More Roadtrippin'

Percé Rock (very famous)

Road-trip for a Beer
We left This Canadian Yurt with a tent & an idea.  The idea was to drive around 30 miles down the road, go for a hike & then camp overnight there.  But when we arrived, it was raining & windy and we had no desire to leave our warm car.  So we decided instead to go for a long drive.  We weren't sure exactly where we were headed, but as it's a coastal 'highway' (2 lanes of traffic!) we didn't have to make too many decisions.  

Our excitement at driving by Perce rock

We ended up in a town called

Felix without the polar bear costume

Bonaventure, where a friend of ours, Felix, was working as a kayak guide.  Last year, Felix gave me one of the most visual memories of all the things i saw in Gaspé.  He was attired  as a polar bear for a fancy-dress party (in a wonderful outfit he created himself).  When i arrived, he was practicing for a battle which was to take place in the local karaoke bar.  Standing by the kitchen sink (where he had plastered the words to his given song) he stood as a polar bear & practiced Eminem's 'Lose Yourself' in his awesome Québecois accent.

this town had cartoons on every fire hydrant

By total synchronicity Felix arrived back from a 4 day excursion about 5 minutes after we rocked up. He directed us to a beach in Carleton-Sur-Mer, where we could camp that night. We drove into that town at dusk (around 8.30pm).  As we were passing through town i saw the word 'Micro-brasserie' flash by.  Antoine had the car turned around before i'd even completed the "-erie".  We sat in the micro-brewery car park & considered our options.

Vintage signs

Sensible option - go find camp, set up the tent, walk back to the bar, drink, walk back to the tent.


We reasoned that the tent was so easy to put up, that the beach was 'right there' (we gestured vaguely) & walked into the bar.

The beer was good, the atmosphere was fantastic & we met 2 people we knew!  The barman offered to let us crash at his place if we wished to leave the car & abandon the idea of camping.  We said we'd return if we couldn't find a spot.

That water is WAY further down than it looks.

Sometime after 10.30pm we went in search of the beach.  We couldn't find it.  Back & forth we went, but there just wasn't a beach to be found.  We drove down another road.  There were a bunch of RVs/Caravans & what looked like a rental house, without a car (no car at 11pm more or less guarantees no one lives there in Gaspésie).  We decided to pitch camp next to the, now dirt track, road overlooking the sea, by what seemed like a semi-cliff/steep drop down to the beach. i was happy because my request had been to listen to the ocean as we slept.

so excited to see a Real 'idle no more' sign!

In the morning we packed up & ate breakfast on the beach, which was surprisingly easy to find in daylight.  We drove back, realising that we'd driven 275km/180 miles for a beer.  (And yes, i did feel bad about the gas, but making this trip allowed me to see the beauty of the area where i've been living all these months.)

Roadtrip for a Jacuzzi
The next trip we made was for a photo booth job in a town called Matan - on the coastal road in the other direction.  As we drove the car into a gas station, Antoine flung his hand over my eyes 
"Don't look!  Don't look!".  
"What? What is it?"  Of course i wanted to know what was going on.  Antoine seemed uncharacteristically disturbed.

A sign reading 'Yurtex' led to here...

"There's a dead bear in the back of that truck."
The man had propped the bear's head on the back of his pick-up.  i stared at it:  so small, so young, so...not alive.  i had no idea that they hunted bears here.  i started to cry when Antoine was paying for the gas.  The young driver came back into his pickup, i wanted to go knock on his window & show him my tears.  i wanted to ask him 'why?' - not in an angry, accusational way...just so he saw another side to his actions. 

Antoine returned & we drove off in silence. 
"Stupid white man, that's what i think when i see this.  An Amerindian [from the indigenous Mic-Mac tribe] told me that you have to be reaaaaally hungry to hunt a bear.  This guy has a massive truck.  He's not hungry."  Antoine reasoned.

i see many customs which are very different to my personal beliefs when i travel.  Seeing this small bear's head was one of those moments.  i considered the possibility that it had been hit accidentally on the road, but Antoine was relatively certain that the tag it had in its ear meant that it had been hunted.  The most upsetting thing was how small it was & how the head had been placed  there to show it off.

Okay, deep breath.  i'm so happy that i got to see one in the wild before this...

***

Jacuzzi at Sea Shack on the Saint Laurent

We continued on our journey & the photo booth was a great success.  It was at a corporate wind power event.  The bonus was that they paid our accommodation for a night.  We chose to stay in a wooden cabin at the famous 'Sea Shack' in Saint-Anne-Des-Monts.  

Having been attentively watching the coast for several hours, i dreamed that night of seeing so many whales, jumping & turning & slapping their tales.  In the morning we shook & vibrated in a bubbly jacuzzi overlooking the water.  

As we were packing up to leave, we saw Dodo Rouge.  Antoine hypothesized that the rascal squirrel had been holding onto the underside of our car for the entire journey.  However, we then remembered the hole in the back of the trunk & figured he'd probably just climbed through there & had been happily nestled in our clothes for the duration - he's not one to rough it.


***
We decided to take a different

Poutine on the beach

road home:  passing through a national park & traversing the hills of Gaspésie.  When we arrived at the park, already 1.30pm we considered climbing Mount Albert, an 800m/2,600ft steep ascent.  i was once again wearing tai chi shoes/plimsoles & wearing a summer dress.  We looked through the Safety Tips as we started the walk & realised we met just 2 of out of about 15 of them (we weren't walking alone & we had drinking water).  There was no way that we were going to the top, not when we had a further 200km on a dirt track to drive to the yurt.

The walk through the cool hill was fantastic.  i took off my shoes & enjoyed walking barefoot over the smooth rocks.  After about 45 mins we crossed a stream & settled there.  Antoine lay on the small wooden bridge & announced it was siesta time, whilst i sat on a rock & dangled my feet in the fast, cold water.  

i took a bath...it was so beautiful!

The snake was small & surprising.  The redness of its tongue contrasted to the brown of it's body.  It was about 1 metre away. i called to Antoine (who was not easy to wake up!).  We sat and watched it come & drink, then disappear back into the forest.  i walked more delicately on the path after that.  Deciding the snake had been the highlight, we returned to the car & long, dusty drive home.




*****

Yurt Sauna & Dodlets

Spot the Dodo, coming out of his home

The yurt has become a sauna this past week.  It's making it slightly easy to realise that i will be leaving so soon.  Only slightly easier though.  Because if i were to stay for the summer, i would figure out how to take the central roof off, while protecting ourselves from the gigantic mosquitos & occasional rains.  In 2 weeks i will be going to Montréal, then on to London & Scotland.  i am still figuring out how to spend the summer in Europe...anyone know of a nice yurt?

Dandelions are now higher than my knees.

Sitting outside yesterday, dodging mosquitos Dodo Rouge appeared.  We had a lovely chat, although it was one-sided because he had a gigantic piece of toast in his mouth.  Later that day, my sushi making was disturbed by Dodo Rouge calling from outside.  On the ground, i saw Dodo Rouge but with 2 heads...and 2 tails...and....oh my!  Dodo Rouge had a mate & was making Dodlets!








Crystals
And as if all that wasn't enough, i also drank the coffee Antoine forgot at home one day & in a single day, did what it would've taken me a week to do otherwise: created a facebook page for the crystal necklaces i make.  If you haven't already done so, please visit the page & 'like' it.