Gaspe' Peninsula

The coast of the Gaspe' Peninsula is reputed to be the third most beautiful coastline in the WORLD. Well, we don't know which locales are rated first and second but we believe that the Gaspe' coast should be number one. It is magnificent! We spent several days there, both on the boat and in a rental car, exploring the area. In the Gaspe' National Park, we hiked the last few kilometers of the International Appalachian Trial -- such a thrill! We hiked down to the rocky beaches and studied the unusual rock formation, we witnessed the nesting of various sea bird species, including Gannets. We viewed the Roche de Perce' (pierced rock), one of the most famous landmarks in Canada; we learned all about salting codfish and the fishing life of yesteryear; we enjoyed the slower pace and met wonderful people. The staff at Marina Gaspe' could not have been nicer nor more helpful. Jean Francois and Doris were the best! Luckily for us, both gentlemen speak English beautifully, as our French is very limited (except for Margaret, who's French classes have come in handy quite often).

Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes

Today, July 27, 2010, at 9:55 AM, we attained our northern-most latitude, 49.16.144 North !!! As a reference, Key West is at 24 degrees North, Jacksonville is 30 degrees North and the dividing line between North and South Korea is 38 degrees North latitude! From now on, we will be headed in a southerly direction; hence we are officially heading home. Thus far we have travelled 2163 miles.

Whales, seals and porpoises

Saguenay River

The Saguenay River is actually a fjord, formed during the last ice age. Majestic cliffs rise from the water. Belugas escorted us part of the way up to Baie Eternite', where we moored for two nights. During our hike around Baie Eternite', we saw a grouse with her 4 chicks and 2 garter snakes. The following morning, we saw a moose with her calf in the marshy area at the head of the canyon created by Baie Eternite'.

Quebec City to Tadoussac

Just east of Quebec City, traveling in the channel between the mainland and Ile d'Orleans, we passed Bridal Veil Falls, dwarfed by the impressive Montmorency Falls. At 250 ft, Montmorency Falls is 100 ft higher than Niagara Falls.This north channel is narrow but far more scenic than the main shipping channel, which we rejoined east of Ile d'Orleans. On our way to Tadoussac, we passed many small villages, including Ste Anne de Beaupre' with its pretty basilica, beautiful mountains with ski slopes, well-kept lighthouses and brilliant green agricultural areas. Best of all: BELUGA WHALES !! LOTS OF THEM !! They are a protected species so it is required that boats stay a long way from them. Beautiful to see.

It was a long day to Tadoussac, 110 miles, and we were looking forward to staying at the marina, having a nice meal in the restaurant. However, when we arrived we were told they could not take us because of our size and weight (guess we've been eating too much good food on this trip) and we would have to anchor for the night. We had called ahead on two separate occasions to arrange our stay but this information made no difference to the dockmaster, so we dropped our anchor and enjoyed an evening on the boat and spent no money whatsoever in Tadoussac. That will show them!

Quebec City

Internet service has been awful so we are far behind on our blog posts. We've now posted some new pictures on old posts.

We were lucky to be in Quebec City during the annual summer festival. In addition to the street performers, there was a children's festival area with rock climbing walls and concerts geared to children, a free Cirque du Soliel show, and large concerts held on the Plains of Abraham every night with headline performers such as Santana, Black-Eyed Peas and Rammstein. Near the marina is a huge grain elevator complex, at least a quarter mile long, where 5 nights a week a wonderful slide show depicting the history of Quebec was projected onto the silos. We watched it from the cockpit of our boat several nights and saw something different each time.

Margaret and Jon toured the city and also Ile d'Orleans. We'll add more about that later.

Capt. Mike joined us in Quebec City and will be with us for a month or so, through what we expect to be the most remote areas of the trip. His wife tells us he is a great cook so we plan to take advantage of his skill!

