The International Writers Magazine: Quebec Adventures

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Bonjour Blueberries: Off the Beaten Path in Quebec • Kathleen Hegedus-Beeksma Most of my fellow travellers speak French. That leads me to believe that if you’re from Quebec, you probably know the secret; if you’re from anywhere else, you probably don’t. Where is this treasure trove of wonders: cultural, natural and wild? North of Quebec City in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region of the belle province.

Maybe you heard the same rumour I heard, that French people in rural Quebec are not hospitable to Anglophones? I had been to Montreal and Quebec City before and found it very easy to get by in English. When I reported this to people outside of Quebec, it was usually met with, "Yeah, sure that’s true – in the big cities – but not in the rural parts of the province." This summer I had the opportunity to travel beyond Quebec’s major cities to the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region. After spending 10 weeks in wide-eyed wonder, discovering one delight after another, I realize that my first discovery was the most important one. The rumour is false. The folks here are very friendly!

This area is renowned for its blueberries; consequently, the people here are known as bleuets. Unlike Montreal and Quebec City, English is not widely spoken here. I had finally ventured far enough off the beaten path to find the real French Quebecois. How do they respond to an Anglo in their midst? With hospitality. On my second day here, I visited the mall in Chicoutimi. The sunglass-kiosk vendor was so eager to make us feel welcome that he even offered us a ride to Quebec City for the St. Jean Baptiste festivities coming up on the following weekend. We had our own car so we politely declined the invitation. I did, however, buy a funky pair of sunglasses.

My adult-daughter is travelling with me and, naturally, we speak to each other in English. People definitely take notice. We see them attending to our words with inquisitiveness when they overhear our conversation. Clearly, speaking English is conspicuous here. We have noticed that they view us with curiosity. But hostility? Never. With that, I hope I have allayed any fears anyone might have about visiting this beautiful region simply because they do not speak French. Bonjour, merci, and a lot of smiling will get you a long ways around here!

This treasure-trove of wonders begins with an exploration of the natural beauty. Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean is a mountainous region, reaching heights over 3000 feet, with the Saguenay River flowing through it. With so much wilderness, there are plenty of outdoor activities available if you have your own equipment and the skills to venture off on your own. If not, there are also plenty of supportive ways to enjoy all the natural offerings.

Encircling Lac Saint Jean is a 272 kilometer bicycle path, Veloroute des Bleuets. Some sections of the path run directly alongside the lake. Other sections meander through meadows and traverse quaint small towns. When you want to take a break, you’ll find wonderful sandy beaches and numerous comfortable rest stops. The words casse croute will be added to your French vocabulary. It’s a snack bar. They’re common along the route, both beach-side and in the towns. Granted, they don’t represent the best of French cuisine, but they are convenient.

If you bring your own bike it’s easy to access the veloroute from any of the small towns all the way around the lake. There are also a number of places that offer good quality bikes for rent. We rented from Equinox Formaction in Saint Gedeon primarily because the bike rental was conveniently co-located with our hotel, Auberge des Isles. This hotel is situated on a sandy beach, overlooking the bay spotted with tiny islands. Kayak rentals are also available from this beach if you wish to go out and explore the many islands or just want to add another activity to your trip.

You can bike all the way around the lake, packing your gear with you and staying in different hotels every night. This is easily done because the lake is dotted all the way around with hospitable small towns. This also means you can reduce the amount of food you have to cart with you because supplies are readily available at many points. Campgrounds are plentiful so you can camp your way around the lake if you don’t mind carrying the extra gear needed to do that. Do you want to bike the entire circumference of the lake without carrying any gear? Well, your hospitable hosts have thought of that too! There is a reasonably priced luggage transfer service available so you can arrange to have your bags transported each day to the hotel in the next town you intend to bike to. They have really made this so easy and accessible that the only thing left for you to do is pedal your bike, stopping once in a while to pick fresh raspberries and blueberries of course!

The Sagenuay-Lac-Saint-Jean region is also home to a wide variety of wildlife, including whales. These magnificent creatures of the sea can be found here from May to October each year. Five species of whales are commonly seen in the St. Lawrence at Tadoussac: beluga, minke, finback, humpback, and the blue whale. If you sit on the rocks at the shore where the fjord meets the St. Lawrence, you will have a very good chance of seeing whales, many whales. Even a casual walk in the sand along the beach at Tadoussac may bring you a whale sighting, right in the bay. In fact, some belugas love the St. Lawrence so much that they make it their year-round home!

