Broken Promises

Today, the plan was to take an excursion to Île d'Entrée from Cap aux Meules harbour. Unfortunately when we called to confirm that the boat trip was still on they said it was cancelled because there were not enough people but we could take a zodiac ride to the Lagoon instead. 

After a bit of discussion we decided to give it a try and headed over to the harbour just below the butte. 

After a bit of a bumpy ride in order to give us our thrills our driver and guide, Michel, proceeded to give us a tour of the Lagoon. The next hour passed quickly mostly thanks to Michel's entertaining and knowledgeable banter. The lagoon isn't the most spectacular part of "Les Îles" but we got to see a few seals before they swam into the water.

Returning to the harbour we got our final rock and roll ride then headed over to the Coast Guard base to have a look at their Arun Search and Rescue vessel appropriately named Cap aux Meules. 

My picture taking brought out one of the crew curious to know who was interested in a CG boat so we chatted with him for awhile about working on the islands for the Guard. Turned out he was also a cyclist who often rode his bike to work as the crew all lived at home rather than at the station during their work cycle.

The boat ride had built up a hunger so we set up our picnic just under the butte and munched on Sarah's yummy cheese sandwiches on multigrain bread. We then finished it off with an excellent coffee and apple/cranberry cake at La Brûlerie d'Chez Nous.

After our dessert, we decided to head over to the other side of Fatima to check out the bike path we bypassed the other day when we raced back with our fish booty. Turning on to Chemin des Caps we came across a glass boutique that looked promising so we stopped to check it out.

ISO Verre

The artist was out on a bike ride but her chum was minding the store and gave us a tour of her atelier, which was full of various ovens for heating/fusing glass as well as an area for sandblasting glass. Definitely had me salivating looking at this dream workshop compared to my tabletop stained glass area at home.

We picked out a couple of items hoping they would survive the rest of the trip until we got back to Montreal and then continued on our way. We stopped at Plage de l'hôpital, which for some reason is also called Dune du Nord.

At the entrance to the beach there was a large wood building with toilet facilities. The rest of the building seemed empty but when we looked in through a window we saw this:

Strangely,  there was no panel anywhere to explain why this whale skeleton was on display in an empty building. Was it beached on a nearby shore?

Still pondering this question we rode around trying to find the start of the bike path using the map in the tourist guide for directions. We took one road that ended at a campground but the person we asked had no idea what we were talking about.

We headed further down Chemin de l'hôpital and took a gravel road that ended at the woods with a grassy trail that seemed to be where the map indicated the bike path started. So, we followed it into the woods though the path was more mud and grass than path. We had to walk our bikes all the time until after a couple of kilometers we finally came to another gravel road and got the hell out of there.

We eventually got onto Chemin de la Belle Anse and came across a huge parking lot for the Sentier Cyclo-Pedestre.

Too bad as much effort wasn't put into the Sentier as to the parking.

We had our fill of biking for the day and headed home. Back at the Auberge I mentioned to the person at the desk about our adventure trying to find the path and she said that the path had been closed down because of erosion along the cliffs and showed us a cycling brochure that indicated the route in that area as following the road. I said it was too bad their "up to date" tourist guide had a map that still showed an off road path, which was no longer in existence.

We put the bikes away, got cleaned up and walked down the road to The Facterie seafood restaurant that provided an excellent meal exactly as advertised. We were very happy to finish the day on a positive note even as we walked home in the misty night thinking of the expected stormy weather forecast for the next day.

Havre-Aubert or bust

Today, it was a visit to Île du Havre Aubert, which involved an endless ride along the main road, Route 199, from L'étang du Nord to Havre Aubert. The two "islands" are connected by a vast dune and grassy marsh that provided zero shelter from the stiff headwind. We stopped mid-way to catch our breath and drink something as it was too windy to try and drink while riding with one hand on the handlebars.

Eventually, we made our way towards some trees at the beginning of the island and got a bit of a wind break. Then we were off towards the western section of Île du Havre Aubert called Bassin to visit our friends who come for the summer to their chalet...on the Chemin de la Montagne, of course. So, we traded the wind for a hill but finally made it after stopping midway to visit an Apple Orchard (Verger Poméloi-http://www.levergerpomeloi.com), which sold some very nice aperitif ciders laced with Calvados and a naturally fermented sparkling cider.

We got some for ourselves and a bottle for our friends just to have a bit more weight to drag up the hill and made our way to their very charming chalet.

After a tour of the place and lunch, they joined us for a ride down the other side of the hill to the west shore and around to the village of Bassin.

Our friends left us to return to the idyllic retreat on the hill and we carried on to the east end of the island to the village of Havre Aubert to check out the Musée de la Mer...which, of course, was closed by the time we got there. My fault as I spied a Bar Laitier on the way into town and required an urgent replenishment of calories.

En tout cas, we stood in the parking lot of the museum looking at the village and the harbour and Sandy Hook beach in the background when I noticed a couple of strange structures down the road that looked like some fancy flagpoles.

However, the sign identified the structure as a trebuchet, a type of catapult from the Middle Ages. When I went over to the other one there was a sign listing a record for the throw of a weight a certain distance and I could see in the water below a target had also been constructed!

This was certainly someone's "folie" but the only thing I could find online about it was a YouTube video.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=X5F12UsZuno

Unfortunately, it was not Saturday as the sign promised a demonstration at 1 pm so we started our return back to Gros Cap.

