Tides of the Bay of Fundy

Click images to enlarge

Memories of Canada

As Canada celebrates their 150th anniversary, promoted by the Canadian government as Canada 150, we continue taking a look back at some of our memorable moments from cruises and tours to Canada.

This would be an excellent time for you to visit Canada, as there will be year long celebrations throughout the land.

New Brusnwick

Our next stop down memory lane brings us to the Atlantic (east coast) side of Canada. New Brunswick (French: Nouveau-Brunswick) is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces, together with Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia, and is the only bilingual (English–French) province of Canada. This is a typical port of call during a Canada & New England cruise.

We booed a very unique shore excursion in Saint John, NB.   Our guide for the day was a professional photographer who took us to various locations where we could experiment with different techniques.  It was a small group, so he was able to provide individual attention to each of us.   If you like photography, consider checking either the ship's excursions or with local guides for a similar tour.  We quite enjoyed the experience.  This post will only concentrate on one stop of our tour.

Bay of Fundy - Reversing Falls

The Bay of Fundy is a bay on the Atlantic coast of North America, on the northeast end of the Gulf of Maine between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, with a small portion touching the U.S. state of Maine. It is one of the 7 wonders of North America due to recording the highest tides on earth along with having the rarest whales of the world.

View Entire Bay of Fundy Album

The Bay of Fundy was recently named the 3rd best attraction in Canada by USA Today. USA Today’s 10Best travel guide ranked the top 20 nominees, and the public decided the final 10. View the entire list here: the top ten attractions in Canada.

A unique phenomenon created by the collision of the Bay of Fundy and the Saint John River. At low tide the river empties into the bay causing a series of rapids and whirlpools. As tides rise they slow the river current for a brief period called slack tide. The Bay's tides continue to rise, gradually reversing the flow of the river, and rapids form again, peaking at high tide. Tide cycles take about 12.5 hours.

During our visit to New Brunswick and the Bay of Fundy, our ship docked early in the morning and we toured the bay.   You'll note from these pictures that the gangplank had a steep angle in the morning when we disembarked the ship, but when we returned several hours later, the tide was low and the gangplank was now almost completely level with the pier and the ship was lower in the water.

The unique thing about this excursion was that we visited the Bay of Fundy twice so we could observe the change of directions cause by the tides.

Did you know that over 160 billion tons of water move in and out of the Bay of Fundy, every day, twice a day?

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Water Wonders of the World

 #Travelpics

Water Wonders

 
Today we joined #TRAVELPICS chat on Twitter for a fun packed hour exchanging ideas and travel photos with like-minded posters. The theme was  “water wonders.”

Pictures that were shared ranged fFrom diving and waterfalls to aqua landscapes, hurricanes, coral reefs from above, and so much more.  Here are some of our answers to questions raised during the hour along with some images. (click on images to enlarge)
 
Questions for Monday’s “Water Wonders” #travelpics chat:

(3:00) Intros: Please introduce yourself and tell us where you’re tweeting from today!

Greetings from frozen #Chicago #Travelpics

(as you can see we got some fresh snow that morning)


(3:05) Q1: In your mind, what are some of the “water wonders of the world”? 
A1: Several come to mind from Niagra Falls to Gullfoss in Iceland - what do you think of

 (3:10) Q2: Share a photo of the most wild water wonder you’ve ever been to! 
A2: #Kjosfossen waterfall #Norway is a rail stop from Voss to #Flam


Norway is one of our favorite lands to visit with the mighty Norwegian fjords waterfalls amongst the most popular attractions.

(3:20) Q3: Whether above the water or below, share a tale or snap of an unusual perspective.
A3: @CelebrityCruises amongst our #Galapagos memories #snorkeling with sea turtles #Travelpics #ttot

You can learn more about our Galapagos adventure on our blog: Cruise With Christine Pappin: Diary of Celebrity Xpeditions Galapagos

(3:30) Q4: Bigger isn’t always better: Tweet a water wonder photo that’s beautiful even if small, hidden, or overlooked. 
Several answers came to mind for this question:
A4: Bay of Fundy #NovaScotia #NewBrunswick #Canada reversing falls #Travelpics #ttot
 
Visit these amazing waterfalls when on a Canada / New England cruise.  Be sure to visit in the morning and then later in the day to see the tides reverse.


A4: Brisksdal Glacier & Waterfalls #Geiranger #Norway #travelpics #ttot Norwegian Fjords

A Norwegian Fjords cruise offers the opportunity to visit Geiranger and Hellesylt.  You can walk on a glacier or ride on a path past amazing waterfalls. 

A4: Hellesylt #Norway waterfall in the center of town #Norwegian #Fjords #TTOT #travelpics

Other favorites include Olden and Tvinde waterfalls.

A4: Norwegian Fjords including #Olden #Norway waterfalls & rapids come to mind #Travelpics #ttot
A4: hard to pick just one amazing water wonder in #Norway #Tvinde #travelpics #ttot Tvinde.jpg

 

(3:40) Q5: Tell us what water wonder is your favorite–and pick one you’d hop on a plane today to see.

A5: @NPKrka KRKA National Park Split #Croatia #travelpics #ttot

One of the most amazing highlights of our Mediterranean cruise from Rome to Venice included our visit so Split, Croatia and KRKA National Park & Waterfalls.  You could spend hours there capturing water wonders.

(3:50) Q6: Show off that awesome water shot–a frozen moment, a beautiful long exposure, or something unique!
A6: Brisksdal Glacier & Waterfalls #Geiranger #Norway #travelpics #ttot Norwegian Fjords

We hope that this has sparked your interest in taking your photography to a new level.  Follow the weekly #travelpics chat on Twitter for more ideas on this and other travel topics.   We'd love to hear your ideas as well, or better yet, join us for the next chat.

