Wednesday July 25,2013
Iles de la Madeleine proved to be every thing we had hoped for, with the exception of the rain and constant wind. We have rented a car for $65 a day through Riel the marina manager and it is delivered to us the next morning. We will spend the next two days exploring the island chain.
Each of the seven inhabited islands has its own features and attractions, and since the archipelago is only about 65 kilometers (40 miles) long, it makes sense to explore it island by island. The rain is a bit heavy at times and low clouds make for poor visibility so we drive the full length too Ile De La Grand Entrée to get our bearings and will stop and explore things on our way back to Havre Aubert.
Our first stop is the salt mine interpretation center. It is here that we learn; two to five million years ago, the pressure of the rocky layer overlaying the salt layer below the earths crust raised its temperature to nearly 300°C (572°F). The salt, more fluid and malleable than the rocky layer tended to rise towards the surface. Pressure from rising salt lifted the overlaying rock, creating the famous salt domes supporting Les Îles de la Madeleine. A single mine currently operating in the region is Québec’s only underground salt mine, and produces 1.5 million metric tones of salt each year.
Next, the seal interpretation center, where our guide (the daughter of a seal hunter) encourages us to support the seal meat industry. For contrast, there is a display of the Green Peace protests of the 60’s. The lasting effect of there efforts is the baby white seal is no longer hunted and killed.
A segment of the population on these islands are descendants from survivors of the over 400 shipwrecks on the islands. We spend the day just roaming the beaches and check out two of the wrecks that washed ashore.
Time for supper at a restaurant that has been recommended to us by friends from Shediac. We have a fabulous meal at Domaine du Vieux Couvent. Built between 1914 and 1918 on the initiative of Father Samuel Turbide who entered five hundred chariots full of stones from local quarries to raise its floor, the “Vieux Couvent's” first vocation was training young teachers by the nuns of the Notre Dame's Congregation. In 1967 when the general School of the Islands took over this training, the “Vieux Couvent” became a place of introspection. In 1969 Gaspard Richard bought the building and transformed it into a little hotel with the cozy name “Chez Gaspard”. Ever since that day, the “Vieux Couvent” has the vocation to receive, charm and coddle. Although the Chapel does not exist anymore, burnt down in 1973, the remaining buildings still witness of a long past of hospitality. The current owners of the Estate preserve this tradition and the rich heritage of this jewel of the Islands. Every day a palette of inspired dishes of mussels, lobster, herring, maquerel, clams, bouillabaisse, Island's veal, home breed boars, wild fruits and berries, as well as local cheeses are offered. Only $100 each, such a deal!!! but well worth it.