I must say that, while I enjoyed
crossing Labrador, I was ready to head back towards civilization
after our hot and dusty days there. Crossing the border into Quebec
was anti-climatic. We were still a 9 hour drive and 400 miles from
civilization, with a good chunk of that being more gravel road.
Fortunately the scenery was absolutely stunning: thickly forested
mountains and valleys, the road running along rivers and lakes. It
was a beautiful sunny day, and while the scenery was beautiful, it
was another hot one in our car without the AC. We learned the hard
way in Labrador that it is best to keep the windows shut while on
gravel, if at all possible. After driving with the windows down for
several hundred miles of gravel in Labrador, we found that everything
in our car was dust covered! Dust even made it inside our rubber
storage containers. Needless to say, we were ready for a nice cold
gatorade when we encountered the first gas station (at the impressive
Manic 5 hydro dam... see previous post).
We spent our first night in Quebec at a
private campground in Les Bergeronnes. This is prime whale-watching
country, since it is right along the banks of the St. Lawrence river.
That first night we discovered that French is king in Quebec. We
(naively) assumed that everyone would speak French as their first
language, but also speak English if necessary. Nope, not the case.
Many people spoke no English whatsoever. Here's to putting my 2 years
of high school French to use! “Je ne peux pas parler le francais.”
(I can't speak French) Our first night back in civilization was spent
doing laundry, cleaning out our disgusting cooler, enjoying a hot
shower, and getting groceries. Pretty glamorous, right?
The next day (which happened to be
Canada Day) we ventured down the road to Tadoussac, situated where
the Saguenay Fjord meets the St. Lawrence River. Again, right in the
heart of whale watching country. The warm water from the fjord
results in an abundant food source for the whales.
We walked along
the shore and saw a few whales from a distance. We also checked out
the biggest sand dunes I've ever seen! Pro tip: going down is a lot
more fun than walking back up!
Lookin' like I'm 'bout to drop the hottest album of 2014
Despite it being a national holiday, we
were able to find a shop that was open and got our oil changed. We
had stopped and asked the tourist information area if places were
open being a holiday. “It's just a bank holiday! Places are still
open!” She cheerily told us. So we went down the block to the
nearby gas station 'avec service'! And asked the gentlemen there for
an oil change. “Sorry, it's a holiday so no one is here to do
that!” he replied. Derp. So driving out to Tadoussac, we spotted
a gas station that had a car up, so I pulled around to get gas and
see if we could get an oil change. Swinging in for gas, I asked the
gentlemen doing full service if we could get an oil change. He had
no
idea what I was saying, no I him. He looked at the license plate and
said, “Etat Unis?”
That much I understood. He found another man on a motorcycle
filling up with gas and got him to act as a translator for us, at
which point we were told indeed, they could do an oil change for us.
So we meander inside after pulling our vehicle around. We were told
the wait would be about 10 minutes. An hour later, they were getting
started. Other highlights included watching sweetcakes rock on the
lift from the added rear weight; trying to ask the mechanic how many
kilometers the oil was good for, and trying to figure out how many
liters of oil we needed.
With our car back in good shape, we
headed towards the Saguenay Provincial Park and were shocked to find
out that the Quebec provincial parks were super expensive! It ended
up costing about $50/night, ouch. This was hard to swallow after the
$20/night we were used to in Newfoundland and Labrador. After setting
up the tent we headed back into town to catch the USA vs. Belgium
game. We drove up to what might have been the only bar in town, found
the owner sitting out on the bar's deck enjoying a vodka cocktail in
the middle of the hot afternoon, and ducked our heads inside to see
if he had a TV. Not speaking English, he still managed to ask
“Soccer?” To which we gleefully replied “Oui!” He pulled up
the game on the TV and served us up some refreshing beverages while
we watched the men play. A few minutes later a family of three walks
in, also trying to catch the game. Turns out they were visiting from
Belgium... what are the odds? As
any of you who watched know, the US went down 2-0 in extra time, then
almost stormed back to tie it, all with Tim Howard putting on a game
for the ages. After we went down 2-0, I put my card on the bar and
sighed. Two minutes later the US scored and I slapped my hand on the
card and pulled it back. The bartender laughed really hard at that.
