it is hilly

I guess the fact that we are going to be staying near a ski resort is a clue, eh?  Yeah, well.  The road out of Quebec City is flat.  Flatter than flat.  And it's a cycle path all morning, running parallel with the main road on the shore.  There are hundreds of cyclists out on the route and who can blame them?  It's a hot sunny and lovely day.  And it gives us another positive impression of Quebec province.  

honestly, we saw hundreds of quebecois on their bikes...

We end the day with a slow plod uphill away from the sea and up into the trees where there are small communities of Swiss-style chalet houses.  We get a bit lost but are helpfully redirected by a local back to the road leading to the main ski resort.  Flavienne's friend's house is not much further up the hill.

getting lost

cleaning up at the chalet

We join the main highway the next day, thankfully on a wide shoulder, because the road is busy and continues to climb steadily to a high point before we begin descending all the way back down to the sea, at the holiday town of Baie Saint Paul.  It's chocka with visitors.  The odometer on Gayle's bike has stopped working and I dig out the extra dollars for a wireless one in a bike and hunting shop.  Bike and hunting.  Hunt and bike.  Nope.  It doesn't matter how many times I roll that one around I can't see it working. 

Sod's Law dictates that you must climb out of the town in the late afternoon in order to find somewhere to camp.  The climb must be steep and long.  The road must be fenced on both sides and continue long enough for you to despair of ever finding anywhere to pitch your tent. But while I'm The Glass Is Half Empty Guy, Gayle remains eternally optimistic as she slips into some woods like a proper Bike And Hunting Gal and finds a suitably obscure place for us to sleep.

the only problem with a thee-man tent is the very big footprint

The rollercoaster ride that is Charlevoix continues along the smaller coastal road.  It has its ups and downs.  Lots of small villages with picture-perfect wooden two-storey houses with nice porches and chairs out front.  The weather stays good for the next few days and we join tourists at some of the little coastal towns and villages to eat our picnic or have a well-earned cuppa.  The drop down to the sea is rewarded with a stiff climb away again.  Okay, okay, we get it now.  Charlevoix is hilly.

reminded us of Scandinavia

 

picture-perfect wood-frame house

The opposing shore of the St.Lawrence River has disappeared from view now - it's really the St. Lawrence Seaway we're looking at when we reach Baie Ste Catherine and the ferry across the Saguenay River.  This is a big whale-watching area and there are boat trips from a tourist pier.  In the visitors' centre a cheerful assistant tells us she saw whales from the regular ferry this morning.  There's a deep trench here in the Seaway which creates good feeding grounds for whales.  We ride up to the corner before the ferry and stop for breakfast at the look-out point.  Just down below us in the sea a whale breaks the surface.  We gawp out at the shiny surface hoping to see more but finally give in and roll on.  The main highway splits at Tadoussac soon after leaving the ferry terminal.  Most of the tourists are heading inland to the huge lake, whilst many less of us continue along the north shore of the Seaway.  Happy to overcome the Charlevoix hills we're looking forward to more stunning coastal views as we head north.  Oh how little we know.

au revoir Charlevoix