Willy Guy Gaudreault
On the Way to Amqui
On the Way to Amqui
Routhierville Bridge
On the Way to Amqui
Approaching Ferry Boat
The Road to Tadoussac
Riviere Aux Canards – Near Tadoussac
Riviere Aux Canards – Near Tadoussac
Up to this time I’ve been to the North of the St. Lawrence Seaway, but that’s about to change. I need to catch a ferry and make the trek; the only question is, which ferry crossing (there are numerous choices). Lucky for me I met another cycle rider while bouncing from traffic light to traffic light east of Quebec. We agreed to stop for a coffee and friendly conversation. Willy Guy Gaudreault is builder, carpenter and perhaps one might even add that most coveted title – entrepreneur. He was just out for a ride when we met up, and he guided me along the way for several miles and advised me as to best crossing point and route of travel as continued my way south toward New Brunswick.
Riviere Du Saguanay
We continued east for a few miles before he had to reverse and make his way back to Quebec. I give many thanks to Willy Guy for all his helpful advice. I hope we meet and ride again some day; perhaps, when he goes or returns from Sturgis on his planned expedition next summer (let me know Willy!).
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I chose to continue to Tadoussac where the Riviere Du Saguenay enters the St. Lawrence Seaway. Willy had told me what a nice ride it was through the mountains edging the seaway to the way to Tadoussac, and even though the mountains are by no means as spectacular it was at times easy to imagine that you were riding through British Columbia and not Quebec.
Tadoussac is just across the Riviere Du Saguenay and to get there you must take the ferry across the Saguenay (it’s free and runs about every 30 minutes). The Saguenay is famous for its fjords and you can take cruises up and explore the sites (but, one just has to draw the line somewhere).
Tadoussac is well known as a whale sighting area and that was a major reason for my choosing Tadoussac. There are nearby locations where pay around $7 for the chance to see whales as close as 60 meters from the shore or you can to go out on boat. In either case there is no guarantee that you will see whales and not even any predictable “prime times” for sightings. From what I have been told they are mostly unpredictable.
In any case, even though I would love to see a whale, without my telephoto lens and tripod, it would be folly to try to get a decent photograph of a whale from even as close as 60 meters (which was probably the best that I could hope to get from shore or even a boat).
That being said, the next morning I crossed Saguenay River for a second time via the ferry and headed for the hour and a half ferry crossing from Saint-Simeon to Riviere Du Loup (following Willy Guy’s suggestion).
My original plan had been to travel straight south and promptly enter New Brunswick at Edmundston, but again following Willy’s suggestion I bore to the southeast intending to follow the coastal route along the Atlantic seaboard of New Brunswick. The distance was too great and I ended the day at a campground on the edge of Amqui, Quebec still a few miles from New Brunswick.
