We got off the ship around 8:30 to catch our Trolley Tour of the city (which I think was scheduled for 9 AM). I have to admit I am glad my mom insisted on an excursion because many of our fellow travelers on the bus did not take one, and I think they missed a chance to see the city from areas that they might not have been able to walk to. I know looking back now that I am glad we did not try to do a lot of walking. And I don't think I we would have made it to the Reversing Rapids. When we got off of the ship we quickly made our way through customs. Don't know how I missed the bagpipes playing and we did not receive a red rose, which I know others got because when we got on the trolley some of them had it in their hand. I'm guessing we were just not in the right spot. We found our trolley guide with no problems. There were people with signs waiting to guide you in the right direction anyway.
We had to wait a few minutes for a large party that was running late. But as soon as they got on we took off. Our guide was very friendly and she knew a host of info on the area. She would either slow down or stop to point out various landmarks. Our goal was to make it to the reversing rapids. We stopped there for 20 minutes (there were cars and vans lined up in the parking area that were selling souvenirs) and then continued our tour heading back into the downtown area where they dropped us off so that we could look around. You could pick up another trolley back to the ship later or walk (which is what we did since it was actually only a few blocks away). We made a stop at the City Market where we picked up a few treasures and then headed back towards the ship. We made one last stop at the tent that is set up at the port to do some more shopping and were back onboard in time for lunch.
We passed several members of the church while in the downtown area. I think a lot of them just walked into town and kind of strolled from one spot to the other with no set destination in mind. Which is fine, but I am glad we got to see as much as we did. I would love to go back and explore the area again. I thought it was a quaint little town and I loved hearing about the history of the area. The people there were very friendly, and the weather was a balmy 70 degrees which one lady at the Market informed us was one of their hotter days! Give me 70 degrees any day after the 100's we have been experiencing here!
