Quebec towards the Gaspé

Ruth: A new chapter of our trip began when we took the ferry across the St. Laurence from Quebec City.  We are now heading up to the Gaspé peninsula through beautiful towns and countryside. Just mentioning the word Gaspé terrifies and excites me. All conversations include praise for the beauty and warnings about the hills. We have had a few tastes of rural Quebec roads and how the art of  building roads to contour and reduce grades never made it here. We continue to have options and can cut through the peninsula if we need to, but the draw of the Gaspé is strong for both of us.

Gordon:  The cycling since we left Quebec has been generally easy, as the terrain is gentle and there are powerful tailwinds.  Yesterday we encountered an unfortunate Swiss cyclist that was going in the other direction.  She was pushing her bike up a small hill due to the wind.  The Gaspé should definitely be cycled in a clockwise direction.

We had a brush with the Camino yesterday.  There is a section of the waterfront stone that displays a series of depressions that appear to be the footprints of a man and a dog.  Local lore says that this marks the passage of St. Roch (a plague saint popular along the Chemin de St. Jacques) and his devoted dog.

Yesterday’s pleasures included finding a loaded Saskatoon berry bush and the town of Kamouraska. We also saw a small flock of snow geese even though this is not the season for them. 

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Ruth: Don, remind me when I get home to make you Pan Doré à les Petite Madames de St Helen. French toast with apples, ham and cheese covered with maple syrup.  Yummy.