We helped True Love with their lines the next morning in St. Charles sur Richelieu, then September Morn, and then we cast off our own to head the rest of the way down the Richelieu. It was a beautiful day, and we enjoyed the scenery. At one point I spotted a huge flock of birds, and determined that they were some kind of swallow. They were swarming around a place in the river bank that was quite high and bare, and there were holes all over it. I suppose those were nesting cavities – tis the season, after all!
Having Flore and Duane ahead of us was pretty sneaky, since we could let Flore pave the way at the marina with her fluent French. She’d called earlier in the day to make reservations for us both, and as we approached the marina we listened to her exchange on the radio with the marina personnel. I gathered that we’d be next to them, but not which side. When our turn came, I called the marina and tried to speak in English (I don’t know all the terms for docking a boat in French!), and found their command of the language somewhat lacking. We were standing off just outside the entrance, and could see September Morn, but no detail of the slips around her. Finally, Roy lost patience, and headed into the marina before we really knew what we were doing. Mistake.
This was a beautiful Sunday afternoon, and the marina was VERY busy. People approaching and leaving the fuel dock, entering and leaving their slips, and none of them with any courtesy for us or the fact that we were trying to maneuver (we’d figured out where we were going by now, just couldn’t get there!) Roy was trying to get Mer Sea turned around to back in, and there were all sorts of people on the dock shouting instructions (none of them marina personnel, just other boaters trying to help!), and other boats zipping by from every direction. All this in a relatively narrow fairway! More excitement than I signed up for!
Finally Roy pulled out, regrouped, and made another pass at the slip, this time sliding Mer Sea right in there, with lots of people catching lines and fending off along the way. The slip was relatively narrow, and the wind was substantial, so it was good to have all the hands helping. Whew! Secured at last! You have no idea how good it feels some days.
We had a drink with Flore and Duane that evening before dinner, and had fun getting to know them a bit more. They are a great couple, very easygoing, and I’m glad we’ll be traveling together for a while – probably as far as Kingston, ON, at least on and off. They had plans to leave the next day for Quebec City, as they were meeting Flore’s son and granddaughter. The granddaughter would be spending some time with them on the boat.
The next morning the wind was still blowing (this seems to be a major feature of the trip this year!), so Roy and I helped Duane and Flore with their lines getting off the dock. We looked forward to catching up with them again in Quebec City.
It was a beautiful day, and the terrain was pretty flat, so Roy and I decided to take down the bikes and ride into town. We encountered the added bonus of lots of bike paths along the way. We found the older, waterfront area to be lovely, with a big waterfront park and a large pedestrian shopping and restaurant area. We had fun poking around there, then headed to a more modern commercial area, where we found a great grocery store and a Canadian Tire store (sort of like a Home Depot). We also found a great ice cream store, and were happy to give them our business!
All in all, it was a really nice afternoon. I spent some time when we got back talking to the guy on the boat a couple of slips over, and he made some suggestions about Trois-Rivieres and Portneuf, where we’d be stopping along our way. After dinner, we met another local, Stevens, who has the exact same boat as our friends Sue and Mike from Burnt Store Marina, and whose home port is the port in Montreal where we’ll be staying. We had a lot of fun talking to him and solving a few of the world’s problems, and then he invited us over to his boat for a cup of coffee or whatever. We met his girlfriend, Eunsook, who’s from South Korea, and had a jolly evening together.
We left early the next morning, headed for Trois-Rivieres. It was an easy 35 or so miles down the river, and the current was with us, so we got there in no time! I was glad, as I wanted to do some exploring there. We looked at a map, and determined that it would be too far for a pleasant bike ride – the marina is on a small island in the mouth of a river that flows into the St. Lawrence, and the actual town is on the mainland. We ended up taking a taxi, and were very glad we did! It was much further than I’d thought!
The taxi dropped us off, and we walked all around the city. I kept hoping I’d find someplace where I could get a Canadian cell phone, since Verizon has screwed those of us who were counting on switching to the North America Plan while in Canada this summer, and I’m too cheap to pay 69 cents/minute plus whatever other passthrough charges we might incur if we used our phone to make calls in Canada. I don’t like being basically phoneless!
Well, no phone, but we did cover the town. The place was burned pretty much to the ground at some point in the past and has been rebuilt. I was hoping for something with the charm of Sorel, but no dice. It was nice enough, and has some lovely parks and buildings, but they haven’t utilized the waterfront at all, and there’s really not much in the way of charm. I did see the oldest Anglican church in North America, though.
When we were ready to leave, we had a dilemma. How to get a taxi? I finally decided to go to the Tourist Information center, and they offered to call me a taxi. He was speedy getting there, and we zipped back to the boat.
The next morning we had an early leaving time, since the current in the river is so substantial, all the guidebooks say that you’ve pretty much got to synchronize your run to Quebec to go through this one really narrow part of the river when the current is with you. The wind was BLOWING. Again. We considered our options, as the wind direction was in opposition to the current, which can make for some pretty rough seas. We decided to try it. At least it wouldn’t be on our beam!
We got out of the marina into the river, and it was rough. The river was pretty open at this point, so we thought that things might not be so bad in places where there was a bit more protection from the wind, so we pressed on. It was a long day. Four to six foot seas, waves crashing over our bow, spray clearing the entire boat, bouncing and pounding on the waves…but I’d stowed the boat for heavy seas, we were dry and safe, so we held on and kept an eye out for the HUGE freighters that ply these waters, and made our way. It wasn’t unsafe, but not pleasant, either. We learned our lesson.
As far north as Quebec City is, the tides are pretty extreme – in this case, 15 feet. In order not to have to deal with that or the current in the river, the marina basin is protected by a lock that you go through to get to the marina. This is an unusual setup, but works really well, and the marina is placid. We’ve rarely been happier to enter a marina! We found our slip, and a friendly local helped us with our lines. Roy walked the outside of the boat while I un-stowed the inside stuff. He came back inside to tell me that the cap to the tube where he stows his fishing rods had been slammed off by the rods lurching inside (miraculously, none of the rods was missing!), and the seat in the inflatable dinghy had dislodged from its place and was sitting on the floor of the dink. Amazing! But nothing was lost or damaged. We were indeed lucky!
We were moored near September Morn, so wandered over to say hi. Flore’s son and granddaughter were there, so we didn’t linger too long. But Flore said that she’d have a car the next day if there was any shopping we wanted to do. We were thrilled, and made arrangements to meet at 9:00 the next day.
The marina in Quebec City is right downtown in the old part of town, which has all been preserved and restored, and is now a UNESCO heritage site. We went out to wander a bit that afternoon, and to find a likely dinner spot. The city is built on a hill, with one part down at water level and the other part on the top of the hill.
In this photo, taken as we were leaving the city several days later, you can clearly see the two levels of the city and the funicular that now joins them. There are, of course, many roads and staircases you can use to walk up to the upper city as well. The whole thing is absolutely gorgeous!
When we went out that first afternoon, we decided not to try to go up to the upper city, but to just explore the lower city. It was beautiful – cobblestone streets, stone buildings, flower boxes, the streets winding around, outside cafés – you really feel like you’re in Europe! Add to that the French language all around, and the picture is complete. We loved it!! And found a charming little place for dinner, with an outside terrace in the back where we huddled under the heater and the blankets that they provided. It was an auspicious beginning to a visit in this oldest city in North America!