Despite the prediction of rain, most of our day was dry. We crossed the St. Lawrence in the morning from Les Escoumin to Trois Pistoles and it was cool and foggy but we had little rain. We had hoped to see whales on the crossing but no such luck. It is a remarkably small ferry considering there are few options to cross the river this far along, and it was jammed full.
In Trois Pistoles we found another fromagerie, with much more variety than the previous one, plus warm baguettes and we picked up lunch. Smoked meat tortillas are delicious! There is also a beautiful old stone church dating from 1887 but we couldn’t go in.
In St. Fabien we found another old church complete with statues of various Saints including Jean de Brebeuf. The Saints had a beautiful view over the countryside.
Near Rimouski at the Pointe-au-Pere lighthouse there are two very interesting exhibits. The first is a museum dedicated to the Empress of Ireland maritime disaster in 1914 in which a ship with 1477 passengers was rammed by a Norwegian Collier and sank in 14 minutes, killing 1012 people. A large contingent from the Salvation Army was on board, heading to an International Congress, with few of the 169 surviving. The actual shipwreck in the St. Lawrence is now a protected site, and the museum holds many artifacts and tells the story of the disaster. The second exhibit here is an Oberon class submarine which was active in the Canadian Navy, and which you can explore along with an excellent audio guide.
We ended the day by visiting a Meadery and picking up a bottle to try. The onto our hotel, Le Gaspesiana, which we discovered was right on the river and even has a bit of a view. But as it is now pouring rain, enjoying the location will wait until tomorrow.
Wandering with Wendy 