Our first full day on the islands greeted us with a gentle southwest 20 knots of wind, which seems to pass as calm weather here in the middle of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Gone are those calm days rambling along the Confederation Trail.
From our base at Gros Cap we decided to ride around our island of Cap aux Meules in a clockwise direction, bracing the wind first so we would have an easier go of it on the return.
Our first stop was the village of L'étang du Nord with its large fishing harbour and brightly coloured homes. By the time we got there it was time for lunch so we decided to try the Café la Côte, which I had seen good reviews of online.
With the first order of business of ordering a local beer to satiate our thirst after battling the wind to get there, we ordered our meal from a table on the pleasant terrace right on the harbour.
Sarah had a wonderful Seafood chowder while I had a geographically impressive Salmon Tartar that was fresh and delicious accompanied by some crunchy caraway toasts and delicate sauces.
Being very virtuous, we decided to walk around the harbour to digest our wonderful lunch and stay away from the Bar Laitier tempting us (me) on the other side of the road.
What struck most was this bizarre structure looming outside the harbour.
At first, I thought it was an old lighthouse or WWII fortification when viewed over the breakwall but as we came back along the fishermen's wharf and passed the line of boats we stopped to ask a fellow who was filleting fish in the stern of his boat about it.
All the while continuing to pick up a fish from his barrel and slice the fillets off, he explained, in a strong Madelinot French accent, that what was out on the water was a wreck that had occurred many years ago. Apparently, two tugs were towing a floating drydock and had to cut the towline in bad weather so the drydock had drifted ashore.
We chatted with him some more and he explained that he was using the fish for bait for his lobster traps but, of course, keeping the good parts for himself. We thanked him for the information on the wreck and were about to pedal away when he asked us if we wanted some fish to take with us?
Well sure, we replied, and he proceeded to fillet a few more fish chatting away as the knife cut along the spine of each fish. He explained what was the absolute best way to cook the fish (we thought he had said it was Sea Bass, but he had actually said Seabaste) by cleaning it, rolling it in a scrambled up egg and then rolling it in crushed up soda crackers before frying it in butter.
He tossed the big pile of fillets into a plastic bag, wishing us a enjoyable stay on the island and we pedaled away thanking him profusely for his generosity.
Our plan to continue around Cap aux Meules was now hampered a bit by this big bag of fish sitting in my pannier under the hot sun so we decided to do a short tour to the lighthouse north of the harbour and then head back to the Auberge to fry up some of our booty.
In the end, we used some flour instead of the suggested soda crackers but the heaping plate of fish fresh from the sea via the skillet along with some potatoes and a crisp white wine was a special delight to cap off our first day on the islands.
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