Montmorency Falls - Quebec, Canada

Sunday, July 3rd - Just 2 miles from where we were camped was beautiful Montmorency Falls. At 272 ft. , these falls are 98 ft. higher than Niagara Falls – Although not as wide, and not as much volume as Niagara, the falls were impressive.

Montmorency Falls park was well laid out, with viewing platforms from both sides of the falls.

We climbed down these stairs….only to the first platform…..we had no real interest in going ALL the way down, though many people did (mostly kids) and got soaking wet from the spray!

The park also had a suspension bridge across the falls…….

Which we walked over…..it was the only way to get to the other side……

And it afforded quite a view!

There was a wonderful restaurant on this other side of the falls that was serving Sunday Brunch……….delicious.    : )

Quebec City–Old Town

We arrived in Quebec on Friday, July 1st – Canada Day (like our 4th of July)…… So the first thing we did, after settling into our camp site at the Municipal campground in Beauport, was to head into Old Town (about 15 min away). Now I must say, the driving in downtown….and the parking…was a bit of a nightmare. But, once we found a parking lot, all was good.

We were headed into the older area known as ‘inside the walls’. You see, Quebec is the only ‘walled city’ north of Mexico. The walls were built in the mid 1700’s, started by the French to protect against British attack. The French were defeated by the British in 1759, in Quebec, and the British ended up finishing the walls, thinking that it would be good to protect themselves from the Americans who attacked Quebec, early in the Revolutionary war. The Quebecers like to point out that they won that battle.

Quebec is interesting in that the official language of Quebec province is French. Crossing into Quebec is like landing in France. Ninety-five percent of the population speaks French….though, in the city, people were more likely to also speak English (somewhat). The signs were all in French…and sometimes with no English translation - we found this particularly interesting with road signs! I wish that we had paid more attention to our high school French…..

We walked around the city that evening, then came back the next morning and joined a walking tour….Old Town, Quebec, has the wonderful hustle and bustle of a city……very colorful…..

It reminded us of the French Quarter in New Orleans……a lot of the same architecture….

And street artists…..

And street performers……

Quebec has a number of impressive statues…..the one on the right is Samuel Champlain, who discovered Quebec City in 1608.

Quebec also has a long history of settlement from the Catholic Missionaries. Three Ursuline Nuns arrived in 1639 to open a girls school. They have had a school on the same site ever since.

This is a picture of the Ursulines Chapel……so beautiful….the Ursulines had, at one time, been a cloistered order, so, to the right of the altar is a separate chapel area for the sisters and the students.

This is the hotel Frontenac…..a HUGE…elegant hotel opened in 1893.

 

Cities are so exciting……so full of energy! So much fun to learn their history..…or to just stroll about……. or sit and people watch………

Walking with Expectation…….

On Wednesday, we woke up to a cool, foggy morning, but decided to follow our plans to hike the  Jack Pine and Coastal Trails, a hike that we were told was quite beautiful.

The hike started in woods…..interesting and inviting…..and just a bit magical in the mist.

It was the kind of setting where anything could happen…..

This certainly looked like the kind of place  that one might expect to see wildlife…perhaps a moose……with nice brooks for drinking and brush for the browsing……

We had identified moose prints along our other hikes, and we looked for them, and any other signs of moose……

What we found, in addition to prints, were quite a few….  many ….. piles of moose poop, all along the trail! (I have spared you any pictures of moose poop)     ; )    But where there is moose poop…Hey, there must be moose…….

So we kept our eyes open…..and walked with an air of expectation….moving slowly and quietly….our senses alert to every nuance, every sound…..looking around…..not knowing what we might discover…..

We just knew that…any moment….we might see a moose….. or a coyote, or fox, or  some other wonderful, wild creature. It was just that kind of morning…..

We found that we took the time to notice every little thing along the way.

We found it intriguing how the rocks had such pink striations that looked as if they had been painted on.

And along the coastal section of trail, we did not mind that the fog kept us from getting that wonderful, crisp photo……

It only added to the ambiance and romance of the place….…

Where wild creatures roam about (even if you don’t catch sight of them), and fishermen work their lobster traps in the dense fog…..

You know…we never did see a moose on that hike, but we had not been disappointed. Some trails we have walked for the destination….a waterfall or wonderful overlook, or some such. Hiking with intention, but not paying as much attention to the things we might discover along the way. This trail we had walked for the journey itself….. walking with the expectation that we would see something wonderful if we just looked…..and we did.

By the way, the only moose that we saw while at Cape Breton was from our car. He was a magnificent bull with a full rack of antlers. But, by the time we had backed up and had gotten a camera shot….well…….I guess you will have to take my word for it!    

Whale Watching–Pleasant Bay, Nova Scotia

It seems like no trip to Nova Scotia could be complete without a whale watching tour. So, we donned these wonderful waterproof ‘warm suits’ and boarded a small, fast moving Zodiac boat, and headed out with our boat Captain and guide Gil (an Acadian from Cheticamp).  By the way, the insulated suits did a fantastic job of keeping us warm. The air temp was around 54 degrees and we did not get the least bit chilled.     : )

We left from Pleasant Bay, a picturesque Harbor town where the whales are know to ‘hang out.’

We learned that Nova Scotia is the summer home for a number of species of whales. Like we found in Alaska, the whales come to the nutrient rich colder waters off Nova Scotia to feed during the summer before heading to the warmer Caribbean waters to have their young.

We had just started out in the boat when we found ourselves in the middle of a group of white sided dolphins. There were around 100 dolphins swimming and playing all around us. Please excuse my attempts at photography…….I have decided that whale watching is an almost impossible activity to photograph……dolphins and whales and other sea creatures just move way too fast!

As we moved on, we spotted a pod (that’s whale talk for ‘group’) of Pilot Whales. The Pilot whales are a relatively small whale that lives in the waters of the north Atlantic all year round.

Next, a Minke Whale caught Capt. Gil’s eye. This Minke was ‘breaching’, jumping our of the water, over and over again…..a rare performance for them! It was amazing! But, again, so fast that all we could get a picture of was the splash……

Finally, we spotted several Fin Whales. These whales are larger than the Humpback, and come to these waters in the spring and summer.

The Fin Whales were close enough to our boat that it felt like you could reach out and touch them…….

On the ride back to port, we were able to get a few pictures of the beautiful Cape Breton coastline.

It was an exhilarating experience……..one feels so in awe of the amazing creatures which are all around….. and under us in the sea.