La Gaspésie

It still hasn't been much of a summer here so far, but at the end of July it was time for a little vacation. We crossed our fingers and headed toward the east coast of Québec in search of some sun.

Started our trip by first heading north to Chicoutimi, so we could drive down the Saguenay fjord. We spent our first night in the Parc du Saguenay, at a "refuge" that was an hour's hike in from the visitor centre. The cabin was anything but rustic, with a stunning view over the river. We shared it with 5 sea kayakers and the cove's neighbourhood seal.

On the next leg we visited Tadoussac (no whales spotted on our hike),

and then made our way up the Cote Nord toward Baie Comeau (home of Brian Mulroney's childhood and numerous stinky pulp plants). A ferry brought us from there across the St. Lawrence River, to Matane on the south shore. No warm weather yet!

We were pretty darned excited to reach the Gaspé Peninsula, despite the driving rain and Rob's seasickness (take note: poutine on a boat = bad idea). By the next morning the clouds had parted and the first shafts of sunlight appeared. The cars became fewer and the scenery more stunning as we hugged the coastal drive. The sea on the left, and forested mountains dotted with tiny villages to the right.

We played in the water for the first time...

... and then headed straight to Percé, where we'd booked 3 days at an inn overlooking the ocean. This is the home of the famous Roche Percé. For much of the time it was shrouded in mist and rain, but we had one glorious, hot sunny day where we were able to wade over the rock at low tide.

We were praying for one more nice day to make it over to Ile Bonaventure. Luckily on our last morning there the rain stopped again, and we did the boat trip. The highlight of it is sailing by the magnificent seabird colonies on the back of the island. There were a few different kinds of seals out basking, and a thrilling diversity of birds nesting on the cliffs. Ahhh, the old familiar reek of guano made me nostalgic! We saw razorbills, murres, kittiwakes, black-backed gulls, cormorants, and even a pair of puffins.

And of course, the star of the show, the Northern Gannets. The boat stops on the island so you can hike across to the breeding area, for amazing up-close views of the world's largest and most accessible gannet colony. We were totally mesmerized watching their shenanigans.

From there we pretty much hightailed it home after squeezing in the most time we could on the far coast. (With a memorable lobster feast en route in St-Anne-des-Monts). It was a fabulous trip. The more we explore Québec, the more we realise how much it has to offer, and we're looking forward to experiencing more. The only thing missing is our family and friends! No minor element... we've both been having pangs of homesickness lately.

One possible reason for craving our loved ones... (just to see who's paying attention)... Here's the first photo evidence of our new family member, due to arrive in January. I know it looks like I've just been eating too many meatball subs. But that's changing now that we're approaching the 4 month-mark, and the belly's really starting to pop out. Stay tuned for progress =)