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Published: July 16th 2008
A while back we had planned to take our van to the Gaspésie so that we could say it brought us from the West Coast of Canada all the way to the East. But we sold the van last fall, and I got a new job and didn't have enough vacation credits to drive that far. But we wanted to visit the Gaspésie anyway, and with Quebec celebrating it's 400th anniversary, this seemed like a good time.
We flew from Toronto to Gaspé on Saturday morning. I was quite impressed with Air Canada, because even though there was a huge thunder storm outside, our flight still took off pretty much on schedule. We transferred in Montreal onto a much smaller plane and landed at the Gaspé airport with nothing but clear blue skies - a marked difference from the cloud cover and storms brewing further west. But we knew that system was coming towards us and were wondering what we would do if we got nothing but rain for the next few days - the only activities in these parts are outdoors, and we were not prepared for muddy, wet hikes. No raincoats, no boots - I actually was only
Cap-Gaspé
This spot was a 15 km. grueling bike ride up lots of cliffs from our hostel. But so worth it. able to bring 1 sweater - we had to fit everything we needed for the 8 days in our backpacks because we didn't want to be bothered with checked baggage.
Anyway, we tried to make the most of the beautiful sunny day - fearing it would be the last. We got a car rental through National (way cheaper than Budget - the competition). We drove to Percé and took a boat cruise around Bonaventure Island. The amount of birds that nest on this island and fly around it is absolutely ridiculous. I thought for sure someone in our boat would get shit on with all those birds flying around us. But no. Apparently, Bonaventure Island is the world's largest nesting place for gannet. We saw 2 seals and got taken near Perce Rock (or Rochette Percé as it's known in French) - when the tide is at a certain level, it looks like a horse drinking from water. We missed out chance to walk out to Perce Rock, because by the time we made it there, the tide was coming back in and a Park Ranger was preventing people from making a risky crossing. So we went on a
hike up a cliff instead for some views of the town. We got to this beautiful spot with a small waterfall called La Grotte - unfortunately it seemed this spot is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, as there are two statues of her, along with a box that people had been putting money into. Typical. You never seem to encounter anything religious without money being involved. We had to pay $1 to walk up another cliff (Mont Joli) directly across from Perce Rock that is marked with a giant white cross. I thought the Quebecois had become less religious after the quiet revolution - it's unfortunate that never translated into taking down all the religious symbols that dot the whole province. Definitely the most annoying thing for me about Quebec.
We stayed that night in Percé at the Riotel, right along the coast of the Baie de Percé. The best part was the hot tub in the back yard of this hotel. After dinner we went in and had a romantic 10 minutes under the stars, listening to the sea.
It was raining the next morning, so we decided to spend it driving. We took Highway #132 north
back up to Gaspé, then drove west on #198 through the Chic Choc Mountains. The rain slowed down a bit - enough for us to stop at a few spots along the way to admire nature. We had dinner and stayed that night in St. Anne des Monts. After the rain stopped, we took a walk up the main pier dock of this town. We found it odd that there was an awful lot of traffic along the dock on a wet Sunday evening. Either everyone was buying fresh lobster right off the fisherman's boat, or something more fishy was going on.
We spent Monday in Parc de Gaspésie. If it hadn't been raining so hard that morning, maybe we would have been able to get up early enough to arrange to go on a Moose Watching Tour. But that didn't happen, and Chris was very disappointed that we didn't see any moose on our trip. But we did hike a lot, and kept coming across what may have been moose dung all along the trail. Or bear, I'm not an expert on dung. We also got lots of lovely views of the rolling mountains and nothing but trees
for as far as the eye could see, and we saw a nice waterfall too, walked along some streams. It felt good to breath fresh mountain air again.
The weather cleared up in the late afternoon, and we started driving back East along the #132 - a beautiful drive through lots of little villages all along the coast of the mouth of the St. Lawrence. We stopped in the evening in the cutest little motel/resto in Cloridorme called Etoile du Nord. I would definitely recommend this place to visitors in the area - the restaurant was very gourmet - we had lobster. And what presentation! The plate included the lobster in its entirety, antlers, eyeballs and all. Interestingly, no matter how small or isolated a restaurant was, we found almost everywhere we ate in Quebec served gourmet, top quality food. I'm more used to the greasy spoon types you come across in small Ontario and BC towns.
The next morning we drove into Forillon National Park, which is located right at the tip of the Gaspé peninsula. We hiked up to the Saint-Alban trail to the Cap-Bon-Ami observation tower and made it back just as it started to
pour. The rain soon ended though, and we walked along the sandy beach of Penouille. We checked into the International Youth Hostel at Cap-aux-Os, where we stayed for two nights. At 5pm, we rented some bikes from the hostel and went on the most strenuous but rewarding bike ride of my life! It took us 3 hours to bike to the point of the park, Cap-Gaspé, and back, all of which was right along the coast. Of course, much of that included walking our bikes up big cliffs/hills we couldn't possibly peddle up. It was while pushing our bikes up one hill that we saw our first whale! We continued to spot Minke Whales during this expedition, and once we made it to the look-out point, we saw a seal too. Part of the bike bath was very steep and rocky - my arms were sore from vibrations of the handlebars, but I'm glad I didn't wipe out from running over a big rock.
We decided to take the next day easy after hiking and biking ourselves tired. We spent the morning on a whale watching cruise where we saw a blue whale, two fin whales, and more minke
whales. I can't think of anything more amazing than seeing a whale close up in the wild. Definitely the most magnificent creatures on Earth. It makes me really angry to think they are still being hunted for commercial gain.
