Quebec

Time is fast running out as are the colours of autumn. After driving along the North Shore of the St Lawrence we continued along the Saguenay Fiord to the town or rather area of Saguenay. It is actually a conglomeration of about 4 towns, total population about 160,000. It has a big alumina plant as well as pulp and paper mills producing about 15% of the world's newsprint. It is very spreadout, so that when we turned up our noses at a motel, it was 15 km to the next one.

It was very noticeable that there were no tourists from outside Quebec and there was almost no English spoken. We drove around Lac Saint Jean which in summer is a vacation destination, but at this time of year there is no competition for picnic tables, probably because the max temp is about 5 deg C! Although it is clear and sunny, by the time I have eaten a sandwich, my fingers are frozen.

As we drove back to Quebec there had been more snow along much of the road  (about 6 inches in some places) and the trees were bare. It was the most tiring drive I have done. There was a lot of fast traffic, miles of roadworks, lots of snow and no towns to stop in.

We are staying in Levis, on the south bank of the St Lawrence opposite Quebec. Today's excursion was to take the ferry to Quebec and walk around the city. We gave the Citadel a miss, but went up and down the old streets and the newer part of the city centre which has lots of very nice boutiques and restaurants. However as far as I could work out, most buildings date from the late 1800s and later as there have been some major fires over the centuries. The most impressive thing is the site and the walls, which  even when they were built were almost obsolete because of the introduction of artillery.

Tim Horton's offers a quality change from McDonalds - excellent coffee and no chips

 

 Although the light was completely wrong, I could not resist photographing this woman salmon fishing in Saguenay. The scene looked even more idyllic before the dog with the red spotted scarf around his neck ran out of the picture.

 

 A freighter in Saguenay Fiord. Cruise ships also come up this fiord, which is apparently a favourite haunt for whales, but not so much in October

 

 Covered bridge Quebec province style near Ste. Jeanne d'Arc

 

 Winter is definitely nearly here. White plastic car igloos have started appearing. Saves de-icing.

 

 Further evidence of winter. This snow was 3 or 4 days old. On thedrive back to Quebec there was much more snow than this.

 

 Fall is very nearly over along the Sanguenay River

 

 Quebec moose warning signs are much more graphic than our kangaroo signs!

 

You don't have to be a Meccano buff to appreciate the old railway bridge at Quebec

 

 Chute de la Chaudiere in the centre of Levis, the town opposite to Quebec. In spite of all that water, Levis citizens can only water their gardens three evenings a week

 

 Quebec from the ferry. The castle structure is a hotel, Chateau Frontenac

 

 Streetscape in the Vieux Port area of Quebec,

 

 Streetscape in Quebec

 

 Fresco in tromp l'oeil style Vieux Port area, Quebec

 

 Halloween in Quebec

 

Still some Fall colours in Quebec city

Dashing North across New Brunswick

I am now driving a Charcoal Chev Impala, with plastic walnut trim and cruise control which really works! We became aware of a defect in the Ford and so made a swap at Saint John Airport. On Monday morning we had crossed back into New Brunswick and then driven north to Moncton to cross the river, after which we continued along the north shore of the Bay of Fundy. One of the side roads led to the Cape Enrage lighthouse, which has good views of a rugged coast.

At St Martin's not only are there caves in the red sandstone cliffs, but also two covered bridges,  New Brunswick is alive with them including the world's longest at Hartland. It was low tide and so it was a long climb for the fishermen up from the boats to the wharf. St Martin's is yet another former wooden ship building centre and as in other places there are lots of beautiful large nineteenth century wooden houses surrounded by mature trees.

Tuesday morning we drove into Saint John and parked on the edge of the historical precinct and walked to Market Square and the market. (We had asked the Tom Tom GPS to show us the way, but in an effort to avoid a 50 cent toll on a bridge it took us an extremely circuituous route.) It is a nice market in a building dating from 1900, and although there were two cruise ships tied up in the centre of town the market was not crowded.

Our Acadian friend Mike in the Tourist Bureau told us not to miss the Reversing Falls - the 14th wonder of the world!. The Saint John is a huge fast flowing river and at low tide there is a 4 m fall across the rapids.  But twice a day the incoming tide forces the river to flow backwards creating 4 m rapids in the opposite direction (ie upstream).  Huge whirlpools form in the area most of the time apart from 30 min of calm when there is no variation in level.

It was raining most of the time while we drove to Fredericton along the Saint John River valley, so it was a good day to stop early and persuade the motel to let us use their laundry to do our washing.

Wednesday morning the car windows were covered in ice, but it was sunny and clear. We parked in the centre of Fredericton and the Tourist Office gave us a ticket for free parking and we walked around the old Garrison area.

