Backtracking to NB and QC

Backtracking to the provinces of New Brunswick (NB) and Quebec (QC)…

We had allowed ourselves 3 days to travel from PEI to Montreal, QC, our next major destination. This meant staying at a couple of places on the way. We decided to return to Quebec City the second night as we had liked it so much the first time and felt comfortable that we knew how to survive arriving in the big smoke. However, we weren’t going exactly the same way – we were entering Quebec near the Gaspe Peninsula and eventually tracking the St Lawrence River via the town of Rimouski. The first night was just to be a sleepover – as long as the accommodation was clean, we were happy.

12.9km and C$47 later…

Having crossed the Northumberland Straight from Nova Scotia by ferry, the return trip to New Brunswick was over the Confederation Bridge. The bridge is a two-lane toll bridge that carries the Trans-Canada Highway between Borden-Carleton, PEI and Cape Jourimain, NB. Construction took place from October 1993 to May 1997 and cost CAD1.3 billion. To give an idea of the magnitude – most of the curved bridge is 40 metres above water with a 60m navigation span for ship traffic. The bridge is 11km wide and rests on 62 piers, of which the 44 main piers are 250m apart. The speed limit on the bridge is 80 kilometres per hour and when travelling at the speed limit, it takes about 12 minutes to cross the bridge. Whilst the ferry had been free, we had to pay CAD47 to drive the car across the bridge – someone has to pay that huge construction bill. But at least it’s tax free!! (a huge deal in Canada where we were constantly on the back foot as to how much we owed given the “hidden” taxes (and gratuities).

We hit a bit of drizzle as we arrived in New Brunswick, nothing heavy so making for a nice cool day of driving. Having been given a CAA (Canadian Automobile Association) book by our friends in Ottawa (thanks Mike & Janice!), we came across a tiny entry telling us about the “Lobster Capital of the World”. So we headed off the main drag to Shediac, to see the lobster that represents its claim to fame. A nice way to break the trip.

Unfortunately we then hit some heavy rain – and just at a spot where there were no lane markings due to work being done on the road. The positive was that this meant the speed limit was lower than normal, making it somewhat less hairy.

We had packed lunch to have along the way, but we did stop in Campbellton, NB, just before crossing into Quebec (QC) as we’d spotted a coffee shop on Tripadvisor and it wasn’t too far off the road. It proved to be a great decision – the people were amazing and the coffee was good.

Relaxing stopover at Lac Malcolm, Quebec

Crossing into Quebec (QC)…

Our accommodation for the night was at an Auberge about 10km off the main road at Lac Malcolm. Knowing we wouldn’t have anywhere to have food there, we stopped off at a supermarket and stocked up before turning off the highway. We were pleasantly surprised by the room we’d booked and the reception staff were lovely – Glenda back to practising French again as not much English spoken. We enjoyed a view of the lake and a quiet night.

Following the St Lawrence River…

As we had gained an hour with the move into another time zone on entering Quebec, and given we had nothing around for breakfast, we set off from Lac Malcolm at 7am continuing north. It wasn’t long before we hit the road that travels west, following the St Lawrence River. After staying on the highway for a brief spell, we decided that it was better to venture to the scenic road with a spectacular view of the enormous river.

We had seen so many lighthouses during our time is Canada, but the Pointe-Au-Père lighthouse just before our arrival into Rimouski, was a little different. It is 108 feet (33 m) tall, which makes it the second tallest in eastern Canada and is built in a characteristic shape, with eight concrete buttresses to support a slender central cylinder. It was replaced by an electronic lighthouse in 1975 and the site is now open for visitors as part of the Site historique maritime de la Pointe-au-Père. Unfortunately we were too early to explore the lighthouse or go on board the HMCS Onondaga, an Oberon-class submarine that served in the Royal Canadian Navy and later the Canadian Force.

After stopping off in Rimouski for a coffee, we decided to wait for breakfast. Having come across a little bakery with beautiful fresh pastries at a great price on our way out East, we decided to go back. We munched our pastries for breakfast and bought a few more treats for lunch. This would do us until we arrived in Quebec City where we’d planned to go out for dinner.