August 1, 2025 – St. Pierre and Miquelon
Port Information. St Pierre
and Miquelon is a
French Overseas Enclave just 25 km off the coast of Newfoundland. It is composed of eight islands and has a population of about 5800 people (in decline). The economy relies heavily on fishing because the climate is not compatible with farming. French flags are everywhere and French spoken in
the town. The currency is the Euro. The cruise terminal is the
most minimal of any we have ever seen. There
is just a small building (not used by passengers) and security is checked at
the archway sign welcoming people.
It turns out
that Saint-Pierre is also the location of a Canadian TV Series (actually filmed here) about a detective who
is exiled to this little island and makes life more complicated for the Assistant
Police Chief (played by my favorite “Death in Paradise” actress Josephine
Jobert). The plot does sound familiar. Hoping
it will get on American TV one day.
I got a nice Pano of the port area.
It’s a very short day here, all aboard is 2 PM so all excursions are early (not for us). After another nice breakfast – Ellen is still getting excellent Room Service, we left the ship,
passed through the welcome arch,
and took the Azamara provided shuttle (a school bus) to the Center of Town (Place du Generale De Gaulle) – a short ten minute drive.
Walking the town is made difficult by the fact that the town is situated on a hill and all the streets leading away from the waterfront are uphill.
Population and house density is small but the homes and stores are brightly painted.
There are
lots of Boulangeries and clothing stores.
We stopped in at a pharmacy to get some toiletries but the place had
minimal stock (as many European pharmacies do).
Did not find what I needed.
A little ways up, we ran across what looked like a park or a school. It was actually a Bocce Ball Pitch.
We also did
not find any souvenirs from St Pierre. The only purchase of the day was a
delicious baguette (1 Euro) that I ate while walking. The shopkeeper would not take American
dollars but would charge 1 Euro.
Near the waterfront, there is the Cathedral of St Pierre, in disrepair,
The Post Office (a very large building I thought it was a hotel),
Joffre Square
with its Monument to Missing Sailors,
and a nifty carousel (not only
cars but jets on this one).
We took the
school bus back to the ship and spent a little time in the outdoor seating
provided – there is no terminal so no seating. It was warm enough and people watching opportunities were available. Flowers were also evident throughout the town - no doubt to brighten things up a big.
I did get a picture of the Marina area and fishing boats and the lighthouse in the distance.
We went back on the ship and had lunch in the Windows Café, where Pierogis were the star of the lunch. Someone
who really liked pierogies snatched up the entire batch but I did get to try
one.
Dinner tonight
was the “Spanish Buffet” so when I finished breakfast, I went to the Discoveries
Restaurant and ordered Pasta Pesto for the two of us for dinner.
The Pasta Pesto was indeed green this time out and was very good. A lot better choice than searching desparately for something to eat on the buffet.
We passed on
Martin Kaye (seen him doing his Billy Joel show many times) and spent the evening in the Living
Room. He's a good performer but has a very loud show - peace and quiet is more on our list tonight.
Time Change: Clocks move forward 30 minutes tonight to put on the hour system again.
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