St. Andrews by the Sea

Up early as there is a lot to fit in today. Breakfast is a help yourself buffet in the verandah dining room watching the sun come up ( it is only 7am). We thought taking a panoramic view of the buffet area may be too embarrassing so you'll have to take our word for it being a pretty grand affair. 

Set out past the horse statue again this time heading for the Kingsbrae botanical gardens which have been advised as a "must see". It's only a short walk from our base at the Algonquin as you can see from this map. 

You can walk across the whole peninsula in about 15 to 20 minutes (or maybe a bit more for some). 

We decide to go via Katy's Cove (a private beach) and part of the Resort we are staying in, which is along the eastern coast. There are complimentary bicycles to use but think we'll save that idea once we've checked the terrain. The Vuelta a España has finished so we don't see any need to compete with Messrs Froome et al.  On the map it looks like there's a shore path (with cartoon people on it) that runs past the other side of the Kingsbrae Gardens, perhaps there'll be a way in from that side.  We find the road to Katy's Cove and follow a path through woodland, hopefully to reach the shore. Perhaps we can walk through the cemetery and come out by the waterside path. On the other hand, perhaps not.  There is no gate from the cemetery out to the shore but instead a dense woodland(not quite as detailed as our OS maps). Deciding to turn back to the road was a good decision as we see some deer in amongst the gravestones, looks like a mother and baby.  

Next we try Quoddy Shore Drive. There are lots of building plots for sale here but apparently no access to the fabled shore path.  But there are more deer.

There's some building work going on at one of the plots and a builder who we presume is not on piece rates - he is moving a large pile of earth a shovelful at a time - surrounding him are three large earth-moving machines!  We ask if there is a way onto the path but he's not from around here.  Carrying on, we come to a dead end and a possible building plot (it says 'private property no trespassing', might be a bit of a clue), but there appears to be a path towards the shore so we take it anyway.  Wrong again - it leads to a hedge, but at least this time there is a gap, a bit of a bank, a ditch and a bank up the other side and ...voila...we are at last on the shore path! As you can see it is a beautiful sunny day, and there is just enough wind to make the walking pleasant. 

We amble along, back into some woodland, and then find a sign saying we are in Pagan Point Nature Reserve. Obviously no entrance from the path to Kingsbrae Gardens as, looking at the map, we are now well past it. Wend our way back to the gardens.

Eric enjoying a spin in the Topiary Garden.

The gardens are in full flower and nearly all are very familiar plants.

This is the Perennial Garden.

There are also some whimsical plantings and artefacts that Eric enjoys.

The Tea Tree (plants in teapots on a branched sculpture)

 Bill and Ben the Flowerpot Men?

A very flowery 'lady'. Can you spot Eric?

A working miniature windmill, with an Archimedes Screw powered by the wind moving water along a channel.

There is also a children's petting area with various animals, some of which are pictured below.

Fluffy chickens - don't know what variety.

Butterscotch the rabbit is very cute.

There are also goats and alpacas. 

We find a sign for the likely birds we may see in the gardens.

But we see none of these!

We do see dragonflies and butterflies.

Then it's back to the hotel to pick up our warm clothing layers for an afternoon of whale watching out on a boat. There's a marine biologist on board and she's also a birder.  Some of the pictures are not brilliant as the sea was quite rough - so difficult to stay steady!

A Common Loon - it was calling, which is a lovely sound.

 The Pendlebury Lighthouse.

Seals sunning themselves - they try to keep as much of themselves out of the water as they can, to have maximum heating effect, hence tails and noses in the air.

Another lighthouse, but I didn't catch the name. Could be Bliss Island Lighthouse or Green Point.

We are in Passamoquoddy Bay and there are quite a lot of islands.

We cruise around for a while quite a long way out in the Sound, waiting for the Humpback Whales. They are not out playing today (or at least not here), so the Captain decides to go towards Campobello Island.  We now see the same lighthouse we were at yesterday, but from the sea.  

We also see a Minke whale, in almost the exact same spot as yesterday.  No photo today either, but it was there, honest.  We are struggling to find the whales. 

A mystery bird - answers on a postcard to...

Another Loon?

A Bald Eagle - we not only see one, but ten. A mix of mature and immature birds.

We were told this was an Osprey.  It was along way up and the boat was rocking is my excuse.

Some Razorbills. Also saw Black Guilliemots, Greater Shearwater, Northern Gannet

At last - multiple sightings of whales and porpoises.

The finger points to a whale, wait, it's two. Fin Back Whales - a mother and her calf from last year.

There are fish shoals under and around the boat and the whales and porpoises are feeding on them.

The clear patches of water behind the whale are it's 'footprint'.

We left the dock at 1:30 and returned at 5:40 - it was only supposed to be a two and a half hour trip, but I guess they stayed out a while longer to make sure we'd actually seen some whales.

A pair of swimming trunks purchased earlier in the day meant that use could be made of the resort swimming pool.  It was a bit late for the outdoor one so the indoor one had to do (didn't try the water slide though!).

Dinner was accompanied by a sunset view

With some rather strange sounding beers on the menu - third from the bottom.

All in all a very enjoyable day.