Boston Day Four (Salem Day One)

Catching the boat to salem & the salem night faire

It was an early start to catch the boat over to Salem, where we were the most underdressed passengers. Most people had opted for full costumes, or at least a jaunty witches hat. It was the last Saturday before Halloween, so the festivities were warranted.

The boat ride over took about an hour. With brilliant blue skies and a steward who gave out details about the areas of Boston that we were sailing past, the hour flew by and before we knew it we were pulling into Salem Harbour.

Instead of walking the ten minutes into the town centre, we decided to hop on a trolley tour that promised to explore Salem. And it was interesting and informative, but the busy weekend meant that a lot of the roads around Salem were closed so we couldn’t see everything and had to take some alternative routes.

It gave us a good layout of the town though, and it dropped us off at the mall at the very centre of Salem.

Oh, please be warned that if you go to Salem on the last Saturday before Halloween it will be heaving.

All of the museums, attractions, and exhibits we wanted to see were fully booked. There were queues to get inside shops. People were queuing out of the door at every restaurant, bar, or café. The streets were packed with tourists and street artists, and there was nowhere to sit and catch your breath.

After a quick wander through the streets and a visit to the yarn shop, we found a pizza place with one table left and seized it. At that point I was hungry, tired, and overstimulated, and would have eaten anything in order to sit down. But when they brought out our pizza, it was delicious!

Slightly recuperated, we ventured back into the town centre to visit a market that had been set up on Salem Common. Dozens of vendors had set up stalls, and even though it was still busy it was a thousand times better than the claustrophobic shops in the town (or maybe that was just the pizza effect).

Finally, it was time to walk down to the Pioneer Village to The Night Faire. Held a few days a year, The Night Faire was the reason that we came to Salem on this particular day. Set up amongst some of the first settlers houses, vendors sold gothic and witchy items while performers handed out tarot cards and fortunes.