The weather forecast was for 63 degrees and overcast, so we bundled up. However, the weather turned out to be 72 degrees and bright sunshine. We docked in St. Pierre about 10:00 AM and it was quite an elaborate procedure. The dock was only about 1/3 the size of the ship, so they had to tender ropes ashore to several mooring points on the rocky shoreline.
St. Pierre is a tiny little town on a tiny little island just off the east coast of Canada. However, it is part of France. All the locals speak French and the currency is the Euro. That didn't have too much effect on us, but certainly made our first stop colorful and memorable.
We had booked a short tour to "L'ile du Marins" (Sailors Island). The island was only a few hundred yards by boat from St. Pierre, but a different world. The buildings were colorful and well-maintained (I was told they are used as summer houses) but all a bit weather-beaten. Several of them had been turned into museums showing different aspects of life on the island. The island reached its peak in the late 1800's as cod-fishing reached its peak. At that time there were hotels, bars, churches, and stores which supported the fishing fleet. As time went on, the fish gradually diminished due to overfishing and the island population dwindled accordingly - from a population of about 1200 in 1890 to the current population of zero. Although no one lives there, people come from St. Pierre by ferry to operate the tourist facilities. We had an enjoyable time walking around and taking pictures of the many interesting sights. Our guide wasn't too great (very poor english), so I don't think we got as much out of it as we might have.
We headed back to St. Pierre after about 2 hours. We stayed for just a tiny bit of shopping (Adele found and art store!) and headed back to the ship.
We really enjoyed our stop in this very beautiful spot. It was a great way to start the trip!