Quebec, Île d'Orléans
The elongated island between the two shores is a spindle with rounded relief almost 33 km long; like a whale's back whose dorsal offers beautiful panoramas on both sides.
The only access is via the large suspension bridge and its two ramps. From there, we can see the north arm of the St.Lawrence, less important than the south arm, and yet 2100 meters wide here. Depending on the time of the crossing, the effect of the tide is clearly visible; yet we are 1300 km from the ocean.
The northwest slopes are a kind of carefully cultivated orchard , where we meet famous apple trees, strawberries whose harvest is in full swing during our visit, but also not without surprise vines whose wines we can taste.
This craze for local vineyards among the variety of local productions for 35 years led the association of winegrowers of the Province to pamper with extreme attention the high and wide rows of vines, but also to look for new grape varieties (seyval blanc, vandal-cliche, marquette or frontenac) which sound well the names of the country ... and others resulting from research of the closest US states such as Minnesota or Wisconsin, but mostly which withstand the rigors of winter while maintaining a correct level of quality.
Research also combines flowering and "thinning" methods. bunches, the blends to be found between grape varieties, etc… Up to making a sweet white wine from late harvests, which one can imagine under what temperatures they are made here. Without transcendence, the result is however not trivial and deserves encouragement for the enthusiasm with which the young winegrowers fight. We didn't take the time to taste the red wines.
At the western tip of the island, Sainte-Pétronille is a very picturesque village popular with Quebecers during the weekend. Sorry!… " the weekend ".
Handsome " cottages »English facing the river and the tip of Quebec in the distance testify to the attractiveness of the site from the middle of the 19th century.
There came by ferry the rich, mostly English-speaking bourgeoisie, since the big city.
On the mossy rocks of the cape, clear at low tide, and which for a bit would take on a Breton appearance, scattered groups search for mollusks and inhale the fresh air which sweeps the river, with Quebec as a backdrop there.
On all sides, there even more than in the rest of our circuit, we will see the local efforts to produce food, dishes, pastries of all kinds that try to be original and tasty.
This is the case of a chocolate factory almost at the end of the cape, frequented by a lot this weekend; its customers particularly appreciate the soft ice cream that children and gourmet seniors can taste with relish, after waiting patiently in a long line.
Same the supermarkets have back kitchens for preparing variously filled pies, various pastries expertly made with maple syrup, etc., in addition to all the standard Canadian and US products that fill the shelves.
An effort of originality which seems as intense as with us in the "Salons Saveurs". Beautiful and tasty innovations, when I remember the sad and quite disgusting American tastes of 50 years ago .
Let us also point out very spectacular efforts for the interior architecture of some supermarkets: the infrastructure of huge light wood frames with staggered ceilings of the large IGA brand (Independent Grocers Alliance; group of independent grocers which covers Canada and which is also here in the USA) of Boischâtel is in itself a spectacle.
Set back and a little higher above the cape, the church of Sainte-Pétronille, enveloped in a shred of forest, stands in perfect calm. Back on the slope his superb presbytery very well restored itself laterally dominates an English cemetery.
Similar to everyone here, the Gravestones stand in the middle of the grass swept by the first maple leaves, a poetic serenity which is only gently disturbed by one or two lively squirrels.
On the south-western shore of the island, it is the same charm of the villages with old houses built just after the arrival of the French; the local producers sell seasonal fruits along the roads, in particular strawberries at a price as tangy as their taste, all kinds of beautiful apples and very fresh blueberries.
At the end of September, the sale-tasting stores take on a strong orange-pumpkin tone in the coming perspective of Halloween, still very intensely celebrated here, unlike the Old Continent where the craze ends up subsiding after a few glorious and mercantile years.
The life of the inhabitants seems peaceful at the edge of the shore where the engaged back-season leads the residents to begin to withdraw the boats from the water, next to the ample place of the church of Saint-Jean in the Île d'Orléans. There, a modern, mature parishioner takes pleasure in explaining how the sacristan brilliantly restored the neo-baroque interior.
A quality of life that expresses itself also in the elegant and discreet coquetry of the houses encountered.
In any case, on this Sunday at the end of September, the tip of the island here in Ste-Pétronille is frequented by all the diversity of Quebec, including peaceful small gangs of bikers, bikers on Harley Davidson, or ultra-modern tricycles that continue their way to the north of the island in stifled backfires.
