Sat 1 Aug 2015
Docked - Gaspe, QC

[photo: one of the large gannet chicks on Ile Bonaventure]

What a jam-packed day we had! We were ready for our day's excursion before 0800 where Jon drove us (with Lynn, of course) to pick up Michelle, one of the vivacious ladies from Montreal we had met at Ste-Anne-des-Monts. She is staying with her sister who is also singing in the 160-person choir tonight. Anyway, we drove the coastal road to Perce, passing many small villages along the way. The many times that the road overlooked the bay yielded practically no view because of the - you guessed it - fog.

The town of Perce, a bit to our surprise, was really touristy, with restaurants and boutiques everywhere. We found a parking spot for $10 and bought tickets for one of the cruise boats that take you on a water tour of Perce rock and then a circumnavigation, description of, and landing on, Ile Bonaventure. With 30 minutes to kill, we got coffees and then Diane and I decided we needed something more substantial so I got a warmed bagel with cream cheese and local smoked salmon. Everything was very pricey, but at least it was good.

Boarding the boat was interesting because the wind was blowing 15-20 kts and it was cold, plus the visibility was perhaps 100 meters at best. All of us but Diane opted for the chilly but potentially better view up top and we were all surprised that even when the top was full and 20 people were already many the available spaces on the rails, dozens more people tried to squeeze up. I was sure that somebody was counting the number of passengers allowed on the boat, so the only explanation was that the lower, inside section was nearly empty. I did have some brief concerns about a top-heavy boat.

Our tour of Perce rock was pretty much a joke since you could barely see it at all. We next headed the 2 miles to the Ile Bonaventure and were greeted with alternating sections of dense fog and complete clarity. It was there that we saw the main attraction, the tens of thousands of gannets, which are large sea birds, nesting in any rock crevice they could find along the nearly vertical walls of the island. As a bonus, there were dozens of seals frolicking in the water as well. As luck would have it, I was trapped on the wrong side of the boat with the camera while Diane wound up on the starboard rail with a great view of the seals and birds.

The boat landed at the large Parks Canada wharf and we disembarked to buy tickets for the park visit. We decided to take the medium length walk around the island, which was about 6 miles with a lot of ups and downs and even steep wooden stairs. The walk was very pleasant with the 5 of us chatting, mostly in English. Michelle's English is quite good, thankfully. When we neared the site with the birds nesting on the plateau of the island, we were first alerted by the odor, and next by the cacophony of their sounds.

It really was an amazing site to see thousands of birds so close together, and the roped off area was within 10 feet of many of the birds, so it was very close up. The babies were huge, but appeared so mostly because of the incredibly puffy down covering their bodies. Sadly, there were quite a few dead ones littering the grounds, too. We wondered about the reasons for their mortality. We got to watch some mating, some fighting, and some nest building. It was really a special experience.

That was where Diane and I told the others we were moving down the path just a bit to see a different section. Fifteen minutes later, we looked and looked but somehow could not find them, even though we found out later they were really still in that area. We had not set up a contingency plan for involuntary separation, but decided they just might have thought we pressed ahead and were trying to catch us. So, we did press ahead and tried to catch them. At our fast pace, we finally assumed they were likely behind us and hoped they would simply carry on.

The walk back yielded little in the way of animal life, except seeing a few seals in the water, but it was beautiful now that the visibility was excellent and the temperatures were comfortable. The trail at this point got pretty hilly with many steep stairs, but we were not daunted and really enjoyed the walk. The last kilometer, though, did seem a bit wearying and we looked forward to getting off our feet.

Upon arrival back at the park headquarters, there was no sign of the group and the 1400 boat was leaving for the mainland. We assumed they ran only on the hour so we hoped Jon, Lynn, and Michelle were OK and would join us before that. We were thirsty and a bit hungry, so we bought some very over-priced food and beverage at the snack bar. It was worth it, however, because we never had a chance to stop for a real lunch.

On the boat heading back, the captain realized that most of us heading back at that time had come over early and never got to really see Perce rock, so we got a brief close-up tour in stunningly clear conditions. That was very thoughtful of him. Back onshore, we saw throngs of people there. It was really something and we were glad we came early, despite the fog. Jon got us back with ease and we picked up our tickets for the performance tonight. We just might have gotten some of the last tickets available.

After dropping off Michelle, we all stopped at the very nice IGA grocery store and then back to the boats. We had 2 hours to unpack, eat supper, nap, shower, and dress for the evening. It started to pour heavily and lasted the whole time we had to walk to the car and drive to the school auditorium. The place was sold out and stragglers were coming in until 10 minutes after curtain time, but the wait was worth it.

There were about 14 numbers, composed and directed by 4 different people - all ladies - and ran the gamut from songs celebrating the region of Gaspe, to some from the USA, to Haiti, and Cuba. It was really a very special experience for us. Afterwards, we got to meet Michelle's sister, Dominique, and Suzanne who had toured our boat. They were in the choir, of course.

Wisely, we said our goodbyes there with promises to stay in touch. Jon got us back to the marina and we parted to unwind and prep for the next day. We were very grateful that they chose to do this today and to invite us along. The plan is to leave and travel to one of several possible anchorage stops as the weather allows.