Leaving Trois Pistoles area, we drove through Rimouski and Mont-Joli, then south-east across the Gaspé Peninsula to the Baie des Chaleurs, which connects directly to the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence. Arriving at Carleton-Sur-Mer in the very dull light of late afternoon, we drove across a causeway to the very beautiful camp site. Stopping on the causeway to get out to stretch my legs, I encountered a group of 4 Great Blue Herons. Bienvenue!

Sometimes it’s nice to be surrounded by the privacy of trees and bush, as in a provincial park. But other times, the exhilaration of the ocean wind blowing over the beach and onto our camp is therapeutic. Feels like freedom. I woke in the morning to savour the strong salt wind blowing in my face, reminding me of what it was like to slide down a mountain on skiis. I was thinking that I hope the purple haze will ebb in time to grant that feeling again this winter.

I was a little disappointed with the town of Carleton-Sur-Mer, as I was anticipating artsy type cafés with really good espresso and alongé, but none were to be found. Riding our bikes back to the van, I had to settle for beer.

Leaving Carleton-Sur-Mer, we arrived at the town of Percé. Niagara Falls has the falls for thousands of tourists to make selfies, Percé has its famous rock and it was busy. We were planning on staying for two nights at Percé, but the threat of the Ida hurricane tail provoked us to leave after one.

For dinner at Percé, we barbecued fresh cod. I had mine on a burger bun with mayo – a cod-burger. But one of my favourite fast-food snacks, fried clams, were nowhere to be found in the Gaspé Peninsula.

After Percé, we drove over some really big hills, with our Chevy 4.8 L engine struggling at times, but getting us safely to our next campsite at Sainte-Anne-des-Monts in the pouring rain. Any one of these hills would be a major ski resort in Ontario.

During the night, the Ida induced temperature dropped to 8 °C. We actually used the van furnace in the morning. Our Roadtrek 190P has pretty much the same conveniences as any home, and we used them all on this trip. From the air-conditioner at 30 °C at Montmagny to the furnace at Sainte-Anne-des-Monts, the refrigerator to the hot water tank. In other words, the beer was cold and the whisky was warm.

Leaving Sainte-Anne-des-Monts in a torrential downpour and howling wind, we made our way back to Saint-Mathieu-de-Rioux to complete our Gaspé loop.

A little disappointed that we couldn’t spend more time on the Gaspé shoreline, especially for photography, but that’s what adventure is all about – the unexpected. As Forest Gump’s mama would say, “Life is like a choclit, you never know what you’re gonna git!”

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Covered bridge

The Great Blue Herons

Carlton-Sur-Mer

Carlton-Sur-Mer

Carlton-Sur-Mer

Scaring them off

Carlton-Sur-Mer

Lovers on the shore

Percé

The Selfie

Percé

Percé

at the lighthouse

at the lighthouse