We are back in Canada and docked at Port Colborne, about a 45 minute drive to Niagara & Horseshoe Falls. Port Colborne is the city where Lake Erie meets Lock 8 of the Welland Canal avoiding the falls to connect Lake Erie to Lake Ontario.

Port Colborne was settled in the 1700’s when American Colonists who sympathized with the British, left and came up to Canada. (Nice sunrise from our ship this morning.)

Most of the excursions today are tours to Niagara Falls. In 2005, we drove to Niagara Falls and stayed for two nights. So, you could say, “been there done that” and do not need to see the falls again. My excursion today will be to learn about the Welland Canal which we know little about.

Our bus driver drives along the canal road through Port Claborne to Port Dalhousie while our tour guide talks about the Welland Canal. Here are a some highlights from today’s tour.

The current canal is the fourth version. The canal changed over time going from 40 locks to 26 locks to 8 locks. The wall’s construction varied as did the path the canal followed. Today, over 3,000 ships transit this canal a year between March and December.

The canal is drained, cleaned, and repaired as needed between January and March each year. 12 mile creek connects to Lake Ontario and was used as the guide for the canal.

The Canal has 8 locks, is 27 miles long connecting Lake Erie to Lake Ontario, and has 326 feet difference in elevation between the two lakes. Lock 8 is the second longest lock in the world and this is where the Viking Octantis ship will start transiting tomorrow. There are 3 vertical lift bridges over and 3 tunnels that go under the Welland Canal. Only ships that are not longer than 750 feet and 78 feet wide can transit these locks.

The road we take to a museum is on top of the Niagara Escarpment. There are farms on the east side of the canal growing soybeans, corn, and grain. On the west side are orchards with various fruit trees. Our tour guide says many of the orchards are being replaced by vineyards for wine.

We make two stops. The first is at the St. Catharines Museum and Welland Lock 3. The flowers everywhere are lovely!

A large tanker ship is in Lock 3 and we can watch the lock in operation from the viewing platform. Ships are no longer tied off in the locks. Instead, a series of ‘suction’ devices attach to the ship while it is in the lock to hold it in place as the water goes up or down.

Inside St. Catharines Museum, we watch a film after which a former Canal Pilot talks to us about what is involved in piloting the ships through the canal.

There are other exhibits in the museum with displays of boats/ships and old equipment. An entire exhibit room is dedicated to the history of Lacrosse and the Canadian teams.

The second and last stop is at the other end of the canal – the original Lock 1 site, an historical point of interest in the town of Port Dalhousie. Similar to the Erie Canal, horses were used to pull the ships thru the locks in the 1800’s. A large marina is located here just before the 12 Mile Creek outlet to Lake Ontario. 12 Mile Creek is renowned for world class rowing competitions.

Some very nice homes on Lake Ontario.

We have now traveled the entire length of the canal by bus. Tomorrow we will just relax and pack while our ship transits the canal.

P.S. Not to forget…last night we enjoyed a delicious meal in The Restaurant with Glenridge friends and finally ordered one of the amazing desserts – Viking Cherry Jubilee. This was in honor of our granddaughter Ila who coincidentally asked us yesterday (via texting) what we preferred – cherry or pumpkin pie. I said Cherry, Steve said pumpkin. Guess whose dessert this was?!