Day 8: Rain, a Rock, and a Caribou(?)*
I wrote yesterday that I planned for three nights and two days here in Percé, and that was because I had planned a day for us to visit Parc national de l'Île-Bonaventure-et-du-Rocher-Percé, an island accessible by ferry from Percé. I knew we’d want good weather (for the crossing and for the sightseeing!), and so I built in an extra day—thank goodness I did, since much of today was a washout. I was a little bummed, since today was our 25th anniversary, and I was hoping we’d be visiting Bonaventure Island today, but that would wait until tomorrow. Today, on the other hand, would be spent relaxing and enjoying a much slower day. I will, however, take a moment to gush over the rock that I’ve been looking forward to seeing ever since I started researching this location as a potential roadtrip.
Percé Rock isn’t just a big rock—this thing is massive, at nearly 88m (289ft) tall, 433m (1,421ft) long, and 90m (295ft) wide. Its arch measures 18m (59ft) across. It’s also more than 375 million years old! The rock sits in the middle of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and while it’s connected to the mainland at low tide via a sandbar, accessing the rock is strictly prohibited. But damn, what a sight. Percé Rock, together with Bonaventure Island, make up a national (provincial) park of Québec.
Percé Rock, as seen from the boardwalk in front of our hotel.
G started the day with a quick trip across the street to a fantastic bakery, Le Fournand, where he picked up cinnamon rolls, which were so, so good. (Note: we love cinnamon rolls. There will be more on this trip. Count on it). Then, he settled in to do a bit of work, while I spent some time loading photos and writing notes for this blog. Posting, however, was proving to be a bit more challenging, as I hadn’t had strong enough cell or wi-fi to be able to upload each night. Needless to say, I’ve spent most of the trip playing catch up with the blog.
Around midday, the skies looked like they might clear, and we decided to explore a little bit. We decided to check out Pit Caribou Microbrewery, as we’ve enjoyed their nonalcoholic beers a few different times on the trip. The brewery was just a few miles away, and we both enjoyed two Gose beers and decided to buy a few of their N/A beers to take home (they make a blonde, an IPA, and the Gose). I initially asked for two of each, then changed to three of each; little did we know that we could get 12 for the same price (um, sure!), and the woman threw in two glasses as well—sweet! As the brewery is right on the water, I took a few shots, and then we were headed back to the hotel. When I plan our trips, I usually have a rough idea of things to do each day. Unfortunately, the main ideas I had for Percé were outdoor activities, and the day’s weather wasn’t inspiring us to do much of those. So we decided to drive back toward Forillon, to the town of Gaspé, one of the main towns of the peninsula. We had driven through the night before, eager to get to Percé to check in to our hotel and grab dinner. So, tonight, we’d travel back and see what we might have missed.
We chose to eat at Brise Bise, and we both enjoyed lobster club sandwiches. Following dinner, we meandered down to the waterfront, to the “Birthplace of Canada.” Now, being from the US, I’m not about to quibble on this fact, but I distinctly recall Charlottetown, PEI, as being billed the place where Canada was founded. So, here’s my best understanding based on what I’ve been reading: Gaspé is were Jacques Cartier landed in 1534 and claimed the land for France; 300 years later, in 1867, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Quebec, and Ontario joined together to become the Dominion of Canada. Either way, Gaspé waterfront features a granite cross the commemorate the Cartier’s arrival.
We headed back to Percé and enjoyed the drive along the coast—especially enjoying the view of Percé Rock as it evolves from a speck in the water to the behemoth it is! But overshadowing even that view was one that surprised us even more: that of a caribou just resting in the yard of a bright yellow house, seemingly enjoying the view of the water as much as we were. Oddly enough, G had spotted the same caribou in the same location as we drove into Percé last evening, but we didn’t pull over. Tonight, we did, and we weren’t the only ones, as another woman had pulled over and walked up to the fence on the property to take photos. We, exercising some caution, did not. But still—even from our distance—wow!!!
Soon, we were back at the hotel and eagerly awaiting the next day’s activities—a ferry over to Parc national de l'Île-Bonaventure-et-du-Rocher-Percé, the largest migratory bird refuge in North America where we would see more than 100,000 gannets and other bird species! Stay tuned!
*Note: When I shared this post on Facebook, a colleague of G’s commented that she thinks our beautiful creature taking in the view is a moose, not a caribou. As I’ve never seen either, I’m going to defer to her expertise—and the fact that she lives in Canada!—and I’d love for others’ input. Unfortunately, we never saw it stand, so we couldn’t quite get a full sense of size.