The Trip Down
The trip here was great fun. I took the train from Toronto on Monday
morning two weeks ago, changed trains in Montreal, and arrived in
Rimouski (on the south shore) at about 3:00 a.m. After a night in a
comfortable hotel, I boarded the Nordik Express, which operates as both
the coastal supply ship and a passenger ship serving the Lower North
Shore ports and outport communities. For most of these the only link
between communities and with the outside world is the Nordik or
the daily plane. For emergencies there is a helicopter.
We left Rimouski at about 1:00 p.m. Tuesday. That night we reached our
first port of call, Sept Isles, where the ship stayed most of the
night, loading and unloading containers. The next day at about noon we
reached Port Menier at the western end of Anticosti Island. While the
boat off-loaded freight, the passengers had an opportunity to take a
short tour in a small school bus.
Amongst other things, the island has a large population of deer that
have descended from those taken there by Louis Menier. He was a
chocolatier and poet from Paris who bought the whole island in the 19th
century and had grand, romantic dreams of exploiting its lumber and its
potential for sport hunting and fishing. He seems to have pictured
himself as a benevolent lord of the manor, and built a large "chateau",
the ruins of which have been preserved.
Some of the deer are incredibly tame. They approach humans without
fear, especially if you look as if you might feed them. Most are
reluctant to be touched, but I was able to pet one.
There is nothing grand luxe about the passenger areas of the Nordik, but
they are more than adequate -- comfortable, attractive, well
maintained, and clean. About 60 passengers can be
accomodated in cabins for two and four. There are two large areas on
the top deck, surrounded by glass and fitted out with rows of
comfortable airline-style seats. Another deck has a snack bar and two
TV lounges. Below that is an attractive dining room. The food is not
pretentious, but it's excellent, interestingly prepared and plentiful.
The crew is friendly and very willing to be helpful.
One thing I've had difficulty getting used to is the distances
involved. eg., Quebec City is less than a third of the way here from
Toronto. Mutton Bay is over 2000 km from Toronto. Greenland is closer
than Toronto. Anticosti Island is 50 times the size of the Isle
d'Orleans (the island in the St. Lawrence off Quebec City); it took our
ship the more than 12 hours to travel its length.
As the ship progresses, one has a powerful feeling of leaving
"civilization" behind and of penetrating ever more deeply into remote
territory where tiny communities cling precariously to the rocky
shoreline. OTOH, when you arrive here, you soon discover that it's not
uncivilized at all, although it certainly is remote and
opportunities are very limited.
The Nordik takes three days and three nights to reach La Tabatière.
The round trip to Blanc Sablon (farther down still, on the Labrador
border) and back takes six days. Many of the passengers treat it
as a six-day cruise. I'd recommend it highly to anyone looking for
something unique, interesting and relaxing.
Mutton Bay is a community of about 90 souls, on the coast of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, south of the Strait of Belle Isle and just below the 52nd parallel. A generation ago the population was about 400, but like most of the communities along the coast it has declined.
Almost everyone here, except for the nurse, the postmistress and a German widow, is anglophone, descended from fishermen who came from Newfoundland, England or the Channel Islands in the 19th century. It can be reached only by plane or boat (April through January), or skidoo in the winter. There is a gravel road that connects Mutton Bay with La Tabatière, about 10 km away, but it does not connect with the nearest highway, which is up to 200 km away in either direction.
The weather has been good, mostly sunny with daytime temps about 12 and an almost constant wind off the sea. I'm told that in July and
August it can be very hot, like 35, for extended periods, although with
cool nights. Apparently, the heat builds up in the surrounding hills,
which are mainly bare granite.
I've been out every day exploring and taking photos with my digital
camera, and have some thematic ideas I hope to develop. One is to
photograph the wildflowers. At the present time the bakeapple and bunch berry are
in bloom. The wild rhododendrons, of which there are several varieties growing in profusion, are just beginning to bloom.
Several people have asked me to keep a journal, and the editors of the
church newsletter have asked for an article, so I expect to post occasional reports and photos here. Projects to keep me occupied, you might say.