The wind was still strong but now it was in our favour and as we came onto the 199 towards the dunes we were flying along the shoulder of the road with Aeolus tickling our backs all the way. Really fun riding though we were worn out from the efforts earlier in the day.

Gros Cap with Auberge on far right

We picked up a few essentials (beer!) at the Dep before heading to the Auberge where we whipped up a fish stew with the remainder of the fish gifted by our L'étang du Nord fisherman saying another merci for his generosity.

A short stroll around the Cap to digest our meal and the day was over and we were pretty well done by the wind and hills and Sun.

Playground

Surely, the Magdalen Islands must be the playground for Poseidon and Aeolus; a massive sandbox to endlessly shape and form the boundary between land and water.

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.

Island Hopping in the Gulf

We finished our last breakfast at the Cable Head Bnb filling up on the fresh scones and preserves before packing up and saying goodbye to our hosts, Doug and Elizabeth. Doug has probably the biggest and most interesting collection of cycling jerseys since he was wearing a new colourful one each morning when we came out for breakfast.

We had 30 kilometers to ride to get to Souris in order to catch the ferry to the Magdalens. It was already quite warm by the time we got on the road (no flat tire to greet us when we went to load the bikes!) just before 10 but the riding was smooth down to St. Peter's Bay where we picked up the Confederation Trail and headed east.

The plan was to ride a few kilometers along the trail until it crossed Route 2 and then we would jump on the road to take us straight to Souris, which would cut off 7 kilometers compared to using the trail all the way. The plan worked perfectly although it was hotter pedaling on the paved shoulder and we rolled into Souris with plenty of time to spare.

We stopped at the Information Centre to see if there was anything going on since this was Canada Day but we had to choose between lunch and waving the flag, and lunch won out.

We continued on towards the ferry wharf as we had been told there was a good restaurant right beside it. We crossed the spur line for the Confederation Trail on the main street and decided to follow it to the end as an appropriate way to finish our riding on the Island. It was.

The restaurant, the Sheltered Harbour, was right at the turn down to the ferry. We parked our bikes on the terrace and headed in for our first priority, a cold beer, the thirsting for which had been haunting us for the last two, hot days.

The local brew was much appreciated after the short but hot ride to our destination and it also went very well with the delicious piece of pan-fried Hake I ordered accompanied with some perfect PEI mashed potatoes and carrots. This was the meal I was hoping to have the whole time I was on the island and only found it in the last hour before leaving. 

Lunch wrapped up just as the ferry was rounding the point so we headed to the wharf to wait for it to dock.

While waiting to board the ferry, we chatted with friends who had driven from Montreal and were on the way to their cottage on the Magdalens. The ferry discharged its passengers and vehicles quickly and then we were onboard and waiting to depart my island for another one. I probably won't be back for awhile but it was great to visit with at least one of my sons and great to share it with Sarah as well as explore parts of it I had never seen.

The trip across the gulf for the next five hours was smooth and before we knew it we were passing île d'Entrée and heading for the harbour at Cap aux Meules. 

And so begins our final week of the trip with new roads on new islands to explore.

GBT-Greenwich Beach Time

Today we spent a gentle day at the Greenwich National Park just down the road but not before fixing another freakin' flat on Sarah's rear tire. Turns out, once I got the tube out and inflated to see where the hole was that it was actually a defect in the tube from manufacturing! Talk about bad luck. I guess that is a lesson learned to check your spares before a big trip because they might be duds.

Anyway, before all that, we had an interesting breakfast with two couples who had flown to the Bnb from Ottawa in their own kit-built planes. Their trip took three hours instead of my three weeks to get here.

Pretty handy that there happened to be a grass landing strip right beside the Bnb (more grass to cut!).

The planes took off after breakfast giving us a flyover salute as they turned and headed west. We then got flying, I mean cycling, to the park.

Greenwich is the poor sister of PEI National Parks to the more lavish Cavendish beach but it has a large Interpretation Centre, a supervised beach with shower facilities and some really incredible natural scenery. 

Not to be missed is the Greenwich Dunes Trail. You can bike to the start of it from the Interpretation Centre and then walk out to the dunes through a short forested section (bug spray highly recommended!) before coming to an amazingly long floating boardwalk that crosses Bownley Pond to get to the dunes at the shore.

It was pretty spectacular as we had waited until the end of the day to do this walk and there was no one else on the trail or this section of the beach.

It was as if Mother Nature (with the help of Parks Canada to create the trail) had constructed this landscape just for us.

With the sun getting lower in the sky, we returned across the boardwalk.

The bugs in the forest spurred us onto our bikes and away to the Bnb though we stopped at Lin's Takeout on the road for some Seafood (Fried) Delight though we would have killed for a nice, cold beer after spending another day under the unusually hot for PEI sun. PEI, however, is not Quebec and the nearest store selling beer is in Morell. Oh, for the rum running days, when you could just go down to the local bootleggers for your alcoholic needs.

We had to suffice with a Ginger Ale and wait until we got to the Magdalens tomorrow where beer can be had at any corner store.

Still, it was a wonderful way to spend our last full day on the island. I will miss it as we ride to the ferry in Souris tomorrow but am looking forward to a boat ride and some new islands to explore by bike.