Week eleven began with a visit to the bus terminal, and my expanding luggage was soon playing havoc on my back, leaving a pain comparable to that which a Jew feels at a checkout. The bus journey saw me head from Toronto, back to Montreal, where I would be forced to change for another bus to The Maritimes. This meant a four hour wait in the bus station, and with the ATM being quite African and not excepting Visas I could not withdraw any money to spend and entertain myself. Eventually, the four hours passed, and I bordered my second bus of the journey to Moncton, where my final change would take place. With nothing else to do, and night setting in during the journey, I decided to sleep in the comfortable climate afforded by the Greyhound

McCarthy looks forward to the departure from Montreal bus stataion	The Greyhound buses featured the luxury of plug sockets
Pierre did a superb job as driver from Montreal

I awoke at around 11am on the coach, delighted to see us making a breakfast stop. However, my lack of cash denoted that I would not be eating, so I instead took the desperate measure of trying to confuse a vending machine with British money. Unfortunately, this was completely unsuccessful. After my final change in Moncton, I arrived in Halifax at around 6.30pm - a journey time of around 35 hours. Despite the promise of the hostel being only 200 metres from the hostel, I once again became lost. However, the use of WAP soon made me realise I was infact standing outside of my home for the next few days. I then visited a cash point, before heading to the casion, where I made a huge profit on my first slot attempt, turning 25 cents into $8.50. This was promptly lost however, and I returned to the hostel to find another man in my bed. Resisting the temptation to clamber in with him, I instead called the manager who revealed the bed had been double booked, and I was soon moved to a four bed room on my own, complete with my own bath room. It was in this room I had my link to Jesus confirmed when my foot started bleeding chronically in what I can only describe as a stigmata attack. I wiped up the blood I had left, naturally leaving some to mark my territory before heading for a decent nights sleep in a bed as opposed to a coach

McCarthys feet denote his link to Jesus Christ with this strange Stigmata phenomenom

My first full day in Halifax saw me exploring this great military town set up by the British. My first port of call was the town clock, a gift from Queen Victoria's father that has 4 faces due to his love of punctuality. Next stop was a trip up to the top of the hill, where the Halifax Citadel was, a star shaped fort built by the Empire to protect the harbour below. Inside this fine military base were a number of displays, along with exhibitions denoting how great the British Empire was and how it used to rule the world. After reading about how Britain is responsible for creating and securing Canada, the fact that I hail from the greatest country in the world was confirmed and I decided to take in the view over the harbour, which is the second largest natural one in the world no less. I then headed back to the hostel before returning to Casino Nova Scotia, where I lost $40 and decided to quit while I was ahead, despite the fact I was not ahead at all. I then picked up a delightful slice of Lebanese pizza before enjoying Raw and heading to bed

The Halifax clock	McCarthy with the four sided clock
A map denoting the world that the British Empire used to control	The courtyard of the Citadel
Looking over the second largest natural harbour in the world

Tuesday would see me visit the brewery of one of Canadas top beers, Alexander Keith, along with the Maritime Museum due to the free entry available on Tuesdays between 5.30pm-8pm. Keiths was my first port of call, where we were guided around by characters dressed in 19th century outfits. We were explained the history of the brewery, before engaging in a tasting session in a replica 19th century tavern, where singing and dancing took place. Impressed with the ale, I decided to kill the 2 and a half hours until free entry to the museum occurred by going to local pub. This proved to be a classic error, as I consumed a further 4 pints to take my total to the day for 6, and with no food since breakfast, my failed attempts to find a hotdog stand proved to be problematic. Giving up, I entered the museum where there were displays on World War II, boats, the Halifax disaster in 1919 in which two boats carrying gunpowder collided and ended up blowing up half the town, items from the Titanic that were relevant as many of the bodies are buried in Halifax, a section on piracy, the French losing to us Brits at Waterloo. It was a superb museum, helped by constant references to the British Empire and "the greatest navy the world has ever seen", with the admission that despite films glorifying it, piracy attacks were rare as the majority feared the power of the Union Jack. After my museum visit, I made the grave error of returning to the pub and demolished four more points while talking to some French chaps about football and rugby, before making the sensible decision to leave and pick up some Lebanese pizza and head to bed.

