Summary
We took a whale watching excursion on the Saint Lawrence River with a hundred of our best friends in pea soup fog. It was eerily beautiful but not conducive to spotting sea-life more than a few dozen meters away. It never did burn off in the course of the 3 hour cruise. Despite that, we did see some humpbacks, minke whales and seals. Back off the boat in Tadoussac we had about a four hour drive to the Québec airport to return our rental car. Our hotel for the next for nights is a very nice, well-situated Relais & Château hotel, the Auberge Saint-Antoine in Québec’s “lower town.” The hotel has a Michelin recommended (as opposed to starred) restaurant where we had a really nice dinner.
Details
We wake to find that we weren’t murdered overnight. In hindsight there wasn’t anything really that would make us suspect that, other than that we’re staying in a motel. The bed was comfortable and the A/C worked just fine. That’s now in our past. Today we finish our time in the Charlevoix and head down to south back to Québec.
But first, breakfast followed by whales (we hope). We have breakfast at the same place we’re staying, at the Chantmartin. To chant is to sing in French and matin is “morning”. And the motel’s logo is a rooster. So maybe this is a play on words? Maybe Martin is the owner and so it’s a joke? In any case breakfast at the diner is good. Our boat’s leaving early-ish so we’re packed before we eat.
Driving down towards the dock we notice that there appears to be a fog on the water. We’re hopeful it burns off before we’re supposed to see any whales.
Parking was no problem, though the owner (manager?) of the parking lot had extremely detailed instructions on where and how I was to park, all delivered in French. I apparently did everything to his liking as he gave me a thumbs up once the car, backed in, was done moving.
At the boat itself they have different queues for people for the main section, the VIP section, and then for other boats. Those going on the low-to-the-water inflatable Zodiac boats were in a line about to get their orange suits. We’d tried to pay extra for the VIP section when we booked the whale watching cruise but they were sold out. We truly don’t know what we are missing. The queueing and waiting and ticket validation is quite the ordeal, which is good because we need to stand in line for a long time. At least we have something to watch.
Boarding the boat someone in our group smartly marches to the back of the boat and reserves four seats close to the side, better to see the coming whales. It takes forever for us to leave and then we’re just going to another pier to take on many more dozens of queued people. Eventually we’re on our way, but the water is still shrouded in fog.
We can see a few yards off the side of the boat but that’s about it. A chipper young naturalist expert on the PA system tries to make things fun and exciting, first in French and then in English, back and forth. We’re learning a lot but not seeing the aforementioned whales.
After maybe an hour we’re out where they whales (supposedly) are and we’re on high alert to see them. Around us are other boats, all the low Zodiacs.
Finally someone sees something. It’s at the boat’s 2 o’clock (i.e. on the other side of the boat from where we’re sitting). Everyone rushes to that side and the boat lists markedly. This happens over and over, with the whales, what few there were, showing an extreme prejudice for the other side of the boat. We do see some seals on our side of the boat, and the occasional gull. When we could see whales they weren’t belugas, and they were at a fair distance, off shrouded in the lingering fog.
Eventually we turn our attention to lunch, which we’d paid for in advance. We pick up our lunch sacks and eat the sandwiches (leaving as much bread in the bag as possible). We drink the can of water and I eat the cookie. It’s all fine.
The boat, meanwhile, has been making its way back to the Saguenay Fjord. We motor up the fjord for a while, looking for belugas that never show. With the warmer waters of the fjord we shake most of the fog. Our PA announcer tries to make the best of it, declaring that we did get to see ‘some’ whales and learned a lot (from what she told us) in the process. In sum it was pretty much a bust. Karen swears off future whaling expeditions.
Back in the car we head out for the 3-4 hour drive down to Québec. The straight shot would have us take the free ferry across the narrow fjord opening and head south along the coast. But that’s not the fastest way, as it’s not a multi-lane fast super highway.
So, instead we’re traveling a further distance, but at a much greater speed, backtracking from Tadoussac back to Saguenay, and then straight south to Québec. Gregg does the first leg and I do the second. What strikes me is that we drive for about three hours and see nothing but trees. Not houses or factories or restaurants, just trees. Kind of like what parts of the US must have been like back in the late 1700s (assuming they had a super highway going through them). It was fun.
At the airport we give back our rental car and take a couple of Ubers/Taxis to our hotel. It’s fun seeing Québec and we’re excited for our four days to come. Our room is not cheap but it’s very comfortable and fun. There’s lots of archeological artifacts decorating the place. Each room has a name, as well as a number, and an illuminated artifact.
For dinner we eat at the hotel. We’ve had a reservation here for a while and not honoring it would cost us $50 per person. The menu? A five or seven course tasting menu, either with or without (flesh). We all opt for the five course (with) and the girls add another “with” which is the wine pairing. It’s not a Michelin starred restaurant but it’s a Michelin recommended restaurant and every course is exquisite. We have an extra pre-course, and extra desserts, so we’re plenty full. Did I mention how good it was?
Photos
