TRAVELOGUE
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Sept Illes, Quebec
What an exciting morning we had today! As we approached the small town of Sept Illes, Quebec, we were preceded by a tug boat spraying water high into the air and on either side of the ship there were small boats following along as we approached the harbor along with the huge Coast Guard tug as well. The MS Maasdam is the first international cruise ship to ever call on the small port of Sept Illes, Quebec, and I think the whole town showed up at the pier to greet and welcome us. There were news cameras everywhere, the mayor was there shaking everyone’s hands as we got off the tenders, and the entire dock was lined with people so happy to see us and shaking hands with everyone. When we got into the visitor’s tent, we were all given cloth bags from Sept Illes with some tourist information inside. Several of us were “interviewed” by TV stations. There were helicopters hovering above taking pictures of the ship in the harbor.
Our tour today was 7 ½ hours on a motor coach out through miles and miles and miles of highway flanked on either side by thick, dense forests of evergreens and birch trees that were still barren from the cold. The highway followed along the north shore of the St. Lawrence Seaway. Every now and then an opening would appear through the trees and the views would be of gushing white water rapids in a river headed towards the St. Lawrence or views of the St. Lawrence beaches and coastline. It was spectacular scenery along the coastline. The sandy beaches extend for long distances and then there will be rocks and cliffs jutting out, then back to sandy beaches.
We visited a lighthouse after being on the road for about two hours (100 miles). It is called Le phare de Pointe-des-Monts. It is on a point of land that juts out into the St. Lawrence Seaway and narrows the channel between the north and the south shores. It is built on massive granite rocks and there are three black canons mounted along the waters' edge for protection back in the day. It is a stunning location with the river and the rocks. The lighthouse has seven floors and the lighthouse keeper and his family used to live inside the lighthouse. The kitchen was on the first floor, then the bedrooms were on floors 2-6 and on the top was the lighthouse keepers “office”. Jim climbed up the narrow winding red steps to the top and said the view was spectacular. We were shown a 20 minute film about the lighthouse and were greeted by four employees all decked out in the nautical uniforms, again, so welcoming and friendly to all of us. In the house that was built to shelter the stranded, ship wreck passengers, they have turned it into a hotel with a lovely restaurant. The chef was there – white hat and all – serving us delicate crackers with a mouth watering shrimp dip and warm coffee all served on china and silver.
From the lighthouse we re-traced our route a bit back to a Ship Wreck Interpretation Center where we were greeted again very warmly. We saw a 20 minute film on the shipwrecks of the area and one in particular where a gentleman was pulling in his anchor one evening after being out fishing and it caught on something. There, 100 yards off of HIS own property was the shipwreck on a boat from 1690 that had never been found. There is now a nice building across the street from the Interpretation Center where many of the original artifacts are kept under glass. They recovered muskets, bottles, pewter serving dishes and numerous other items and have built this museum for that specifically.
After the Interpretation Center, we were driven to lunch at Resto-Pub Le Remous in a little community of Port-Cartier (pronounced Po – caw – ti) where we were again warmly welcomed and served a delicious lunch with a view alongside some beautiful waterfalls and white water river. We had vegetable soup; a choice of main course of either cannelloni, chicken kabob or a fish dish. All meals were served on large oval plates with more food than we could eat. And the triple chocolate cake with strawberries on top was our heavenly dessert. While we were there eating, the mayor of Port-Cartier came over and greeted us and told our tour guide she had something for each of us. So after lunch we stopped by the mayor’s office and they gave us all a canvas bag with all sorts of visitor information inside, a special pin and a pen. What was funny was that all of the information is in French. We can’t read a line of it! Pretty pictures though! And, quite thoughtful to do that for us at any rate.
Once we left Port Cartier we headed towards an actual shipwreck of the Lady Hera from 1977. The steel hull steam ship ran aground on the rocks right off the coast and the wreckage is still there for all to see. It was very interesting. Everything has been removed from the boat, except the boat which cannot be moved.
While driving back into town at the end of the day, we made another stop at another museum where a pulp mill once was and an old steam engine was out front on display representing the railroad taking the pulp back to the town when it was a functioning mill.
We passed several churches, but one thing became evidently clear to us – this is a poverished area. The homes are all small and appear to be track-type homes built very close together. Their largest store is Wal-Mart. Their main industry is the aluminum and iron plants over on the south shore of the St. Lawrence.
Our day was topped off with a wonderful dinner at The Pinnacle Grill Steak House last night on ship. We had reservations for 7:30 so we could watch the sunset. We had a window table and it was so enjoyable to sit and watch this gorgeous sunset that unfolded before our eyes with the sun dropping in the west and the skies brightening to a shocking pink.
It was an enjoyable day. Tomorrow we will sail up the Saguenay River through the fjords to Sageunay, Quebec where we will spend our day.
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