Well, that was Day One!

There may be a delay in collecting “The Beast” but that hasn't stopped me enjoying my first day in Canada. The first huge plus point was that I could actually walk. After hobbling in to the motel on Monday afternoon hardly able to put my right foot on the floor, I was amazed to wake up, if not completely pain free, at least able to walk. I wandered over to the restaurant for breakfast and had a feast ! I was looking for something local, something different to the usual eggs and bacon. My appetite had already been titillated by the menu in my room and the voucher I received for a free continental style breakfast or 15% of any of the other plethora of offering. I eventually settled for an “Eastern Sandwich”; a ham omelette served in two thick slices of home made bread and served with home made backed beans and neat little fries. It didn’t disappoint! Coffee was served free and freely with every breakfast and in spite of my penchant for a morning cup of tea or two, the coffee was slipping down very nicely and it didn’t break the bank…

Talking of banks; I then headed up to the shopping centre which is right on top of the hill behind the motel to get some Canadian dollars. A nice easy walk of about 2 miles which I thought should loosen up my foot a little more (or finish it off!). I’d almost forgotten just how friendly Canadians are! I lost count of the number of people who wished me “Good morning” as I walked up the hill. It was school run time and the huge, yellow traditional school buses were in abundance as they stopped to collect the hoards of extremely well behaved children. The cars too, were behaving impeccably, stopping neatly in line behind the busses as they stopped and shot out a little “Stop” sign from the offside of the cab.  Vehicles from both direction come to halt enabling the children to safely cross the road and not until the last child is aboard does the sign come in, the red lights stop flashing and everything moves gently on its way. Try comparing that with the frenetic scene outside a UK school every school day morning and afternoon!

Arriving at the bank the cash machine was being serviced so I popped in and spoke to a charming young lady behind a very open counter. No bullet proof glass to be seen! How much nicer than the way UK banks have gone in recent years; and remember this is in a country where guns are freely available and rifles are to be seen in racks in the back of virtually every pickup truck. In no time at all I had changed Stirling for Dollars, wished “good day” and wandered off to have a peak around the rest of the shopping area, not that I actually needed anything much. So with my foot now working just fine and pain free I headed back for the motel. Unfortunately the weather, whilst dry, was very misty so views were non existent, a shame as I think there would have been some nice photos to be had across the river.

Back at base it was time to try to find out the exact position regarding the collection of my bike. I couldn't get the line to connect either from my mobile or indeed from the land line in my room so popped over to reception where the staff were only too happy to help, making phone calls and enquiries and printing out information from the internet for me until I finally connected with the right person! With my new information to hand, back in my room I phoned the shipping agent to be told that the ship would definitely be unloaded on Friday and if I got the payment to them ASAP and sorted the paperwork with customs at the same time, there was a good chance I could collect the bike on Friday. That would be good, as not only do they not work weekends, Monday is also a holiday! David had arranged to call in at around 4.30pm and then took me for a tour of Halifax as well as pointing out where I had to go to pay the fees and where the customs were.   

And what a lovely town Halifax appears to be, it was a bit of a whistle stop tour but with David pointing out many of the more notable sites. We stopped in at one of the cemeteries where many of the Titanic’s tragic victims are buried, including the unknown baby that was found and then recently exhumed and finally identified. A ride along the waterfront, the central park and some of the more prominent properties and it was time for supper. David had pointed out one of his favourite eateries on the way into town so that was where we headed. Whilst David ordered the pork chops I had the days special; a steak sandwich served with a Greek salad, home made coleslaw and a bown of dipping gravy! Oh boy! do I need to get on the road way from all this temptation…. A nice way to round off my first day back in Canada.