Trois-Rivieres

The city of Trois-Rivieres isn't on three rivers at all; it is simply situated where 3 branches of the same river, the St. Maurice, enter the St. Lawrence. Founded in 1634, the town gained prominence through fur trading with the Indians, as a sentinel protecting Quebec City and as a cross-road halfway between Montreal and Quebec City. It is also a major pulp and paper producing area. The PR folks call the paper mill, located downwind from the marina, a newsprint factory. Luckily, the wind was favorable most of our stay. The old section of the city is quite beautiful and features a Roman Catholic cathedral, the oldest Anglican church in Quebec province and an Ursulines monastery. The Ursulines nuns have been educating girls in Trois-Rivieres for more than 300 years. For many years, the nuns were cloistered. When the nuns die, they are buried in the courtyard inside the monastery so their bodies are cloistered for eternity.

On Friday & Saturday nights, the main street in the old city is closed off to vehicular traffic and the street fills with pedestrians and street performers. Great people watching!

After touring the town, we rented a car and spent a couple of days driving the countryside on both the north side and the south side of the St. Lawrence River. On the north side, we drove through the mountains to the St. Maurice National Park, filled with lakes and walking paths. The south side is predominently agricultural, with small villages and large corn fields. We lunched at a quaint creperie, where we all had pesto topped buckwheat crepes filled with ham, goat cheese and tomatoes. Delicious!

Chambly to the St. Lawrence

Highlights in Chambly: the marina was nice, with a very helpful staff, very nice barbeque area and good restrooms; the lake was beautiful; Fort Chambly, built right by the rapids, was interesting to visit and the park surrounding it was very pretty; the quaint town had many nice restaurants. Downside: we were in the grip of the heat wave plaguing the east coast of the USA so walking around the town was restricted to the slightly cooler evening hours; the government run liquor store, 6 blocks from the boat, closed at 6 PM. We do recommend a stop in Chambly and wished we had more time to look around. North of Chambly, we were again in a canal but this time only had one very modern lock to traverse. There are very few bridges across the Richilieu so cable ferries carry cars across. It is important for boaters to keep an eye on the ferries and allow enough time for the cable to sink to the bottom of the canal before crossing their paths. It was such a beautiful day that when we completed the Richilieu we chose to continue on, into the St. Lawrence River (third picture above) and seaward to the city of Trois-Rivieres (Three Rivers), where there is a marina large enough to accommodate a vessel our size. We have learned that this is a rarity around here.

Chambly Canal

Following an overnight at Rouse's Point, NY, we cleared Canadian Customs (incredibly simple)and started down the Richelieu River and through the Chambly Canal. The Chambly Canal, a Canadian Historic Site which opened in 1843, carries you around the rapids in the river, through picturesque countryside. The 20 km long Canal is very narrow and other than a few designated passing areas, has room for only one boat at a time. In some places, our boat cleared by only a foot or so on either side. We couldn't take a picture of the closest channel marker because we were holding our breath but took one of the next one. Boat traffic is strictly controlled by the lockmasters and they tell you where to hold to allow approaching boats to pass. On a good day, it takes about 4 hours to travel the 20 km of the Canal. The original towpath follows along between the canal and the river and is now used as a bike path and park. The Canal boasts a feature found no where else in Quebec (and probably no where in the USA) - 8 of the 9 locks and 3 of the bridges are still operated manually! It takes two people, working simultaneously, to open and close the lock doors. The bridges are swing bridges and are on wheels, moving much like a train engine in the roundhouse. Fascinating! The fee for a one-way passage through the Canal is $1.40 per foot, plus $1 per person aboard the boat. The fee is collected by the lockmaster at the first lock and may be paid with cash or credit card.

4th of July Weekend

We spent 4th of July weekend near Burlington in Colchester, VT at Champlain Marina on Malletts Bay, a beautiful bay off of Lake Champlain. The weather and scenery were both glorious. We launched our tender and rode all around the area. The protected bay featured a large shallow area, complete with a beach, where hundreds of boats were anchored enjoying the beautiful weather. It reminded us of Elliott Key (near Miami) on Columbus Day weekend -- just without the naked people! After visiting the anchorage, we cruised several miles up the small, mostly uninhabited Lamoille River and found a wonderful picnic spot atop a small bluff. We're hoping that the plants we sat in were not Poison Sumac! We're know in a few days.

On the recommendation of our new friends at Champlain Marina, after dinner aboard Litenup, we tendered around to another section of the bay to watch the fireworks display, courtesy of the City of Colchester. Hundreds more boats were anchored there and were awarded with a wonderful show.