The trip here was great fun. I took the train from Toronto on Monday
morning two weeks ago, changed trains in Montreal, and arrived in
Rimouski (on the south shore) at about 3:00 a.m. After a night in a
comfortable hotel, I boarded the Nordik Express, which operates as both
the coastal supply ship and a passenger ship serving the Lower North
Shore ports and outport communities. For most of these the only link
between communities and with the outside world is the Nordik or
the daily plane. For emergencies there is a helicopter.
We left Rimouski at about 1:00 p.m. Tuesday. That night we reached our
first port of call, Sept Isles, where the ship stayed most of the
night, loading and unloading containers. The next day at about noon we
reached Port Menier at the western end of Anticosti Island. While the
boat off-loaded freight, the passengers had an opportunity to take a
short tour in a small school bus.
Amongst other things, the island has a large population of deer that
have descended from those taken there by Louis Menier. He was a
chocolatier and poet from Paris who bought the whole island in the 19th
century and had grand, romantic dreams of exploiting its lumber and its
potential for sport hunting and fishing. He seems to have pictured
himself as a benevolent lord of the manor, and built a large "chateau",
the ruins of which have been preserved.
Some of the deer are incredibly tame. They approach humans without
fear, especially if you look as if you might feed them. Most are
reluctant to be touched, but I was able to pet one.
There is nothing grand luxe about the passenger areas of the Nordik, but
they are more than adequate -- comfortable, attractive, well
maintained, and clean. About 60 passengers can be
accomodated in cabins for two and four. There are two large areas on
the top deck, surrounded by glass and fitted out with rows of
comfortable airline-style seats. Another deck has a snack bar and two
TV lounges. Below that is an attractive dining room. The food is not
pretentious, but it's excellent, interestingly prepared and plentiful.
The crew is friendly and very willing to be helpful.
One thing I've had difficulty getting used to is the distances
involved. eg., Quebec City is less than a third of the way here from
Toronto. Mutton Bay is over 2000 km from Toronto. Greenland is closer
than Toronto. Anticosti Island is 50 times the size of the Isle
d'Orleans (the island in the St. Lawrence off Quebec City); it took our
ship the more than 12 hours to travel its length.
As the ship progresses, one has a powerful feeling of leaving
"civilization" behind and of penetrating ever more deeply into remote
territory where tiny communities cling precariously to the rocky
shoreline. OTOH, when you arrive here, you soon discover that it's not
uncivilized at all, although it certainly is remote and
opportunities are very limited.
The Nordik takes three days and three nights to reach La Tabatière.
The round trip to Blanc Sablon (farther down still, on the Labrador
border) and back takes six days. Many of the passengers treat it
as a six-day cruise. I'd recommend it highly to anyone looking for
something unique, interesting and relaxing.
Mutton Bay is a community of about 90 souls, on the coast of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, south of the Strait of Belle Isle and just below the 52nd parallel. A generation ago the population was about 400, but like most of the communities along the coast it has declined.
Almost everyone here, except for the nurse, the postmistress and a German widow, is anglophone, descended from fishermen who came from Newfoundland, England or the Channel Islands in the 19th century. It can be reached only by plane or boat (April through January), or skidoo in the winter. There is a gravel road that connects Mutton Bay with La Tabatière, about 10 km away, but it does not connect with the nearest highway, which is up to 200 km away in either direction.
The weather has been good, mostly sunny with daytime temps about 12 and an almost constant wind off the sea. I'm told that in July and
August it can be very hot, like 35, for extended periods, although with
cool nights. Apparently, the heat builds up in the surrounding hills,
which are mainly bare granite.
I've been out every day exploring and taking photos with my digital
camera, and have some thematic ideas I hope to develop. One is to
photograph the wildflowers. At the present time the bakeapple and bunch berry are
in bloom. The wild rhododendrons, of which there are several varieties growing in profusion, are just beginning to bloom.
Several people have asked me to keep a journal, and the editors of the
church newsletter have asked for an article, so I expect to post occasional reports and photos here. Projects to keep me occupied, you might say.
posted by Garry Lovatt at 7:49 PM
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