Friday, August 19, 2016

Gaspe Peninsula

          I said "Au'Voir" to Maine and "BonJour" to the Gaspe Peninsula. Changed my US currency to Canadian currency at a bank. The exchange rate by the way favors Americans lately. Good time to visit Canada.


     The Appalachian Mountain range continues into the interior of this peninsula; there are very few roads in the middle of this peninsula. This dirt road didn't go very far.



     The peninsula's main roads are along its seaside perimeter. And they are very touristy roads because Canadians come here to see the seashore. This is the iconic Perce Rock.


     
I zoomed in for a fuzzy photo of the tourist boat. It's a huge arch.




     The peninsula's roads were too touristy for me. No one was obeying the speed limits and they frequently passed me, cutting me off pretty short. So I went searching for a lesser traveled road and found the Malbaie Salt Marsh.



     Took a peaceful but short bike ride on the sand bar that divided the marsh from the ocean.


     Spent my nights boondocking at hospital parking lots. At this particular lot, a paid permit was required. So I paid $3 Canadian (about $2.50 US) to be legit for the night. It came with a wonderful view, too.


     I visited Forillon National Park. The weather here is probably similar to London. Just wait an hour for it to change. So I ate lunch at a trailhead along the seashore, waiting for the rain to stop and the weather to change.


Didn't have to wait long. This loop trail took me to the top where there was a tower.


     Met Pierre and Adele along the way. Pierre had kayaked the day before and a seal climbed up on his kayak! He showed me a movie he took with his iPhone and he was not lying! Today, my goal is to kayak and see if a seal will climb up on my ski.


Nice views at the top of this trail.


Another short trail . . .


And today's sunrise . . .


And now I must go find a seal to play with! Au'Voir :)

Post-Script: went paddling and found three seals that hung around me for awhile, but none approached closer than about eight feet. It was fun (and cold, even with a wetsuit, plus windy).



1 comment:

  1. We agree the Gaspe Peninsula is very touristy. We didn't enjoy the south shore at all but did enjoy the north shore much more. Don't forget that churches are also a good boondocking spots as well as harbours.

    Hope that seal comes up to meet you in the kayak! :-)

    www.travelwithkevinandruth.com

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