Another night in Saguenay

 It took me a while yesterday to realize that Saguenay is the name for the area that happens to include where we are now, Chicoutimi (which I remember from when I was a kid)

Today we checked out of the motel along the river/fjord knowing that we would be coming back to the city and could reserve again there if we wished.

We drove about an hour and a quarter through (surprising to me) mostly farmland to our first stop; Val- Jalbert Historical Village. This place is an old pulp mill town that flourished between about 1902 and 1927. 

In the 60’s the government realized they had a potential gold mine (for attracting tourists) and so reconstruction  and reclamation work began (it reminds me a bit of Barkerville). The pulp mill part was super interesting and while many of the important stores etc have been rebuilt there are numerous houses falling down as they have been abandoned for 100 years. I actually liked seeing the houses this way

We were there for about one hour and a half before heading back here. 

Our first stop in town was the remnants of the old pulp mill here. We paid our entry tickets and went inside the permanent exhibition hall. This was really a mistake as the only interesting thing in there that we liked was the complete house of a very famous painter (in these parts) named Arthur Villeneuve. This fellow had painted all the inside walls of his house in the same style as he did his regular paintings. There was a huge selection of his work and all we can say about his style is “meh”, definitely not for us.

What we didn’t realize at the time was that the remainder of the park (including what remains of the old pulp mill) was free.

We really didn’t spend much time there (especially after seeing Val-Jalbert). 

There were many high school grads (and families) getting their photos taken in the scenic parts of the city today.

Our final touristy stop was nearby. Called the Little White House, it is famous for surviving the massive Saguenay flood of 1996. There are countless videos and photos of the flood waters roaring around this house and somehow surviving.

The building on the left in the photo was washed away.

Anyway the house is now a protected heritage site.

We picked a new place for tonight. It is a hotel downtown and better suited us as we were able to walk around enjoying the downtown. Earlier, in the late afternoon, we spent some time walking along the river/fjord boardwalk. The weather today was not great; spitting rain on and off and 10 degrees cooler than two days ago in Quebec City but we enjoyed our time here.

Saguenay Quebec

 We left our hotel about 9 AM and went back for breakfast to the same A+W we went to yesterday. The lady there recognized us so that was neat.

On the road our first stop was the beautiful Montmorency Falls just outside Quebec City. A driving mistake on my part had us on an accidental return trip to Quebec City (Oops) however fifteen or so minutes later we arrived at the falls. It was pricey to get in ($29 for the two of us) but it was worth the views. We were there for probably 45 minutes enjoying it from various angles.

From the falls we continued downstream on the St. Lawrence (but upwards on a map). We spotted a nice looking church in a town called Ste.Anne de Beaupré so decided to check it out. This is one of those times where a little seemingly minor decision turns out to be something special. This church is extremely famous ( as we found out). It gets over a million visitors a year and many of these are pilgrims. The church (the latest version is 100 years old now) is absolutely STUNNING. We were both shocked at how beautiful it was and Caro ranked it second to St.Peters in Rome! 

There was a mass going on while we’re there and the singer’s voice was amazing. I had goose bumps on my arms as we left.

We continued driving northwards for a few more hours to our final destination of Saguenay (Chicoutimi).

We went on line to find a place to stay and discovered our eventual motel on the Saguenay fjord (the only navigable fjord in North America). What a great view outside our window.

We went to a local IGA, purchased some local cheeses and some wine and enjoyed our supper inside our room.

While Caro talked to family in Mexico I went out to take the above photos and then while lounging at the pool an older gentleman (so say, you know, maybe my age) sat down with his family and offered me a beer (which I felt obligated to take of course!). He is tied in somehow with this motel (potentially owner?) and we had a great discussion on both of our world wide travels (and the many places we have both been to). 

There is plenty to see and do here so we will be busy tomorrow and it wouldn’t surprise me if we are here tomorrow night 

The photo below is from the waterfalls this morning. I don’t know why I couldn’t load it in the blog where I wanted to, so better late than never.

All day in Quebec City

 We slept pretty good and in the morning made the decision to book another night at this hotel.

Breakfast was at an A+W as we headed into the city historical section.

We parked at the far western edge of the”The Plains of Abraham” park which seemed like a good idea in the morning but was the wrong decision based on how far we had walked all day before having to make our back to the car (we walked over 24,000 steps today).

One lucky thing that happened right away was us needing sunscreen so Google Maps showed one Shoppers pharmacy about four blocks away. To get there we walked past beautiful old houses with beautiful trees. It was so nice we made a point of walking around on different streets while heading back towards the citadel fortress.

We made into the citadel ten minutes before an hour long fortress tour started so we paid the $20 each for entry tickets. The tour was really good.At the end of the tour we had the opportunity for another tour, this time for an hour long  free tour of the Governor General’s residence within the fortress. It also was really good.

