Travelogue #10 from Gaspe, Quebec, Canada

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Monday, May 18, 2009
Gaspé, Quebec, Canada

THIS WAS NOT A GOOD DAY -

I am only sending this to you because you will understand when I describe it by saying that one of the ladies on our whale watching tour today put it “This ranks right up there with having a root canal”. And so it was… That really was a pretty good description of how bad it actually was.

After they were 45 minutes late clearing us for customs and immigration, we had to take a tender into shore. I should have gotten the clue then that we were in for a rotten day - but I had great hope! What a fool!! One we got off the tender, we were directed to a school bus and they said it would be a 45 minute ride over to where we would catch the whale watching boat. That was another clue that I missed…

AND, we did not realize we were going to be in an open zodiac boat. We did dress warmly, but not for that type of excursion. Had I realized what it was, I don’t think I would have made the choice at this time of year in this place. And, I don’t think that the other people on the tour realized it either because of the way they were dressed. When we got on the bus the tour guides looked at us and said they hoped we had warmer clothes to put on -but we were going to all get yellow rain coats to help keep us dry.

The whale watch was unsuccessful on several levels, the worst being the captain pushed the limits when he could not find any whales in the Gaspé harbor and went far out into the ocean where the seas kicked up and the winds became stronger and everyone on the open zodiac got soaked to the bones in the frigid waters. One of the older women on the boat (late 70’s) was shaking so bad that she couldn’t move and they had to pick her up and move her to the front of the boat where it was more protected. We were all really concerned about her and afraid of hypothermia. At that point, the captain who was nice and warm and protected up in his little cabin, finally was told by the tour guide to give up his jacket for this poor woman. She only had sandals with socks on too! So, I know she didn’t know about the open boat. Every person on board was soaked to the bone and freezing cold. It took us hours to warm up after we got back on the ship.

As hard as I tried to keep my camera from getting wet, unfortunately I did not succeed; and it is now not working. We went down to the photo studio onboard the ship and they told me to take out the battery and the memory card and open as much of it as I could and let it sit overnight - and pray! So, we have purchased a throw-away camera for tomorrow in case that does not work. I am just sick about it. At least I’ve been uploading my pictures every day, so I didn’t lose any pictures - but - this just sucks.

Yes, I’ve already had my pity party for one and had my breakdown and a good stiff drink. We are back to the room early tonight and our wet clothes are spread out all over everywhere trying to get them to dry - it will take a couple of days I think. Jim is already in bed snoring and I’ll be there after I finish this.

Tomorrow will be a better day - no more zodiacs for us!! We are in the Gulf of the St. Lawrence now and on our way to a small town called Sept’ Illes. I’ll send this off in the morning when and if we have internet service.

Pray for the camera!!

POST-TRAVELOGUE - We did not sign up for an open zodiak whale watching excursion - it was supposed to be a "closed boat" - And - the camera is covered under the extended warranty I got when I purchased it. So - it's in the shop now. Holland America refunded half of the cost of the whale watching excursion and gave us a nice apology letter.

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