After stumbling further north on a diversion due to work in progress, and crossing track paths in the middle of sloping fields, we regret to return to the bridge.
Felix Leclerc had lived on the island and in his time could not fail to observe this beautiful perspective from the ridge that tilts towards the structure, but from which you cannot see the waterfall, or its charming little white cottages. who make a courtesan's wink behind their fan of greenery passers-by, or even beautiful and remarkable extravagances like a wooden house full of flowers, red roof and delicate lambrequins, gallery with delicately scalloped pillars.
But 50 years ago , from its very bucolic "little path", we were already moving on to this passionate and harsh hymn, "my country is not a country, it is winter!" by Gilles Vignault and the rock fantasies of the sympathetic disheveled Robert Charlebois, then to many others then.
Then you have to tear yourself away from this end-of-season charm, take Route 138 to Tadoussac.
A very simple road 50 years ago , which now, on this wide flat tongue of the north shore of the St. Lawrence, limited for tens of kilometers by the cliff of the plateau, is a semi-highway double track crossing the villages.
We learn how to signal, with these flashing lights (lights), placed about 200 meters before those of a crossroads, and which are there to announce the next change to red of the latter.
Quebec,
devotions in Ste-Anne-de-Beaupré
A little less than 20 km north of Boischâtel, along the railway, the road delimits vast commercial spaces and their car parks, of those found everywhere in the country. Then a city appears on the left, of which the two immense twin spiers silver can be seen from afar. On the left, ... because on the right going north, the marshy lands stretch out subjected to the tide of the St. Lawrence.
To the point that one wonders if the homes and villages along the 138 here are not affected by flooding from the great river, in particular during spring break-ups. Indeed, large "overflows" are recorded in 1869, 1886, but other small ones are still done in spite of upstream regulations; so in May 2015.
You just have to look at this 1894 engraving of the world skating on the flats of the river at the foot of Quebec, where they say the ice can reach several meters thick, to imagine what the debacle can be.
At the central crossroads, a curious and massive building in the Art Deco style, but decked out with an oriental bulb, is inserted between the very large square of the great religious building and the road ; it is the " Cyclorama of Jerusalem ", which has nothing to do with a pedal boat or a rowing bike (where did we see the sea reach Jerusalem? ...).
In fact, it represents a completely panoramic view of Jerusalem at the time of Christ's crucifixion, on a cylindrical surface 110 m in diameter and 14 m high.
Installed here in 1895, it was designed by a German artist, Bruno Piglhein and executed in Munich from 1878 to 1882 by the painter Parisian then famous Paul Philippoteaux with five collaborators.
It is supposed to reproduce the places and the way of life of the time. The designer artist went to the site to take sketches and photos for them. then transcribe in the cyclorama. "Augmented reality" in the late 19th century.
But why talk about it, since we haven't even visited it? Simple curiosity aroused by this effect of contrast to the enormous neighboring basilica.
We are indeed struck by the height of the Catholic building and this impression of majesty when we approach it from the very large square. The absence of buttresses or flying buttresses further increases the impression of grandeur ; but how is this possible?
From the first sanctuary dedicated by the Bretons to Ste-Anne (then called Petit Cap) since 1658, the site has seen many successive church occurrences, to which the flooding of the river and the fire are not unrelated. If the site has grown to this size, it is because it is necessary to be able to welcome with all the desired pomp the annual pilgrimages, on July 26, whose success has been growing and which has continued to develop for 350 years. Thus, 45,000 people came in 2015, the peak apparently being in the 1920s, which hosted up to more than 200,000 people.
Construction began in 1923, but the shell was not completed until 40 years later in 1962 and the basilica was not consecrated until 1976. However, according to some, it was completed in 1934, except perhaps for the two bell towers which culminate at 90 m. In fact, the interior design and decoration have spread over more than 20 years from the 1930s.
She is based on modern techniques with stone cladding of a metal frame structure, of which we can see a state of progress on these photos from 1924 and 1926. It claims to be in the neo-medieval style.
Everything is monumental there: the square gives perspective on the facade, whose high copper-clad doors are embossed with bas-reliefs of religious scenes.
The interior imposes by its dimensions which do not contradict the external impression. The ceilings of the central nave are decorated with other mosaic scenes in the Byzantine style, much like its older sister, the Basilica of Montmartre in Paris, built more than a quarter of a century earlier.