The next day we drove along the fjord
and then down to Jacques-Cartier Provincial Park. Another day of
stunning scenery, all along the fjord and then back into smaller
mountains. JC park was a huge area and we didn't find much
information about the exact location of the campground, but figured
there would be plenty of signs along the drive. Leaving the city of
Saguenay, we headed south through the wildlife reserve. Ike was
driving and then suddenly said “There was a brown sign for the
park, but I couldn't read what it said [because it was in French].”
I glanced up and saw a small dirt road and shrugged it off. Surely
that wasn't the entrance to the park.... keep going. About 20 minutes
later we see a similar sign and I tell him to pull over this time and
take the small road. We drive back into a forest and eventually see a
sign that says there is no camping allowed in this part of the park,
and that about 15 minutes down the road you can purchase a day use
pass. Ok... whatever that means. We get back on the road and
eventually come to the area the sign mentioned, but it turns out it
is a ski resort. We pull over anyway, and it turns out there were
people working there despite it being summer. “Bonjour. Parlez-vous
anglais?” “Yes, how can I help?” (Ohh, thank God!) I explained
that we were looking for the campground, but that the signs were
confusing and we were worried we had passed it, but weren't sure.
Turns out we had to drive about another 20 minutes then we would find
the entrance to the campground. The employees were super helpful and
even checked online to make sure there were still campsites
available.
We got back on the road (again!) and
finally came upon the campground entrance. All of a sudden I feel Ike
braking pretty hard and glance up to see a red fox trotting across
the park road carrying a dead squirrel. Nice. We pull up to the park
visitor center and stroll in to register. Again: “Bonjour.
Parlez-vous anglais?” The man behind the counter replied “Yes,
but only a little.” A very common response that we heard in Quebec.
I don't know why all the parks employees say this, because their
English was plenty good to help us register. Another $50 later and we
made our way to the campsite. We went for a short bike ride along the
river. I called out to Ike to stop when I saw something in the water.
It kind of looked like a rock, but then kind of not. After watching
it for a few moments, all of a sudden a large head rose up out of the
water. Turns out it was a caribou standing in the river cooling off
but sticking his whole head under water. Ike accused me of it being a
rock (this goes back to Labrador when I saw a rock and swore it was a
whale...), but then saw the caribou's head come up out of the water
again. See, I'm not totally crazy. We
made our way along the long paved entrance, found a place to stop,
and took half an hour sitting on rocks along the stream with our legs
in and enjoying the sun setting along the mountains. Many Quebec
parks have extended entrances to the park that are paved and have
signs that say “Welcome Cyclists!” Seriously like 10km long.
Makes for a nice ride.
The next morning we packed up early and
drove into Quebec City for the day. We had trouble finding parking,
then we found out that our Discovery Passes didn't cover admission to
the Citadel ($16/person), and so by mid-morning we were feeling
pretty down on Quebec. It was expensive, poor signage, and it seemed
the province went out of it's way to not use English, whereas all the
other provinces we had visited went out of their way to include both
English and French at all tourist areas. But, lucky for us, Quebec
quickly redeemed itself. We walked around the old city walls for a
bit, then found a national historic site that was included in our
Discovery Pass and toured the old Governor's mansion/castle.
- Fairmont Le Château Frontenac Hotel in the background towering over everything.
It was
pretty interesting, but the best part was the friendly man working
the ticket counter. He suggested that we walk out of the walled old
city (the tourist area) and recommended some streets with good
breweries and eateries. We ventured out of the city gate along Rue
St. Jean. Eventually we came upon Le Projet, which had Quebecois
microbrews and a scrumptious looking menu. Recharged, we set out to
enjoy the afternoon. The
waiter/owner was extremely kind and enthusiastic. Had great
recommendations for food [BBQ spare rib poutine? HELL TO THE YES]and
would respond to our requests with: “It would be my pleasure.”
with a huge grin. Great guy; also, anyone that puts memes on their
signs has to be awesome, right?
We ended up walking past the St. Jean
the Baptist Church and popped in for a quick look. Immediately
Olivier kindly greeted us and asked if we wanted a free tour. Free?
Sure! Olivier's knowledge of the church architecture, statues, and
stained glass was impressive. We easily spent an hour and a half
learning every detail about the church, which was immaculately
decorated. I'm
really impressed with the opulence of the cathedrals and basilicas
in Canada. They're stunning.
Having lost track of the time, we
sprinted back inside the city walls to catch the afternoon English
walking tour of the old city. We had just missed the tour, but the
kind woman at the ticket counter walked us over to join the rest of
the tour group. [splitting into two groups, we
meandered around and saw cool historical bits from old Quebec City.
