04/06/2009 by Brigid.

Wallenius Wilhelmson’s office opened at 8am, so we were up with the larks this morning.  Fees paid, next stop was Canadian Border Control to get our papers stamped, then back to the hotel to pack.  Despite all our good intentions, time was getting on.  It was nearly noon by the time we boarded the little Metro ferry for the trip across the harbour to the Autoport, with the inevitable consequence that it was lunchtime by the time we arrived.  Needless to say, the one member of staff responsible for riding the bikes round to the office was on his break …

We had been pre-warned that John’s bike had been loaded onto the ship with a flat tyre, and so we were prepared to be spending the day looking for a new one.  In the event, things weren’t so grim. There was an obvious score mark in the centre of the tread, and the leak was slow. At least we could get back to the hotel before having to worry about it.

On the other hand, having only a couple of weeks ago ridden about 1,000 miles to deliver my BMW to Southampton, I wasn’t reckoning on a flat battery. But there you are, life is full of surprises. We just kept the motor running while John gave his rear tyre a quick boost.

Back at the hotel, John plugged his puncture, and we set about the challenge of packing six bags’ worth of kit onto our bikes. It was getting late and we needed to put some symbolic mileage under our belts. At 4pm we hit the road, bound for Moncton, New Brunswick.

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04/06/2009 by Brigid.

The 6 hour flight to Halifax was, mercifully, eventless and, despite being delayed for almost an hour due to a technical problem with the onboard lavatories, arrived on time at about 2.40pm local time. The airport has a lot of charm. The baggage hall conveyors boast model boats and light houses, and visitors are greeted by a cheerful tartan-clad team of elderly volunteers. Even so, the woman running the airport shuttle desk and our monosylabic cab driver, should, perhaps, take a leaf out of their book.

The airport turned out to be rather further from the centre of Halifax than we expected. The drive into town was dull, disappointing almost. Forestry and shale embankments dominate the views. In terms of scenery, the M4 is probably more interesting. In the end, we arrived at the Haliburton Hotel too late to collect the bikes today.

We did, however, manage to speak to the shipping office before they closed at 5pm, and ascertained that our bikes had arrived. And, having tried unsuccessfully to connect to the hotel internet, we eventually wandered up to the nearest Starbucks and managed to receive an email telling us how to go about releasing them from customs … along with a bill for $Can 327 for doing so – just a wee bit more than we remembered from last time, and it will effectively clean us out of half our Canadian cash.

We had dinner in Maxwell’s Plum, a self-styled Engish “pub” serving 60 different beers and inexpensive steaks.

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04/06/2009 by Brigid.

You were wondering what had happened to us, weren’t you?  The last few weeks have been pretty hectic.  We were back and forth to the UK three times since my last post, in preparation for our latest odyssey.  Now we are in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and what follows is the diary of our 8-week trip through Canada and the USA …

Before you ask, Tigger and Foggy are safe and well, and being expertly looked after. And, despite their waking us up at 5am while we were at my mother-in-law’s, I do rather miss them.

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