As with all high places of pilgrimage, there had to be a background of proven or notorious miracles. The very tall and massive pillars on either side of the central entrance are a gushing hymn to the miraculous disabled who have abandoned there. their crutches, some of which even seem to have "never been out in winter".
The underground crypt is also an architectural success with its reckless and elegant basket-handle arches thrown under the upper mass of the basilica.
Likewise, accommodation and catering for pilgrims are provided by the surrounding establishments, in front of and around the basilica. Including "temple merchants".
At the corner of the street, this sign, "Le Bar Laitier", sells refreshing dairy products. More than a sign, it is the original name given everywhere to this kind of bar restaurant. Welcome to the freshness of local products which joins the innovative and extremely simple freshness of the language. Far from the "ice cream" of Paris and other pretentious signs sounding too Anglo-Saxon here.
Opposite this, another establishment brings an intriguing almost tropical touch with the intense colors with which its wooden galleries have been painted on 2 floors.
It's an art gallery created in 2011 in place of a religious object shop, which itself replaced a hotel in 1895. It prefigures the artistic activity that unfolds a little further in the Charlevoix region and in Baie St-Paul in particular.
Imp counterpoint, but also fun and ironic counterbalance to the neighboring pilgrimage area, stiff, a bit grandiloquent and very devout by the past, she wears in a salutary wink the name of "Neither seen nor horned".
Quebec, the astrobleme,
it's in Charlevoix
Route 138 continues its course along the St. Lawrence and the railway line, then ends up deviating from it by going up on a plateau of short worn mountains low altitude.
We now reach the Charlevoix region, well known for its rather unique picturesque. But do we know that it owes its particular topography above all to its geological history?
The name of the region comes from that of Jesuit French historian of the 18th century François-Xavier de Charlevoix (1682-1761) who also visited Japan, the island of St-Domingue, Paraguay, and published in 1744 a sum on the History of New France which collected his own information (he traveled North America from 1720 to 1722 after teaching in Quebec from 1705 to 1709) and those of other explorers.
Baie St-Paul
La Malbaie
Yet the pebble was common ..., uh! no more than 2 km in diameter if it was rocky, less if it was ferrous - opinions differ -, and passed by there in neighbor at a speed of 15 to 20 km / sec (50 to 70,000 km / h) .
The shock was equivalent to that of more than 430 million times "Little Boy", the atomic bomb which shattered Hiroshima !!!!!
Over the course of a few minutes after impact, due to the unimaginably high temperatures that vaporize the meteorite and cause melt part of the earth's crust, there is a kind of central rebound (now Mont des Eboulements, 738m) which enhances the deep layers and causes the peripheral parts to collapse (as seen in slow motion of the drop of a drop from the tap on the water).
And the cataclysmic breath falls ...
Let stand, add a pinch a few hundred millions of years spent by the plane-laminator-tamper of erosions, and the robot mixer of the Appalachian movement going back from the south that creates notably Île aux Coudres just opposite Baie St-Paul; meanwhile, beat in snow a little of the passing sea there then the water of the St-Laurent which it then leaves, finally grate (erode) the southern part of the crater that is submerged.
And you have the Charlevoix of today.
Let us quote a probable effect of the impact: an earthquake of magnitude 7.3 to 7.9 touches Charlevoix on February 5, 1663 , felt as far as Massachusetts or Boston. It caused great landslides and the "Saguenay flood" of 1996 could be a side effect. It is then perceived by some as a divine sign, a punishment for those who exceeded the prohibition by Louis XIV to sell alcohol to the Indians.
But the fact remains that it is these valleys, these altitudes lower than those of the nearby Canadian Shield, as well as the multiple contributions of sediments that have made it a fertile region. and more welcoming for humans, promoting the diversification of flora and fauna, in the few geological minutes where humanity appears.
Thus, the region was declared a "biosphere reserve" by UNESCO in 1989.
However, even there (or especially there?), It is impossible to find the refuge of free parking around the monumental church. We therefore visit at a run, parked on the side of the street, watching the car with one eye while a Harley Davidson plays the hyperrealistic illustrations near the church.
After crossing the river, we leave the 138 and take the 362 which climbs the hill. It offers from its heights a beautiful panorama on the city that we are leaving, as well as on the vast and long stretches of mud which mark the confluence at low tide, at the foot of dark hills that could evoke a Wagnerian romanticism.