By then it was after 1:30 PM and we needed a break so we walked down into the old city and found an outdoor cafe for refreshments.

We essentially walked the next couple of hours around the old city enjoying the views and doing people watching.

On our long walk back to the car we stopped again at an outdoor restaurant and enjoyed more refreshments. It was wonderful to sit there and enjoy our 29 degree late afternoon temperature.

Our drive back was essentially smooth and after tidying up we walked up the street to the same place we picked up ice cream yesterday. This time we got help with ideas from people waiting in line with us to order something so we picked a lobster roll (for Caro) and a poutine meal (which included poutine, chicken and peas- for me). Caro’s was great, mine simply OK.

Once back at the hotel we sat in the hot tub for thirty minutes before coming back to the room to relax and take a look at a map of tomorrow’s potential travels. 

Back in Quebec City

 We slept pretty good last night and awoke to a very nice hotel supplied breakfast (waffles!).

On the road at about 8:30 AM we gassed up and headed cross country through the middle of the province on a secondary highway, heading to Grand Falls New Brunswick.

The first thing we noticed was that the highway was TERRIBLE. Many patches upon patches, gravel shoulders, occasional VERY rough areas with some holes, and an 80 k speed limit (for good reason).

There was virtually no traffic for a good part of the three hours drive, and during this the fun started!

First I hit a little sparrow sized bird (presently in bits and pieces in front of the radiator). Then a while later, probably half way through the highway drive, in an area that is just trees, the “low tire pressure” alarm went off. HOLY SH-T! We were huge distances from anywhere and there was NOBODY on the highway with us at all! I immediately sped up to try and get to a town about an hour away. The car was not pulling in any specific direction and I figured I had time to get there if it was a slow leak. Caro couldn’t find any information in the manual if there was tire pressure indications on the dash board so I kept going hard, as fast as the road allowed. We finally rolled into Plaster Rock (a town of about 1200 people). I asked for directions to a tire repair shop. WHEW, we made it. The man there came out with his tire gauge and we checked the tires to see which one needed repair and found NOTHING wrong with any of them! The SENSOR is the problem @!zx@! UPSET and then HAPPY were our strong emotions!. The low pressure alarm keeps coming on but we know there is no problem.

Grand Falls was a beautiful spot. The falls are spectacular and as we learned, in the spring when the runoff occurs these falls are the second biggest (volume wise) in Canada (90% of the volume of Niagara Falls-which is the number one in volume)

After viewing the falls and reading up on history of the area we headed up the road to Edmunston. Beautiful country in that part of the province. The temperature was very warm (finally!) and we stopped at a Burger King and ate outside ( mid 20’s).

Soon we were back in Quebec on our way back to Quebec City . We pulled off the main highway and drove a few kilometres down to a small picnic area beside the St. Lawrence as I needed a break (600 km driving today).

Getting back the city was bad because of construction in many areas however we got to our hotel about 4:30. We picked this hotel because it has a pool/hot tub and restaurant and it has not disappointed us at all!

After a great supper in the hotel restaurant we walked down the street to a very popular poutine, hot dog, ice cream trailer (doing great business!). With double scooped ice cream cones (actually way too much) we walked some of the area. It seems to be a neighbourhood in transition. There are some very nice places with real character and then houses all boarded up. We did see a ground hog living beside an abandoned place, so that was neat.

Tomorrow should be an easy day as we are spending it here in this city.

Miramachi New Brunswick

 We both slept badly last night. We speculate that it was because we hadn’t completed a tremendous amount of exercise. That being said tonight may be very bad too as we spent most of the day driving.

We had a simple breakfast at the motel (included in our cost) and because it has been very cool and windy in the mornings (10 degrees has been typical) we decided not to stick around and began driving.

We finished rounding the Gaspe peninsula after about three hours and were then into New Brunswick.

The drive along the south shoreline was not nearly as spectacular as the north and the towns seemed to lack character (in comparison to yesterday).

Other than a quick pit stop for munchies/bathroom we just kept on going until Bathurst. I had heard the boardwalk was nice (which it was-although the part we were on was on the small side) but the wind was strong enough and the temperature cool enough (probably 15 or 16 at this point) for us to say “Let’s get going”.

The photo below is part of the boardwalk area

A short while after we left Bathurst on the main highway I realized that it was still quite early as I had anticipated spending a couple hours in Bathurst. We then decided to turn east again and make our way over to the coast line and travel on the coastal highway into Maramichi. Honestly the days drive was getting boring. We saw some nice houses at various locations but really at some point it was just more important to get to our reserved hotel.

The drive through Maramichi to the far side was very slow due to construction (6 km/hr) however there were some beautiful old houses along the way and that coupled with some wonderful blossoming trees made for a nice drive in.

