Portland, Maine

Portland, Maine

September 23, 2019

In the early morning light, we cruised into Portland harbor by Portland Head Lighthouse and two mid -1800 fortifications built on islands. It was another beautiful day to go exploring and Portland, Maine was waiting for us. The ship anchored out in the harbor so we had to take a tender ride into port.

Portland is the largest city in Maine with a population of 204,000. We had no pre-planned tours at this stop so we had the whole day open to ourselves. We spent most of our day walking around the waterfront to Fort Allen Park. The views of Casco Bay were picturesque. We passed by some vintage trains sitting on nearby tracks and realized it was part of the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum. Along with many trains to explore they had a train one could ride that circled the main city peninsula every hour.

After exploring parts of Old Portland, we made our way back to the ship and spent the rest of the day lounging in the sun on the Lido deck while snacking from the taco bar. When the Zuiderdam pulled out of Portland we cruised by Portland Head lighthouse one more time. The oldest lighthouse in Maine was built in 1791. Now the light station is automated, and the tower, beacon, and foghorn are maintained by the United States Coast Guard.
 
 

We cruise by Portland Head Lighthouse.

The beacon shines bright.

A view of the Portland waterfront.

A view of the cruise ship from our waterfront walk.

An interesting find.

Some beautiful Fall foliage along the waterfront.