On then along the Saint John river to Edmundston, a French speaking town just across the river from the USA. Just Before Edmundston we stopped at Grand Falls. Although it is 400 kms from the mouth of the river, the Falls would have nine tenths the volume of Niagara if the Hydro Power Station was not there. Anyway they are still pretty impressive (when you manage to find a lookoff or viewpoint). When the second bishop of Quebec came here in 1686 he was impressed. It had taken him five months to get here from Quebec, a distance of over 300 km which we did in a morning!

And so on back into Quebec province and if you ever come to Baie-Saint-Paul I can really recommend Motel des Cascades at about $80/night. Apart from the usual spotless amenities, there is a beautifully machine embroidered and cutwork cloth on the table. But as usual in North America we have had to turn the central heating way down.

 View from Cape Enrage Lighthouse, New Brunswick

 

Looking the other way at Cape Enrage Lighthouse  (I love the name - seems so appropriate!)

 

Caves in the red sandstone cliffs at St Martin's

 

Low tide and a covered bridge in St Martins

 

 Perhaps this was the home of a wooden ship builder magnate in St Martins

 

Interactive sculpture in Market Square, Saint John

 

City market in Saint John

 

 Tour group in Fredericton. We thought we would tag along, but it was in German.

 

 The world's longest covered bridge in Hartland ~ 390m built in 1901.

 

 Grand Falls on the Saint John river.

 

Fort du Petit-Salut, Edmunston built in 1841. Presumeably the British were hoping to keep the pesky Americans out.

 

Today's Fall photo.

Leaving Nova Scotia

Peggy's Cove is about 50 kms west of Halifax. It is supposedly one of the most photographed places in Canada, so we should not have been surprised, when at least 20 tourist buses turned up just after we arrived. it was drizzling and blowing a bitterly cold wind so it hardly looked its best and I don't think all the crowd ventured off the buses.

Our next stop was Mahone Bay where I bought a ticket in a lovely raffle quilt. The lady who designed it owns a shop called Suttles and Seawinds - with a name like that how could I resist visiting it and it is a lovely shop.  It has a website www.suttlesandseawinds.com. Mahone Bay was in the midst of a Scarecrow Festival and the scarecrows were all over town.

Driving west, you soon come to Lunenberg which has heaps of carefully looked after 1800s buildings. It was a wealthy town from shipbuilding and there are lots of large ornate wooden houses. We walked around the town, photographing the ornate doorways and then along the waterfront to see the tall ships.

We filled up with 'gas' at the General Store in Lequile and it really was a general store. Outside there were pumpkins and apples for sale. Inside apart from the usual crisps and soft drink and groceries, there were sausages barbequeing and coffee brewing and wet weather gear, but what surprised me most was the gun counter just outside the ladies loo!

After driving through the village of Queensland, we stayed overnight in Liverpool on the Mersey River and then turned north to Annapolis Royal, where the French settled in 1604 beating both Jamestown, Virginia and the Pilgrim Fathers to spend a winter in North America. It is a pretty little town and the historic gardens are interesting,although this time of year they are not looking their best.

After Scarecrows in Mahone Bay we came to pumpkin country. There was an army of pumpkin people in Kentville, but I have no photos, because it was raining and there were roadworks, so it was all pretty chaotic. Down the road in Windsor we just missed the pumpkin boat race which sounds  a crazy day. Apparently they hollow out giant pumpkins and row them across the river. There is even a race for motorised ones with an outboard!

Saturday was a miserable day - pouring rain so we went to Tim Horton (a Canadian chain) and drank their good coffee, ate apple fritters and read the newspapers. As the rain cleared we drove along the Fundy shore to Truro. The red mudflats just go on and on. At Walton and other places, the remains of the timber wharves give an idea of the huge tides. At Truro we saw the tidal bore. It was raining, but that was easier to cope with than mosquitoes (as well the tide tables were correct and it arrived on time) We needed a video to capture it, but it really is extraordinary.

I should go to bed. Today we walked up to a waterfall in Truro. Nova Scotia does not believe in putting scales on maps, so you never know how far away something might be, but fortunately the waterfall was quite close. Last night in Truro accommodation was a bit scarce as there was a dog show in town, so we had plenty of 4 legged companions in the motel. They would have to stay inside as there was ice on the windscreen in the morning.

Peggy's Cove. The postcard pictures usually have a brightly coloured dory in the foreground.