The Ramada Inn desk clerk gave us the directions to a restaurant nearby and so we stuffed ourselves on sea food (deep fried mostly so not too healthy!). Even with sharing a bowl of clam chowder and a seafood platter with fries we could not finish it all. UUURRRPPP!

We are a two minute walk from the river here so we walked down to it and did a small hike on gravelled trails. 

Perce Quebec

 We were up relatively early as we (I) wanted to be on the road early.

Our sleep was great followed by a quick breakfast at Timmie’s, a lunch sub pick up at Subway and on the road by 8 AM.

We spent all day on highway 132 hugging the Gaspe Peninsula as the St Lawrence turned from a river into a big ocean. We went through MANY seaside villages, many of which were wonderful to see. We were not in hurry which was good as the road speed maxed out at 90 km/hr but we were always slowing down for villages and tight corners. It was a wonderful day driving. Having said that, I was tired when we got to Perce for the night.

We stopped at La Martre to see a lighthouse. It was closed but the lighthouse itself and the view of the sea was great.

We made numerous stops throughout the day as”the spirit moved” including the one below at Grand Vallée

I had wanted to leave early as from everything I had read Forillon National Park would be awesome, and it was except I was hoping for more than just major hiking paths (i.e. 5 or more kilometres through mountainous paths). Many from waterfalls or lakes or something.

Our first stop right near the park gate was another nice lighthouse.

Here is a photo taken at the interpretive  centre.

The most famous photos of this park are taken at Cap Bon-Ami

 

We attempted to climb towards the view point on top of the mountain (look closely) however old age, tired legs and pounding heart beats prevented us from going any where near it.

We satisfied ourselves at viewpoints closer to sea level. The photo of the cliffs does not show very easily the hundreds of birds nesting in the nooks and crannies. I really liked the rock formations as well.

We finished our day of driving by working our way to the town of Perce (the ‘e’ has a flex accent over it so it sounds like Pier Say).

 The final few kilometres into the town was really beautiful on a twisty turny road, before we ended up in the bay area here.

The hotel we booked on-line was located  on the far side of town up on the hillside. When we got there, on the locked restaurant door, was a sign saying to go back into town and register at a restaurant there. So, we are thinking “Oh No ! ”a hotel without supervision! Yikes!! What had happened was “our” hotel does not actually open for tourist season until tomorrow so anybody that registered there were re-accommodated in a hotel right in town (same owner) and honestly it is Fantastic!. We are right in the heart of things, although the tourist season isn’t fully “on” yet and there aren’t many people around-OK by us!. The view from our motel about 5 PM today.

We walked right down to the malacon and meandered to the pier you can see in the distance in the photo. There we watched gannet birds dive bombing for fish right in front of us! So interesting to watch them. 

We slowly made our way back to our new place and after a bit we went to supper in the red building (in the photo above) which contains the restaurant. The food was tourist priced but the view of Perce rock made it very enjoyable.

We are quite tired today and are enjoying a quiet evening in the room (with a glass of wine)

The following photo was taken a short while ago

Matane Quebec

 After a very restful night of sleep we left about 9 AM, had McDonalds for breakfast, and hit the road in the rain.

We drove about an hour on the Trans Canada highway figuring out all the in’s and out’s of the controls for our Volkswagen Taos SUV. I must say that after driving it all day I REALLY like adaptive cruise control and wish we had it on the Seltos.

We swung off the super highway on to highway 132 which hugs the coastline, and we will be on this road completely around Gaspe peninsula over the next couple of days. It is slower but the views, both of the river/sea, hills, and villages are just wonderful. There was only occasional bad weather and other than being colder and windier than we would want (+13 degrees) it was a good day.

We first stopped in Kamarouski. It is a small tourist town with many artists living there doing “their thing”. We popped in to a Chocolaterue where we had hot chocolate (me) and a coffee (Caro). They grind the beans and make their own chocolate.

Down the highway in Trois Pistoles we made a point of stopping at a busy Fromageria (cheese place) that had real Quebec Poutine. It was yummy tasty and certainly filled us up for the day!

Google Maps does not really show it properly but there always seemed to be houses and tiny towns all along the way today.Many of these houses and yards were outstanding. So beautiful!!

We stopped and paid an entrance fee into a well known provincial park called BIC where we hiked for about an hour, enjoying beautiful scenery along the coastline. It was a nice break.

We carried on through Rimouski until we got to the town of Matane where we had reserved a motel room earlier. The town itself has some very pretty areas which we drove through. We had trouble finding an open restaurant (Sunday night) but did find a bar that served food so we had a small meal shared between us (still full from poutine!).

Our hotel room has that “old motel” smell but it will be OK for tonight. There aren’t many guests here so it will be quiet. The motel sits on the river/sea bank but the wind was too nasty so we didn’t spend too much time on the beach.