Favorite tidbit for me was seeing the 'broadhead arrow' marked on
different things which signified the item belonged to the British
government. We initially saw it on some old cannons, but it was
hidden around town on buildings, old walls, etc.] The tour
ended with a black powder demonstration by some Parks Canada
employees (we love Parks Canada!). We strolled back to our car and
made our way back out of the city. Ike and I have discovered that you
don't need much time in a city when you don't have much money to
spend. :)
That night we drove a few hours to La
Mauricie National Park, situated between Quebec City and Montreal. As
we drove we noticed the landscape was starting to change. It felt
more like the Midwest, and not only from the smells of cow manure
that wafted through the windows. The land was flattening out and the
trees were far less dense. We rolled into the park entrance after the
sun had set, hoping that a campsite was still available. Again with
the “Bonjour! Parlez-vous anglais?” We were greeted by a friendly
woman with wonderful English. Not only did she hook us up with a
great campsite, but she spent a good 20 minutes helping us pick out
some hiking trails to enjoy during our stay and some other
activities. “Is there wifi?” (Ike's number one question) Turns
out there was a brand new visitor's lodge in our campground, complete
with wifi and leather couches. The woman apologized that she did not
have all of the information since it had just opened yesterday.
Ohhh, no problem, we assured her.
The
forecast had called for rain the next morning, so we were planning to
take it easy and relax at our campsite all day, doing our best to
stay dry. We woke up to a few sprinkles, but then it turned out to be
a gorgeous sunny day. We went for a nice hike through the mountains
and along some lakes.
I had really been craving some vegetables since
they weren't available/weren't good quality in Labrador, so we headed
to the nearest grocery store and found an abundance of cheap, super
fresh produce. We stocked up! That night Ike made a round of fresh
mojitos while I prepped our first smittenkitchen recipe of the trip:
pasta with fried zucchini.
The next day we went for a 10 mile bike
ride along a national trail that gave us a run for our money.... lots
of hills and large, loose gravel. But it was fun, nonetheless.
Several
people have asked us how we're able to spend as much time with each
other as we have been, and if we're driving each other crazy. I feel
it's worth interjecting here that while the bike ride was great and
challenging, we spent the entire thing basically apart because we had
a spat within the first 10 minutes and spent the next 10 minutes
fuming and then not riding with each other. By the time we were
done though we were fine. Endorphins from exercise are great for
putting those times past you.
Sunday
morning we woke up early and packed up camp, driving in to Montreal.
We found some parking then walked over to the Notre Dame Basilica for
their 11am mass. Apparently this place does a sound and light show
when it's not having mass, so the area was swarming with tourists. We
were told by the lady patrolling the entrance that if we entered now
(when mass was about to start), we had to stay the whole hour. We
couldn't just drop in for a quick look. Yes, we assured her, we were
indeed here to attend the mass. The basilica itself was stunning.
Ornately carved and painted trim all along the walls and ceilings,
statues, stained glass, the whole works. Mass was in French, which
was pretty funny since 2/3 of the attendees had to be tourists and
many did not speak a word of French. But we all went through the
motions like good Catholics. And
a petulant Lutheran.
After
church we found a nice place to have brunch outside, soaking up more
sunshine. We then had a bit of a hike across the city to visit the
Fine Arts Museum, which has free admission to the main exhibits for
folks under 30. We did realize how huge the museum was! Three
separate buildings where we could have easily spent the entire day.
We wandered through a few galleries, including the African masks.
Montreal was beautiful, but again we felt like we had seen enough of
it given that we weren't in a position to spend a lot of money. We
headed back to our car and set out to Plaisance Provincial Park, near
the border with Ontario.
When
we pulled in we were greeted by a family of beavers having their
evening meal in the lawn outside the visitor's center. Pretty
adorable to see a baby beaver high tail it across the lawn to hide
beneath a rock.
Watching these guys run is ADORABLE
We set up our tent then hopped on our bikes to head
back into the small town, where we had spotted a small ice cream shop
on our way to the campground. The ice cream was delicious, but what
the heck is going on with this statue?
We
awoke the next morning to rain. So much for enjoying a few hours
riding our bikes and enjoying the trails along the river. After
hiding out in the tent for a couple of hours reading, we packed up
and hit the road for Ottawa, biding Adieu to Quebec and the land of
the francophone's.
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