Gaspé, QC to Moncton, NB

An uneventful six hour drive, including a car ferry ride, took me to the south side of the Saint Lawrence River. The ferry docked In the town of Matane, Quebec. I treated myself to a stay at Auberge Seigneurie B&B where I slept a rock solid nine hours like it was nobody’s business. Breakfast came without me having to order. Eggs over easy, bacon, toast, orange slices, blueberries, blue cheese, yogurt – how did they know exactly what I wanted? Rested and fed, I headed to Gaspésie National Park. I attempted a hike on one of the only open trails at this time of the year, but decided to turn back when every third step sunk me into knee-deep snow.

The drive around the northern part of the Gaspésie Peninsula was full of angry crashing waves along the shoreline and a rolling fog that engulfed the road before me. On my way to the town of Gaspé, my GPS lead me astray down a fifty-five km long gravel road full of potholes. The hour it took to navigate this stretch was filled with visions of flat tires and a bottomed out car. Somehow my trusty little hatchback made it through. I literally screamed YES when I finally hit pavement.

Gaspé is sweet, small. I walked the span of the wooden boardwalk along the water, where the ice is just now starting to melt and break apart. The contrast of the ice and water and storm clouds rolling in was magic. My three photos posted here don’t do the scene justice, but you get the idea.

Next stop New Brunswick. As romantic as the French language is, I’m so happy to be back in English speaking country, where I can read signs and have conversations with people. My first five minutes in the province, filling up at the gas station, was overflowing with smiles, hellos, and yes dears, from the locals. These people are SO nice.

I found a tiny hostel in Moncton, New Brunswick, with a private room, and have decided to make it home for a couple of nights to rest my weary driving leg.

Some poor planning on my part with regard to hiking, many of the parks here don’t open for another couple of weeks. Reading through the news feeds for the next few places on my list, It seems the winter has extended itself with a snow storm in PEI and the ferry to Newfoundland stuck in ice for twenty-four hours. Struggling with the idea of bypassing the rest of the East Coast of Canada and returning in warmer weather, but I have decided to stick it through to get a winter perspective and maybe see a glacier or two?

A few glitches these past few days, but it’ll take more than that to stop this girl, her car, her camera :p