The entrance to Alexander Keiths brewery	The beer making facilities inside
This Nazi flag was uncovered from a sunken U Boat	This cabinet came from the Titanic
A pint of Keiths - simply delightful

After losing my two remaining ear plugs, my night of sleep was ruined by some tosser subjecting me to a display of snoring that can only be described as horrendous. This ensured I was up at 4am, with very little help doing nothing to improve my hungover mood. The day was spent doing nothing due to my departure to Freeport to stay with family friend Barb in the evening, which was probably just as well due to the horrendous fog that had descended over Nova Scotia, making it impossible to see further than four metres in front of you. The journey to Digby, where I was being picked up from, took a mere 5 hours, which wasn't helped by the driver having a cigarette break at every stop. We eventually arrived in Digby at 11.15am, where Barb was waiting to whisk me away for another hours drive to Freeport, which included a ferry trip to get to the remote island. The thick fog outside ensured I was unable to see anything, and we soon arrived in her remote but cosy home. As I settled down for a decent nights sleep, I felt as though I was some sort of Lord of the Rings character as I settled down in this little house with a storm blowing outside, in the middle of nowhere, with the occasional sound of a ship passing but safely tucked under my sheets for a night which no snoring could interupt

The thick flog that had descended over Nova Scotia was simply ludicrous	This sign denoted that the bus was exactly halfway between the North Pole and the equator

After a thorough nights sleep, I awoke at 11.30am to find the delights of a cooked breakfast waiting for me, consisting of bacon, eggs, toast and strawberries. Feeling as though I had died and gone to heaven having had absolutely sod all in the way of breakfasts over the last eleven weeks, I devoured the meal with delight. The fog remained thick on the island, and so I ventured into the yard where I soon met Jim, who was fixing a gate, and a young chap called Amos who lived opposite. The day was spent doing something I have had very little chance to do thus far on my trip, and that was simply relaxing. In the evening, myself and Barb headed over to Jims house for a dinner party to celebrate Barbs birthday, which was last week. Here, I met some more old Canadians, and my instant impression was to liken it to the Vicar of Dibley Council meetings, in which the guests discussed only matters to do with the island, named seemingly everyone who lived there and seemed completely oblivious to the rest of the world. We were soon devouring fresh prawns and other sea food fished out of the local area, before discussing politics in which I wowed the masses with my knowledge. The main meal was then served, with chicken, meat balls, potatoes, rice, carrots, peas and many other items that I considered a luxury due to my poor eating habits since arriving in Canada. After more discussions, myself and Barb headed back to her house where we enjoyed a viewing of CSI, and I had a glowing sense of content from my stomach for the first time of my visit

A 10am awakening on Friday saw me devour another cooked breakfast, before preparing myself for todays activity of whale watching. Given my last experience in Quebec, in which we saw nothing and I spent the majority of the time attempting not to be sick, I was slightly apprehensive about this trip. However, I should have known I would have nothing to fear, as I was in the capable of hands of an English speaking man, and the journey was as smooth as I could have hoped. We saw a huge seal floating along the sea with a cod in his mouth, before witnessing a plethora of whales - including minkie, humpback and fin. The expedition lasted around 2 and a half hours, and the highlight was easily a mother and calf playing, and our boat being in the middle of a circle of 5 whales, in a scene which was reminiscent of something out of Jaws. I also recieved sunburn from the bright sun reflecting off the water, which was a bonus. The evening was spent with Jim and Kay, our hosts from last night enjoying dinner with myself and Barb, and once I again I stuffed myself with lasagna and ceasar salad to the point where I seemed ready to burst. After they had left, we settled down to some more television in which I enjoyed seeing the final 5 innings of the Blue Jays victory over the Red Sox, before watching Arrested Development and heading to bed

McCarthy looking forward to his whale watching experience	One whale approaches the boat
And comes out the other side	A rather large one
A calf and its mother enjoy a swim

CANADA TOUR

MAC INDUSTRIES HOME