serendipidity #3

Our shopping ritual is generally always the same: park up at the supermarket, recite the list of items required, one of us goes in and shops, one of us stays outside with the bikes.  It rarely fails, although I have been known to forget the occasional essential item. Ahem.

We make it to Le Havre St.Pierre and finally find the shipping company office where we get our tickets for the supply ship that will take us up the Quebec shoreline to the Labrador border.  The town is not too big and we need a camping spot where we can pack up early for the 6am departure.  Happily, we spy a bit of grass tucked away behind the shipping office.  Everything is going to plan.  Now all we need is food for the boat journey.  It's Gayle's turn to shop.  She comes out after about three hours and tells me she can't find this and she can't decide on that.  So I go in to take some important decision on what kind of bread or which biscuits.  This takes me only two and a half hours, because I am waylaid looking for milk powder, which wasn't on our list in the first place.  

So, after all this time we are finally loading up our bikes in the carpark when a man approaches us.  Where are we from? Where are we heading?  Where are we camping tonight?  He's quick, he's direct.  We fire off the answers.  He responds by explaining that he has some cabins he rents out on the edge of town, but he has a small basic one that is empty tonight - we can have it for free tonight if we'd like?  We say yes, thank you very much.

Daniel with a photo of his grandfather

 Daniel left home when he was 16.  He worked away for years and returned years later to sell the family home on the shoreline and used the money to buy a smaller house and some land.  On this land he's built three luxury cabins for holidaymakers.  He has the air of a successful and benelovent business man. He tells us how lucky he is.  He has had help from others, great deals were struck, all to help realise his business dreams.  We are the beneficiaries of his largesse and we are really grateful - the small cabin is comfy and convenient.  It makes leaving in the morning so much simpler - and we have a nice evening in a room with furniture, rather than just lying in our tent.

After talking non-stop and showing us around for an hour he realises that we are fading fast.  He apologises - a bad habit of talking too much.  Before he departs, all Daniel asks is that we clean up in the morning. Such a nice guy.