Climbing Up The River After Fun In Montreal

It’s hard to believe how fast time goes living and working on such a ‘small’ boat! Since my last blog, we’ve sailed into Canada and spent a week in Montreal, climbed a few hundred feet in elevation to the fresh waters of Lake Ontario via the St. Lawerence Seaway Lock system, glanced at Quebec City’s mighty castle, pulled along side Pier 4 in downtown Toronto, and visited Niagara Falls. Each passing day has included new lessons learned, new routines, new scenery and landscapes, new pilots, and the constant wonder of what we’re going to see next.

We sailed as far north as Newfoundland as the temperature dropped to a bone chilling 5 degrees Celsius (I’m adjusting to the metric system quite well)! My hands were numb as I shammied the saltwater off the decks for the last time. Heading into the freshwater lakes and rivers is a luxury the deckies have been looking forward too all year! The work seems to be cut in half.

The La Ronde Amusement Park sat on the St. Lawrence river next to the marina that we pulled into in Montreal, Quebec. The boat was docked in the middle of town, right next to the busy streets loaded with tourists visiting for Quebec’s 400th Anniversary (similar to our 4th of July in the states). Every time we stepped out the door to the deck, people would take pictures and stare. It felt like we were putting on a show while we were scrubbing the morning dew off the windows and decks!

I feel like I conquered Montreal in every way possible! The city had so much to offer in terms of diverse cultures, food, scenery, and entertainment. The crew enjoyed some great meals and drinks together just a few blocks away in a popular part of town. We walked through downtown and observed the diverse crowds and beautiful women flocking the streets in fashionable outfits. The map led us to Mount Royal, a massive hill that looked over the city and river that extended miles into the horizon. After a long walk back to the boat, we grabbed the bikes and rode to the other side of town to the Olympic Stadium that was used in the 1996 Olympics.

For dinner, the crew went to La Onoir restaurant. This was a the most unique dining experience I’ve ever had… The entire dining room was pitch black. We ordered our food in the bar at the entrance of the building, and then followed the server into the dark dining room, left hand on each others shoulders, and sat down at the table. I have never laughed so hard! The atmosphere was very suspicious and mysterious as all of our senses were extremely sensitive. Once the food arrived in front of us, the smell was incredible, and it all tasted amazing. When you can’t see what your eating, it tastes so much better! Also, the servers were blind, and extremely good at what they did. A portion of the proceeds from the restaurant benefit a blind charity known all over the world. We ended the day by watching an awesome fireworks display just off the port side of the boat in celebration of Quebec’s holiday.

The next couple of days consisted of some work, and much needed time off. Austin was going to meet me in Montreal for the weekend, but little did he know that his passport was expired… Nice. So I joined some other crew members and went to Notre Dame Basillica Cathedral on Sunday morning for a beautiful service. A 7,000 pipe organ and full choir created a sound like no other. We spent the remainder of the day at La Ronde, and Six Flags amusement park on the island across the river from the boat.

At 0800 hours the next day, we let the lines go and pulled out of the marina. We had 7 locks and a rise of 250 feet in elevation before reaching Lake Ontario. The St. Lawrence Seaway is the main shipping channel that connects the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean. Each lock was around 730 feet long by 80 feet wide, large enough for most ocean going cargo ships. Each lock was the same procedure and lifted us anywhere between 35 and 45 feet. At times, the river was only as wide as the shipping channel, with beautiful landscapes and homes on either side. The horizon eventually opened up as we entered Lake Ontario, heading due west towards Toronto.

See More Photos At http://picasaweb.google.com/cooknh34

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