On our way to Forillion National Park, we make a stop in Gaspé.
That's where Jacques Cartier is supposed to have planted a wooden cross, taking possession of Canada, in the name of the king of France, after negociating with the Mic'macs (native indians).
In the National Park, we start a 3 hours treck around the Mont Saint Alban. At the summit we have a 360° view on the St Laurent's bay, the extreme East of the Gaspesian peninsula and the rock of Percé.
According to the "guide du routard" we were supposed to see black bears, herons, deers, whales and seals.
We only encountered one squirrel, one snake and a few seals.
Anyway, it's a super treck in a great forest with amazing view points.
Whe then drive on the coastal road which looks like a mountain road with 12 to 17 % slopes !
Pivoter pour une meilleure lecture
Parc National de Gaspésie, 2nd largest in canada with 800km2 of alpine landscape, boreal forest and tundra.
There you find the most beautifull summits of Quebec ; 'le Chic Choc" and the "Mc Gerrigle".
The moose, the virginian deer and the caribou share this forests.
We walk for five hours on natural trails. A real haven of peace...
At the end of our treck, we face a female moose and her baby, just 2 meters away. Superb...
This deer, very common throughout the country is easier to sight han the caribou.
We spend most if the morning updating our website and then follow the "golfe du Saint Laurent" up to Sainte Anne des Monts, our next step.
Heading towards the Gaspesian National Park, we find a lovely spot by a little lake. There we spend a very relaxing afternoon untill the arrival of thousands of mosquitoes...
Since we left halifax, we experienced different roads :
-the highways, very often fringed by fir and birch tree forests.
-the national roads, passing through towns and villages with very coloured houses.
Most of these houses are wooden ones, with a covered terrace, a huge very well kept lawn and no fence !
Huge amount of firewood usualy lay in the garden. ( cold winter ??? )
The distance between the " villes étapes" as they call them here ( where you can find shops and petrol station), may be close to 100 km.
We spend the whole day in Percé, famous for it's Pierced Rock and for the isle of Bonaventure.
We take a one and a half hour cruise along the Rock and around the island to watch the gannets.The Bonaventure island is home of 150000 of them, one of the largest colony after the one in Scotland, and the most accessible.
On the island, a 3 hours hiking trail takes us right in the middle of this birds's colony.
The amount of gannets is very impressive, nearly as much as the horrid smell.
Quiet end of afternoon under the sun.
Heavy rain all day long...
We drive to Percé after spending hours working on our website.
Because it rains cats and dogs, the morning is dedicated to laundry, camper cleaning and shopping.
A french guy, now living in Canada, spontaneously came to help us find our way and chatted a for a while.
We arrive early evening at the end of the acadian road at Caraquet, capital city of Acadia.
Some history : The region "Acadia" was formerly called Arcadia ( a greek term for "pastoral paradise" ) It's the place where the french settle in the 16th century. The acadians refused to take an oath of allegiance to the english king. So, Lieutenant Governor Charles Lawrence ordered their deportation.
Many acadians headed to Louuisiana and the Caribbean.
Yeras later, yhey came back and settled in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.
ROAD BOOK 010
Sunny morning. We leave Grande Anse harbour where we had our bivouac and arrive in the Quebec province, in to the Gaspesia Peninsula.
The road now runs along woody hills.
Although the road is fringed with roadsigns " Attention Caribous", we won't see any today.
We arrive in carleton sur mer, one of the best spots in the Baie des Chaleurs. This place is famous for its sand banks, bird watching and trecks.
Under a very hot sun, we hike for 2 hours and end in a bar to try the very special local beer "Gose Sur Mer beer". It is brewed with sea water !!! Interesting...
Quiet evening in the camper, enjoying lobsters once again !
MAVROS ODYSSEE
