This was published 1 year ago
Cruise from Rimouski, Quebec to remote villages on board a supply vessel
By Tim Richards
The scenery we enjoy surpasses words.Credit: Relais Nordik
"What are moules?" I ask Julien, one of the waiters aboard the M/V Bella Desgagnes, a supply ship heading across the Gulf of St Lawrence to Quebec's remote Lower North Shore.
"Mussels," he replies. As he's seen the food being prepared in the ship's galley, he can go on to describe the bivalves' accompaniments, beyond the brief description on the French-only lunch menu.
We make a good team – with my terrible French, Julien's capable English, and my old mate Google Translate helping out too.
Towns here are only accessible by water or air, so the ship is a lifeline.Credit: Quebec Maritime
Which is just as well, for this is a very Quebec voyage (to my mind a more apt word than "cruise"). My fellow passengers on our week-long passage from the port of Rimouski to the edge of Labrador are mostly retired Quebeckers, so French is definitely the language du jour. Recorded announcements are made in French, English and Innu, the local First Nations language; but spontaneous announcements are often in French only, as are the lunch and dinner menus.
Pas de probleme. The crew are largely bilingual, as are my fellow passengers, and generous in switching to English to make me feel welcome. And the scenery we're all enjoying surpasses words, as we admire the ever more rugged coast and tiny fishing villages on our way east.
The Bella Desgagnes is very much a working vessel. Though it contains comfortable cabins and a pleasant restaurant for we round-trip passengers, it also functions as public transport for locals. Beyond Kegaska the highway system ceases and towns are only accessible by water or air, so the ship is a lifeline.
Proof of that is the huge crane that projects upwards from the stern of the vessel. At each port it swings into action, hauling shipping containers up and down while passengers step on shore for a break from the sea.
Cleverly, tours of each of the places we visit have been devised by Voyages Coste, a local cooperative which promotes tourism to this far-flung piece of Canada. As many of the villages are a fair distance from their ports, the tours are a great way to get a taste of the area in the time available.
I'm surprised to find that some of the towns are English-speaking, often having been founded from nearby Newfoundland. At Harrington Harbour, a starkly beautiful village of boardwalks over which locals ride quad bikes, we're led by Keith, a local schoolteacher who explains local history and the challenges of living there. Later that day, further along the coast, I join a tour of La Tabatiere (another English-speaking community) in which the local French teacher gives a bilingual commentary as we trundle in the local school bus to a historic timber church at neighbouring Mutton Bay.
At Blanc-Sablon, the end point of the shipping route, there's extra time before our vessel must return west, so I board a longer bus tour that takes us to the Labrador border, a hilly shrine to the Virgin Mary, the rushing Brador Falls, and a museum detailing the 1928 crash-landing nearby of the first east-west flight to cross the Atlantic.
Between port calls I get a lot of reading done, often sitting in the Deck 8 bar with its lofty view of the gulf's blue waters. There are also special events for passengers, such as a visit to the bridge or a tasting of Labrador tea, a traditional local beverage.
And of course, there are more meals, including fine work by the hidden patisserie chef.
"What are bluets?" I ask Gabryel, the other waiter with whom I've struck up a friendship. "Something blue?"
"Blueberries," he confirms. And very good they are too, matched with cake.
THE DETAILS
FLY & RIDE
Air Canada (aircanada.com) flies to Montreal, from where Rimouski can be reached aboard the three-weekly Ocean sleeper train operated by VIA Rail (viarail.ca).
STAY
Hotel Rimouski offers comfortable accommodation on the waterfront, a short taxi ride from the port. See hotelrimouski.com
SAIL
The seven-night return voyage on the Bella Desgagnes from Rimouski starts at $C1588 ($1835) a person. See relaisnordik.com
Onshore tours are an additional cost and must be booked in advance. See voyagescoste.ca
MORE
Tim Richards paid his fare aboard the Bella Desgagnes, and was hosted on tours by Voyages Coste.
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