The afternoon we spent laying on the beach of Penouille. It was hot and sunny, but I could only bring myself to wade in the Baie de Gaspé. As much as I like to swim in as many bodies of water as possible, there was too much seaweed and the water was too cold for a full out swim. But I tried - because I miss swimming in salt water. That evening, we had some wine and went on a little walk behind our hostel, where there is a camp ground. We saw a baby bear cub! It was so cute! But we got out of there before the mother emerged from the rustling bushes.
July 3rd we returned our car rental, the little blue Mazda I had become very fond of due to its fuel efficiency. We had drove about 850 km., but only had to fill the tank once when it was 1/4 full, and again just
before we dropped it off because it had to be full like when we got it. But we probably could have gotten away with only having to fill it once, which would have cost $80 at 1.48 a liter. For the distance we covered, I think that's nothing - I have no sympathy for everyone in the GTA complaining about gas being 1.35 - for one, it's cheaper here than anywhere else in the country (and most other countries) - for another, if you're not driving a fuel efficient vehicle, you shouldn't be driving at all.
So we flew from the Gaspé airport to Québec City, and discovered that Quebec does not have public transportation servicing their airport. Damn. We had to pay for a cab to take us to our hotel - the Best Western Holiday Inn at rue de la Couronne and Charest. We went out to dinner and picked up a copy of the free weekly, only to discover to our great excitement that NOFX was playing at the Fete de l'été the next night! For $30.00, you got a pass to attend all the outdoor concerts of an 11 day music festival. The opening headliner
we saw that night on the Plaines d'Abraham was Van Halen with David Lee Roth. We got kind of bored after watching them play for about 40 minutes, so began a quest for some fast-food to keep our energy levels up while we awaited the grand fireworks spectacle that was scheduled to begin at 11:45pm at the Vieux-Port. We should have just settled for the hot dog stand, but no, we thought we could find some falafel or something in Vieux Québec. Big mistake, cos we went hungry - nothing but sit down restaurants in Old Quebec from what we saw that night. We saw a bit of the projection of Québec's history on the silos at the port - billed as the biggest projection ever - and tried waiting amongst the throngs of people for the fireworks to begin before giving up. We were too hungry and tired to wait 30 more minutes for a 30 minute pyrotechnic show, and then face the daunting walk back to our hotel. Besides, I figure all fireworks are pretty much the same. We were able to see a bit of them by going up to the top floor of our hotel and
looking out the hallway windows, and we saw some more on tv. Kinda lame, but then again, fireworks are kinda lame in and of themselves.
The festive atmosphere in the streets was wonderful. There were so many people walking through the streets. And we also walked along a part of the waterfront that has been revitalized for the celebrations. I remember it being the crappy parking lot where we slept in our van during our first visit. But now, it is a beautiful boardwalk with gardens and people and new buildings. Definitely an improvement.
We visited the Museum of Civilization during our second day in Québec City to see the Urbanopolis exhibit. Then we had a few beers in our hotel before the NOFX show, but not before our worst restaurant experience EVER at ASIA on Grande-Allée. They must have been short staffed or something. It took forever to get served, they brought us soup we didn't order (but ate anyway, it was delicious), brought us the wrong bill, and when they finally brought the right bill it wasn't even added up! The woman at the counter added it up WRONG (trying to over-charge us), and it took
Bonaventure Island
These birds really love this island forever to get that sorted out. The food was good, but the service was horrendous.
NOFX was mediocre, just like the last time we saw them. It rained a lot before and during their set. It was still a pretty good time though, but I hate how Fat Mike talks so much! He's really not as funny as he thinks he is, and I would have preferred to hear more music, less talk. At one point, he introduced a song by saying he wrote it for his friend from Toronto, and the whole crowd started booing! Chris and I were just drunk enough to cheer like morons, and everyone gave us dirty looks. But I commend Fat Mike for standing up for Toronto. I can't help but go on a little rant here though, I simply can't stand how the rest of Canada loves to hate Toronto. First of all, I have been to many shows in Toronto, and NEVER has a Toronto crowd booed another city. It never happens, because Toronto is made up of people from everywhere. Mention any city or any country to a Toronto crowd, and your bound to get cheers from some people who
Bonaventure Island
One side of the island is completely covered in nesting birds, the other side looks more like this. are from there. So all you people who boo Toronto, remember that you are booing everyone from everywhere when you do that. Also, please do not boo Toronto if you have never even visited our city. And if you do visit, please visit Kensington Market before you judge our city. For me, Kensington encapsulates everything that Toronto is about. It's not the greatest city, but we have some vibrant neighborhoods and we do not deserve to be booed. In my opinion, this is the best place to live in the country, and we attract some of the most interesting and talented people from all over the country (and the world.)
Our last day in Québec City was spent at the Musée des Beaux Arts, where they have a bunch of stuff on loan from the Louvre in Paris. I had a headache all day from drinking too much the night before, but I very much appreciated the works by Alfred Pellan and Jean Paul Riopelle. They have a massive Riopelle piece entitled "Homage à Rosa Luxembourg." I really liked that. For the evening festivities, we saw Stars, but got bored of them cos the one singer sounds exactly like
Old house on Bonaventure Island
Nobody leaves in any of the houses on Bonaventure Island anymore. Morrissey, and the other sounds like many other female singers. I didn't think they were anything special, despite the hype. So we walked over to the other stage and saw the end of a set up a very interested and unique french band called Mon Coté Punk. Then we went back to the Molson stage where Stars was playing ot see Feist. She was very good, but I felt like I was going to fall asleep near the end of her set - a bit too slow for me. She had some rockin' songs near the beginning of her set though, and the crowd adored her because she was trying very hard to speak french. Good thing she didn't mention how she got her start in Toronto (and not her home-town of Calgary), or else she may have been booed off stage.
Despite that though, j'adore Québec. Can't wait until the next trip.
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