Sunday morning was grey and foggy; definitely not the bright sunny summer morning we had been hoping for. We are coming to the conclusion all those people who told us the Montreal summer makes up for the winter were spinning a long yarn - it has mostly rained so far. Granted, it has been warmer than in the UK, but still, the summer so far has been made up of rain.
We had both had a pretty busy week, and so spending a couple of hours in the car on a road trip seemed like an ideal way to spend the *lovely* day. We hadn't been North of the city since our trip to Quebec at the beginning of December, but had ventured in the other directions of the compass at various points this year so far, so North it would be.
We had both had a pretty busy week, and so spending a couple of hours in the car on a road trip seemed like an ideal way to spend the *lovely* day. We hadn't been North of the city since our trip to Quebec at the beginning of December, but had ventured in the other directions of the compass at various points this year so far, so North it would be.
During a fleeting visit to Saint Sauveur (a picturesque town North West of Montreal) a month or so ago, we came across a stall selling amazing cheese whilst looking for coffee. The producers were situated near the town of Trois Riveres, which was in the direction we planning on heading; so we thought we would call in on our way home and buy some of the delicious locally produced unpasturized cheese.
After a quick search on the map over breakfast for where to go (which still takes us a while, as Canada is such a big country it is very deceptive; we look at a place on the map which seems to be close by, but then on closer inspection it turns out to be an eleven hour drive away - something we keep time and time again...), we thought we would make our way leisurely to the Mauricie National Park around 170km from home. Looking for somewhere interesting to stop en route, I stumbled across a picture of an impressive looking waterfall. It was located near the town of Shawinigan, which was on our way; perfect!
It was a bit of a contrast to the last time we were on Highway 40 driving out of the city, the temperature was minus double figures back then; about thirty-five degrees cooler. The scenery looked totally different without the sprinkling of snow dusting the ground, and the trees and fields providing a green, rather than brown, tinge to the overall view.
We arrived at Shawinigan, but could not find any signs to the waterfall from the main roads. There was no mistaking the huge hydroelectric plant which apparently provides power form both Montreal and Quebec, but the waterfall appeared to be elusive. Searching on the internet (I love internet enabled mobile phones - having been without one for eight months I now appreciate it to the full!) for directions proved unsuccessful too.
There was lots of information on the internet about the waterfall:
It was nicknamed the Niagara Falls of the East.
It has a drop of approximately 165ft (50m).
It is the most powerful falls in the province...
And yet there were no directions or tourist websites solely on the falls.
Strange.
As we drove in one direction and then the other, turning around at dead end after dead end, we finally saw a sign to the falls. We were the only vehicle on the road as it twisted around past a couple of empty, abandoned looking carparks, before reaching a final carpark surrounded on three sides by woodland.
This carpark was not empty at least: there were two cars parked.
Two cars, at midday on a Sunday preceding a Bank Holiday Monday. Thinking about it, the carparks (and that one solitary sign) looked as though they had seen better days. This did not bode well...
On one side we could see an opening through the trees, so followed the path through the undergrowth to the other side.
We arrived at Shawinigan, but could not find any signs to the waterfall from the main roads. There was no mistaking the huge hydroelectric plant which apparently provides power form both Montreal and Quebec, but the waterfall appeared to be elusive. Searching on the internet (I love internet enabled mobile phones - having been without one for eight months I now appreciate it to the full!) for directions proved unsuccessful too.
There was lots of information on the internet about the waterfall:
It was nicknamed the Niagara Falls of the East.
It has a drop of approximately 165ft (50m).
It is the most powerful falls in the province...
And yet there were no directions or tourist websites solely on the falls.
Strange.
As we drove in one direction and then the other, turning around at dead end after dead end, we finally saw a sign to the falls. We were the only vehicle on the road as it twisted around past a couple of empty, abandoned looking carparks, before reaching a final carpark surrounded on three sides by woodland.
This carpark was not empty at least: there were two cars parked.
Two cars, at midday on a Sunday preceding a Bank Holiday Monday. Thinking about it, the carparks (and that one solitary sign) looked as though they had seen better days. This did not bode well...
On one side we could see an opening through the trees, so followed the path through the undergrowth to the other side.
We were greeted with the sight of an impressive mass of rock, but not much water.
There was no doubt in our minds they would be spectacular waterfalls, when the power station let the water through the dam that was. As it was, there was only a trickle of water:
Disappointed, we climbed back in the car and headed for the National Park.
We reached the entrance to the park, but the time now being mid-afternoon, both of us being exhausted after a busy week, and the weather it didn't seem worth paying the entrance fee, so we came away armed with information for next time. We had primarily wanted to get out of the city rather than do a great hike, so this wasn't too frustrating.
We reached the entrance to the park, but the time now being mid-afternoon, both of us being exhausted after a busy week, and the weather it didn't seem worth paying the entrance fee, so we came away armed with information for next time. We had primarily wanted to get out of the city rather than do a great hike, so this wasn't too frustrating.
That was the waterfall and park done, and not all that successfully: now for the cheese.
When we bought the cheese we had picked up a leaflet for future reference, and so typed the address of the place into google maps on the phone, opting for the slightly longer but less main road route. We were glad we did, as the rolling hills, green fields - and cows! I haven't seen many cows and growing up where I did the lack of cows is something I notice and miss! - made for a much more scenic drive.
Following the directions, we reached our destination. And found ourselves in the middle of a housing estate.
It seemed to be a strange place for a cheese producer, but maybe they sold it from their home...
We peered at the street names, and then the address on the flyer, and discovered they did not match.
Aargh!
Putting the address in a second time resulted in a different destination; 30km back the way we had come...
When we bought the cheese we had picked up a leaflet for future reference, and so typed the address of the place into google maps on the phone, opting for the slightly longer but less main road route. We were glad we did, as the rolling hills, green fields - and cows! I haven't seen many cows and growing up where I did the lack of cows is something I notice and miss! - made for a much more scenic drive.
Following the directions, we reached our destination. And found ourselves in the middle of a housing estate.
It seemed to be a strange place for a cheese producer, but maybe they sold it from their home...
We peered at the street names, and then the address on the flyer, and discovered they did not match.
Aargh!
Putting the address in a second time resulted in a different destination; 30km back the way we had come...
As it happened, this new destination was near to where we had wanted to go anyway to check out the ferry which crossed the St. Lawrence river from Île Saint-Ignace to Sorel. So we turned around and retraced our steps. Arriving at the new address, our stomachs sank as once again none of the buildings on the street matched the photo on the sheet of paper in our hands. We tried typing the address in the map app one last time, and the pin on the map showed the cheese producers to be halfway back the way we had just come...!
This clearly was not meant to be a cheese buying day.
We went and had a peer at the ferry, and on the way back passed a bustling butchers shop - we haven't found one of those in the city yet - so we stocked up on meat. At least there proved to be one success in our day!
This clearly was not meant to be a cheese buying day.
We went and had a peer at the ferry, and on the way back passed a bustling butchers shop - we haven't found one of those in the city yet - so we stocked up on meat. At least there proved to be one success in our day!
Back in Montreal the sun was finally shining. We turned the corner into the alleyway behind the apartment, only to discover it barricaded off as our neighbours down the far end of the street were having a street party.
Blockaded off from our parking space, we couldn't help but feel it was clearly one of those days...
Blockaded off from our parking space, we couldn't help but feel it was clearly one of those days...