Only satellite photos allow you to see this half-crater which leans to the north-west against the Canadian shield at the foot of which two valleys have been dug which complement each other, and which is buried in the south-east under the waters of the St. Lawrence. Roughly bounded along its diameter by Baie St-Paul to the west and La Malbaie to the east, it rises in its center at Mont des Eboulements, halfway between the two towns.
In reality, this very old crater from around 400 million years ago ("approximately" here takes on its full meaning since the uncertainty on the date of the event is + or -2.5 million years!) results from the impact of a meteorite with the Earth (others say asteroid) at this point. But erosion, the contribution of sediments, subsequent geological movements have gradually erased or concealed it, so that we then speaks of " astrobleme ", which means fossil meteorite crater . From ground level, it is therefore not easily detectable. That of Manicouagan is another example, even more famous for its size.
Note that it was not until 360 million years later, around -66 million years ago, that the dinosaurs. Noises and rumors say that a cataclysm of the same nature, more vast and definitive still would be a cause.
Here we are, after a long plateau of spruce trees in the descent towards Baie St-Paul and its valley of collapse at the bottom of which the Gouffre river flees towards the river.
Under a beautiful sun, the city, living museum, prosperous, plays the cultivated coquettes; all the beautiful houses, public places welcome works of art, host of small museums; such local artists are even celebrated with candid emphasis with copper bas-reliefs.
A good example, but a little supported on how to popularize art, here distributed, disseminated, easily accessible, ... and preserved from vandalism, perhaps due to this distance of respect of the work, to which we know we can access without ceremony, which has become familiar but yet intimidating. The themes and their representation are here comical, elsewhere hermetic, or on the contrary very figurative.
It is also here, in Baie St-Paul, that the famous Cirque du Soleil made its debut in the 1980s.
Somewhere on the Mont des Eboulements, by the side of the road, an original breeding catches the eye ("Alpagas Charlevoix"). In front of a work awkwardly elegant made of lattice of metallic threads, - a female head wearing a capeline -, here is the alpacas farm. It is not unique in the Belle Province.
Head held high, these camelids, wearing a toupee in the manner of post-war cuts that fall on the eyes, the legs lined with thick woolen tops, the delicate and stilted gait of a starlet Arielle Domsbale style young, graceful, more concerned with grazing than curious visitors, sometimes chewing on a twig like a poet in the fields, each year deliver their precious wool. Which was recently taken away from them since they are now short-haired, except for the socks.
Of course, these are the females. The black-headed male, powerful and disdainful, sated and satisfied, isolates himself of the harem.
A shop presents all the products made from this wool.
And for white females, as an Alexandrian from a distant cousin says by Beaudelaire long forgotten, " there is in their eyes underlined with black kohl a nostalgia for their Andean heights ".
Because if cold and snow are there in winter, the altitudes are elsewhere.
The ribbon of bitumen winds slowly on the plateau, sometimes bounces, dominating the river which disappears under an eiderdown of mist. Then he arrives at a ridge on the slope of which unfolds the perfect lawns of a large golf course. Across the slope above the river, but invisible from here, the Manoir Richelieu, a famous prestigious hotel complex, to which this "Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu" golf course belongs. Not to be confused with the other great golf course neighbor closer to the city, the golf course "Murray Bay".
We are in effect on the heights of La Malbaie.
With the advent of steamboats, cruises on the St. Lawrence took off in 1830.
It is the great period of the cruises of the "white boats" which will not disappear until 1965. These large boats which accomodate at the turn of the 20th century up to 750 passengers are indeed all painted in white, their crew all dressed in white. and stylish, for the rich Canadian and American customers.
In La Malbaie and in the small ports downstream (Cap à l'Aigle) and upstream (Pointe au Pic), pontoons are then created able to accommodate these boats, many of which are paddle-wheeled.
Thus, that of Cap à l'Aigle, in this photo taken in 1895.
Due to lack of time, we will not see the Manoir Richelieu or the Casino which adjoins it.
The route of the road along the shore itself presents no other interest than the bleak and immense vases of the Malbaie river.
Named so by Champlain in 1608 when he discovered the place and the difficulties to dock, maneuver, navigate ...
For him, it will be the "trunk bay", a name which will remain to him thereafter.
The mouth of the Malbaie