Thank you to this week's co-hosts: @AntiTourist @Sihpromatum @TheTravelCamel & @VibrantIreland. 
 

Have you seen the  #travelpics recap? http://bit.ly/17RRaFq

Join us for #travelpics on Monday's at 3 PM ET every week for a fun-filled hour related to travel and photography.  

 

Follow us on Twitter: @ChrisPappinMCC  Pinterest: CruiseWithChris Pappin and Facebook: CruiseWithChris Pappin Cruises Inc for more ideas.

Each week we post images from our trips and participate in several travel chats on Twitter.

Take advantage of these resources to assist in you in planning your dream vacations.  Of course, we are always available to answer any questions you might have about travel and the industry.

 

Off the Beaten Path Krka National Park

Krka National Park 

& Waterfalls

Split, Croatia

Continuing our 12-Night Mediterranean & Greek Isles Cruise, our next port of call was Split, Croatia.  Here we ventured off the beaten path one more time to Krka National Park & Waterfalls.  Our day began with a big drive, almost two hours from boarding the bus at Split pier, onwards through the Croation countryside to the glorious national park.  We'll talk about the countryside in another post - this one will focus on the park itself.

The Adriatic coast attracts tourists from all over the world and you'll quickly see why as you enter Krka National Park, a breath-taking natural wonder. This vibrant area was declared a national park in 1985, one of seven in Croatia, and is named after the river that runs through all 35,000 acres. Krka River, with its seven magical waterfalls, travels two thirds of its way to the sea through canyons.

The Sounds of Nature

Close your eyes and listen intently to the sounds of nature that surround you...    One of the 222 species of birds sings out in the silence, searching for a mate.    The water rushing is getting more intense;  a waterfall must be just around the bend.  A gentle breeze ruffles the leaves.  You continue walking and silence returns, but only for an instant as once again you hear water rushing.

The park is a natural haven for over 400 species of animals, including Adriatic salmon, and thousands of different types of plant life but the true spectacle are the waterfalls.  Skradinski Buk, the part of the park we visited, features the largest and most dramatic waterfall in Krka National Park at 151 feet in height and approximately 1,312 feet wide.

Footpaths that meander above and below the falls offer the most dramatic and extensive views of this natural wonder. Swimming is allowed in some pools at certain times (your Guide will be able to advise you) so you may want to pack your swim gear and towel just in case you get the urge to jump in and cool down.

We leave you with a sampling of images...  

More can be found on our Facebook Fan Page in our album:

  KRKA National Park & Waterfalls

Additional photos can be found on our Facebook Albums.




Click on the image to the left for more Blog posts about this trip.

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Where have you explored? 

Gather your travel and food pics and join us every Wednesday night for the latest installment of #FoodTravelChat

Bay of Fundy Coastal Photography Tour

Bay of Fundy Coastal Photography Tour

Saint John, NB, Canada

We decided to tour this area with the aide of a local photographer. Carnival offered the Bay of Fundy Coastal Photography tour. We boarded a mini-coach accompanied by our professional photographer guide, Lance Timmons, and headed out to photograph some of the iconic images of New Brunswick, including a Bay of Fundy beach, working fishing wharf, waterfalls, and more.

This excursion took us off the beaten path and along the coast of the Bay of Fundy giving us the opportunity to photograph the breathtaking scenic beauty of this area. We had done a similar tour when in St. Thomas, USVI and enjoyed it very much. That's why we selected this tour.

Our first photo stop was at the Reversing Falls. It was still high tide when we got there, so the water was flowing away from the bridge and towards the two islands across from the power plant.

As you can see from the photos above, the weather was overcast, with some light rain. That didn't put a damper on our photography tour. In fact with these conditions, photography is actually better as colors pop in the softer light. We visited the Bay of Fundy twice, first at high tide and then again at low tide just before returning to our ship. The water was flowing in opposite directions on these visits.

Another stop was at the Lepreau Falls (photo above). While the Rerversing Falls are the most widely known and popular, we enjoyed our visit to Lepreau Falls the most. We have seen many waterfalls in our years of cruising, each with their own character and personality. These falls have unique color due to the tannins in the water. This was an excellent location to try different photography techniques.

At Dipper Harbour we had the opportunity to see an active fishing village. There were boats coming in with their lobster catches which can be purchased locally. We made another photo stop at a very unique beach. This isn't your typically white sand beach. Instead, the terrain is very rocky.

Our tour ended with another stop at our original location - Reversing Falls. We were now at low tide which means the water flow had reversed from our previous visit. The best way to capture this on camera is to take a video from the same vantage point on both visits.

For more pictures from the photography tour, see our Saint John - Coastal Photography album. Also visit our Cruise Vacation site for this cruise (still a work in progress).

Celebrity Solstice - Solarium

One of the unique features on larger Celebrity ships is the Solarium which is an adults-only pool area. On the Millinneum class ships, there is a thalasotherapy pool, but Solstice Class ships do not have one.

The Solarium completes the Celebrity Solstice AquaSpa offerings. After working out in the fitness center, you can swim in this indoor lap pool. Relax in one of the hot tubs or lounge in one of the unique chairs that flank the pool while enjoying the dancing waterfalls.

During the day the Solarium is brightly lit by the sun shining through the domed glass ceiling. At night, the Solarium takes on a complely different mood with soft lighting accenting the dancing waters of the waterfalls.

Whether you want to relax or workout, the Solarium is an adult sanctionary from crowded areas of the ship. No matter if its sunny or rainy outside, the Solarium is the perfect location for some relaxation.