Looking along the coast from near the lighthouse at Peggy's Cove

 

The quilt I hope to win from Mahone Bay

 

Scarecrows in Mahone Bay

Hooked rug and scarecrows in Suttles and Seawinds

 

For hexagon lovers

Tall ship at Lunenberg

Lunenberg

 

Doorway in Lunenberg

Acadian cottage in Historic Gardens, Annapolis Royal

Historic Gardens, Annapolis Royal

Dykes. It is hard to imagine that these were once salt marshes although actually in the photo perhaps it does not look so different from salt marsh.

Halloween welcome on a doorstep in Lunenberg.

Cinderella's Coach or a boat?

Today's Fall photo.

Fundy Tides. The remains of wooden wharves on the right were once used to ship out gypsum. The loading had to be done during the three hours the tide was high.

Fundy Tides. We found these flowerpot rocks by venturing down some very marginal roads. I am always a bit worried I will end up bogged in someone's front garden or that I will have to backout uphill!

Waddell Falls, Victoria Park, Truro, Nova Scotia

Halifax, Nova Scotia

On Sunday we went to Louisbourg. After losing the mainland part of Nova Scotia to England in 1713, the French decided to build a fort to protect their fishing fleets and to guard the entrance to the St Lawrence. They chose a site on Cape Breton Island. Even before the fort was finished, New Englanders attacked it in 1745 and the French surrendered, but in 1748, England agreed to return it to France. However in 1758 it was again besieged, this time by regular British forces - among them James Cook. The Endeavour was also part of the British fleet. To avoid further trouble from the French it was completely destroyed in 1760.

The reconstruction is fascinating. Apart from archeological evidence, there are detailed records of the original construction in the French archives in Paris. Also descendants of the victorious forces have returned various "souvenirs" such as silver, books, paintings and even furniture.

We drove along the coast to Port Hawkesbury where the Harbourview Motel was just that. We could watch the tugs at work from our window. Then onto Halifax - more Fall colours and fishing villages and lighthouses along the way. We have probably taken far too many photos, but around every corner, you think it is better than the last shot.

We trusted the GPS and drove into the centre of Halifax. I find the outskirts where there is fast moving traffic much more unnerving than the centre, where traffic has to move slowly.

Last night the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic was open until 8. It is a fabuluous museum. Halifax has an excellent natural harbour which is why it has been of such strategic importance since the 1700s. The museum even has a live macaw - the pirates parrot. Halifax was a base for privateers or legalised pirates. Another gallery covers the wooden shipbuiding era here and in New Brunswick between about 1850 and 1900. In 1865 they built 660 ships which then sailed the world. We only had time to briefly look at the shipwrecks gallery (~5000 around Nova Scotia) and the Titanic exhibition - cable laying ships from Halifax found many of the bodies and they are buried here. Attitudes were different then, bodies of First class passengers were brought ashore in coffins, those of second and third class passengers in canvas bags and those of the crew uncovered on stretchers.

Today we walked from our motel to the Citadel. In contrast to Louisbourg, it has never been attacked. We took the guided tour with a member of the 78th Highlander regiment and had a long chat to the army schoolmaster who in the early 1800s taught the soldiers to read and write and do maths with an abacus. The schoolmaster also had magic lantern shows, such as the story of the tiger in the barrel, for light entertainment.

Although I have never visited our parliament in session we went to the Nova Scotian assembly today. It is the oldest parliamentary building in Canada dating from 1818 and the chamber is a lovely Palladian style room. It was question time and the Minister for Fisheries was being grilled about selling his lobster fishing licence. Apparently he had encouraged (helped?) the buyer to obtain a government loan (about $0.5m) for the purchase - just the sort of thing we are used to! The whole chamber was pure theatre - much clapping of hands and thumping the desks and clerks scurrying about with pieces of paper!

As you will have gathered by now, I am not a shopaholic when the merchandise is similar to what I can buy at home, although I love any sort of market, but we have not come across any. Also apart from the quality seafood, the food is nice, but mostly what you would expect in North America. The raspberries have finished. The fresh asparagus, both white and green looks good, but I have not seen it on the menu. Bananas are comparitively cheap so I doubt they are Fair Trade.

Sheep scamper across the grass in front of the King's Bastion, Louisbourg

 Explanatory panel, Fortress of Louisbourg

 Portrait of King Louis IX behind the altar in the chapel at Louisbourg.

 One of the well-to-do in Louisbourg

 Fall is not over yet

 Our guide from the 75th Highlanders with a mortar at the Halifax Citadel

Changing the guard at Halifax Citadel

 Our motley group of tourists. We were lucky - today there were no cruise ships.

 Colourful shingle houses, Agricola St., Halifax

 St Paul's Anglican Church. It dates from 1750 and the plan copies a London church (St Paul de Vere?). It was built from precut and numbered wooden sections shipped up from Boston.