To get a closer look at the whales, there are three ways to get on the water. First, you can take a three-hour whale-watching cruise in comfort, with snack-bar and washrooms on-board. If you’re feeling a bit more adventurous, you can opt to view the whales on-board the two-hour zodiac trip. Finally, if you’re feeling both adventurous and athletic, you can rent kayaks and go either as part of a guided group or on your own. In addition to whales, you will likely also see seals and dolphins. To learn more about the fascinating giants visit the Centre d’Interpretation des Mammiferes Marins, (CIMM) in Tadoussac, where you can see and touch all kinds of whale-related objects. The rocky shore, from which the whales can easily be viewed for free, is right beside the CIMM. Pack your picnic lunch and enjoy the show!

Just as whales are without a doubt the most mesmerizing sea-creature, bears are arguably the most fascinating land creatures, at least amongst those found in North America. Who doesn’t want to see a bear in its natural habitat? Our fascination with them is probably due to their enormous size and agility. Black bears can weigh as much as 800 pounds, yet they can climb trees with ease. Because they hibernate through the long winters, they need to pack on some extra pounds during the summer. On a diet of blueberries they can gain five pounds a day! In the belle province, there are 75,000 black bears. Despite their numbers, you are unlikely to encounter one in the wild because they are very shy. Fortunately, you can go on a black-bear safari. The safari base is located on highway 172 east of Sacre Coeur at the Gite Domaine des nos Ancetres. After watching a brief introductory video (in French), the group is taken by bus to an open-air wooden shelter in the woods that overlooks a clearing across a valley where the wild bears can be viewed. The guide speaks good English and gives most of his explanations in both languages. During my visit six bears came to this spot, including a mother with two cubs!

If all of this is too tame for you and you’re seeking more athletic challenges, there is white-water rafting, rock-climbing, and the relatively new adventure attraction of D’Arbre En Arbre. This is a tree-top thrill, begun in France in 1999 and spreading like wildfire in popularity. Traversing the forest on suspension bridges and zip-lining from tree to tree is a sport that is a natural fit with the rugged beauty of this mountainous terrain. Courses vary in levels of difficulty so you can choose your challenge.

For adventure and wildlife in a culturally-interesting setting, Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean is a great choice. You can plan a relaxing itinerary of leisure cycling with lots of beach and berry-picking stops. You can also pump-up the adrenaline and spend your vacation cycling, zip-lining, rock-climbing, and white-water rafting your way along from west to east, from Lac-St-Jean to the St. Lawrence, capping it off with a stopover to see the black bears in Sacre Coeur and a visit with the whales in Tadoussac. Either way, there is one thing you can count on. In bleuet country, you will receive a hospitable welcome!

Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean Sidebar Information
Cycling
Veloroute des Bleuets: www.veloroute-bleuets.qc.ca
Formaction, Alma & St. Gedeon www.formaction.ca
Velo-Jeunesse, Alma www.velo-jeunesse.com
Centre Vacances Nature, Lac Bouchette www.centrevacancesnature.com
Black Bear Safaris
Domain de nos Ancetres, Sacre Coeur: www.ours-noir.net/homepage.html
Okwari Adventures, La Baie: www.okwariaventures.com
Whale Watching from Tadoussac
Croisieres 2001: www.croisieres2001.com
Croisiers AML: www.croisieresaml.com
Dufour Croisieres: www.dufour.ca
CIMM: www.gremm.com/rte/eng/1.html#1A
Adventure Sports
Arbre en Arbre - Club Tobo-Ski, Saint-Felicien: www.arbreenarbretoboski.com
Arbre en Arbre - Adventure Entre les Arbres Cap Jaseau, Saint-Fulgence: www.capjaseux.com
Rafting - Quebec Raft Inc., Saint-Stanislas: www.quebecraft.com
Rafting – Parc Aventures Cap Jaseux, Saint-Fulgence: www.parcoursaventures.com
Rapelling - Excursions Borealis, La Baie: www.excursionsboreales.com
Rapelling - Parc d’aventure en Montagne les Palissades, Saint-Simeon: www.lascensation.com
Additional information
www.bleuvacances.ca
www.bonjourquebec.com

© Kathleen Hegedus-Beeksma
khegedus at rogers.com

Kathleen is a retired social worker who finally has the time to selfishly pursue her own dreams: to travel and to write! She has recently completed a Master of Arts degree in Literature and is currently writing on location in Chicitoumi, Quebec about her travels throughout the region.

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