we could climb down, we had to read the warning labels to get back out before high tide came pouring back in, literally. 

The narrow path down. 

The massive rocks simply towered over our heads as we mucked through the wet sand and mud. 

It was crazy how seashells went so high up over us, stuck into the rocks. 

Some proportion of how high these rocks are, and all underwater in a few short hours. 

It's cool, we're VIPs.

A lot of the rocks looked like alien shaped heads, with the trees serving as hair. 

Please don't make me do this. 

I can't remember what I was attempting to do here, but the shape of the rock above me indicates I should probably move out of the way. 

Oh no, there it is. Dave went for it.

A head looking to the left?

After our brief exploration, it was time for the drive back to the ship. I wish we could have stayed and watched the water fill in, but sadly, the ship calls us! Just need to take in the views on the way back.

Our last stop before returning to the ship was at the entrance to the bay where the waves change direction based on whether the tide is going in or out. Hard to appreciate one way without seeing the other, but sounds cool!

That night, we boarded the ship, and the next day, spent another day at sea returning to New York. It was short and sweet, and I wish we'd had more time, but man, it was good to be on this side of the ship rather than in my car staring at it.