NIAGARA FALLS - AUGUST 1983

WATER DELIGHTS


"NIAGARA FALLS, on the border between Canada and the United States, includes two main waterfalls: the Horseshoe Falls (on the Canadian side) and the American Falls (on the US side), as well as the smaller Bridal Veil Falls. The Falls are located roughly 120 km away from downtown Toronto and 26 km from Buffalo (NY). In the photo we see the three Falls from left to right: American, Bridal and Horseshoe. Niagara Falls is not as impressive as the waterfall system of Iguaçu in Brazil, but anyhow it is the most powerful waterfall in North America.



"CLOUD - The Horseshoe Falls generate a high cloud of mist up from the bottom of the falls, and that is probably how the Falls got their Indian name «Niagara», supposedly meaning «thundering water». Others would say that the name «Niagara» originated from an Iroquois word «Onguiaahra» meaning «The Strait»"




"MAID OF THE MIST - It seems that in the early 1830s, before the first International Suspension Bridge was completed (1848), small boats were used to transport people across the Niagara River. The Maid of the Mist I was launched on May 27th 1846. After the completion of the Bridge it turned to sightseeing tourism to remain viable. Here we can see the ships bringing the tourists towards the Horseshoe Falls"


"AMERICAN FALLS on the background"




"MAID OF THE MIST - Now, we are the tourists on the ship, seeing the Falls (here the American) and the rainbow. From the trip I remember that the black covers were so stinky that my blue T-Shirt - «I Hiked The Canyon» - from the Grand Canyon had to be sent immediately to the garbage container... No rescue!"


"MAID OF THE MIST facing the Horseshoe Falls"



"AMERICAN AND BRIDAL FALLS"


"BEHIND THE HORSESHOE"


"UNDER THE HORSESHOE"



"NIGHT SHOW - In Summer, the Falls are also a night show. Red and Green!"

TORONTO - AUGUST 1983

CANADA'S LARGEST CITY


"ASAS DO ATLÂNTICO CLUB - In the late fifties, early sixties, on Sundays, when I used to hear football (soccer) games broadcast live on Portuguese national radio, I remember that the list of radio stations broadcasting simultaneously included Clube Asas do Atlântico in Toronto, Canada. So, when we got to Toronto, we unpacked at the Hotel, and headed to Alberta Avenue, where a large Portuguese community used to live. The neighbourhood was then changing to a kind of Chinatown; however some Portuguese spots could still be seen there, including the Portuguese Book Store and the Radio. At the bookstore, by 7 p.m., we bought the same day edition of «A Bola», the most sold Portuguese sports paper, and saw the flag of F.C.Porto that would become European Champion in 1987 and would win the Champions League, with José Mourinho (Chelsea F.C.) as coach, in 2004. Then, we found a restaurant named «Leão d'Ouro» (Golden Lion), as the Lisbon downtown restaurant, and had Codfish for dinner. Well, this was the only Portuguese interlude of a month vacation, so I think the «saudade» (nostalgia) is forgivable...




"TORONTO CITY HALL, designed by Finnish architect Viljo Revell and opened in 1965, is one of the most distinctive buildings of the city, and was the starting point of our next morning tour of Toronto. In front of the main structure we can find Nathan Phillips Square, a public space containing the fountain seen in the pictures. The square is surrounded by an elevated walkway that connected to the City Hall"



"THE OLD CITY HALL was built in 1899, as the third Toronto city hall. After the opening of Toronto's current City Hall, the Old was threatened with demolition during the planning of the Eaton Centre Shopping Mall, but «Friends of Old City Hall» convinced the city to preserve the building. The Clock Tower is a distinctive landmark of the city"



"TORONTO DOWNTOWN - At the distance, we can see the Canada Life Building, built in 1931. It is located in the heart of downtown Toronto, and it's known locally as the «weather building», as it looks to Torontonians as a giant neon thermometer"


"The five-storey ONTARIO LEGISLATIVE BUILDING, located in the heart of downtown at Queen's Park, was completed in Romanesque style in 1893, and is a popular tourist attraction"


"CASA LOMA, a castle in downtown Toronto was the home of Sir Henry Pellatt, a Canadian financier, industrialist and military"




"EATON CENTRE - The largest shopping mall in Toronto, and one of the first that we visited, was an astonishing experience. No wonder; the Eaton Centre is one of the most visited tourist attractions in Toronto, as millions of tourists enter this shopping centre every year"


"ROYAL ONTARIO MUSEUM - Not as impressive as the New York Museum of Natural History, the ROM is Canada's largest museum of world cultures and natural history"



"YORKVILLE - The Village of Yorkville was founded in 1830 by Joseph Bloor, and began as a residential suburb with Victorian-style homes, quiet streets, and beautiful gardens. In the 1960s, Yorkville became Toronto's bohemian cultural centre, and was also known as the Canadian capital of the hippie movement"




"VIEWS FROM THE CN TOWER RESTAURANT - The tower is 533 meters high and solved the communication problems in Toronto. Its 360 Restaurant rotates once every 72 minutes allowing you a complete and unobstructed view of the city below"


"INSIDE THE TOWER"



"CN TOWER - Views on departure from Toronto"

THOUSAND ISLANDS - AUGUST 1983

ON THE WAY FROM OTTAWA TO TORONTO

The St. Lawrence River, flowing in from the north eastern part of Lake Ontario for about 80 km downstream from Kingston, becomes so wide and so full of islands that it is called the Lake of the Thousand Islands, though its actual number is 1,865. Their size ranges from over 100 square km to simple uninhabited rocks that are above the water level for 365 days per year and support at least one tree or shrub! The Islands are divided between Canada and the USA, the Canadian belonging to Ontario and the American to the State of New York. The Thousand Islands-Frontenac Arch region was designated a World Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 2002.


"CRUISE - On our way from Ottawa to Toronto we took a cruise and saw the beauties of the Gananoque Region. The sun was hot and shinning and there was no wind, a perfect weather combination for a short cruise through the Islands"


"SHIPS - Our cruise ship was much larger than the small yacht cruising in front of us!




"ISLANDS - From very large to very small!"


"BOLDT CASTLE is the major tourist attraction of the Thousand Islands region. George Boldt, proprietor of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City, decided, in 1900, to build one of the largest private homes in America. However, in early 1904, shortly after the death of his wife, the construction ceased. For 73 years, the castle was left alone, until 1977, when the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority acquired Heart Island for one dollar, under the agreement that all revenues obtained from the castle operation would be applied towards restoration. When we passed by in 1983 restoration had just started, and it seems that twenty years later, after fifteen million dollars spent, work continues..."


"HEART ISLAND - Yacht House"


"ZAVIKON ISLAND - Border between Canada and USA, the shortest international bridge..."




"KINGSTON, the «Limestone City» due to the many buildings built from limestone, is located at the eastern end of Lake Ontario, where the lake runs into the St. Lawrence River and where the Thousand Islands begin"