Bienvenue à Québec!

Lest I be accused (it wouldn't be the first time) of liking everything indiscriminately, I admit to not really admiring Labrador City. Or, to be more specific, that it's the site of the world's largest open-pit iron mine, which filled the winds that were whipping through the town (they call it a city, but...) with gross, gritty dust, filled a lake that I drove past in my attempt to leave with some kind of run-off that turned it a frightening pink, blood-like color, and made my crossing from Labrador into Québec a rude awakening of freight train tracks, enormous power lines, and criss-crossing access roads (all rough gravel). I drove through as quickly as possible, which was not quickly enough.

But then I was back on roads through breathtaking landscape in central Québec province. I'd been gently warned, farther east, that the Québecois aren't quite as friendly as people in other parts of the country. As if in directly reply, my first stop in the province was for gas (I still don't know where I was; the towns that my map said should be there weren't, and I was relieved to finally see an old-style gas pump and old-west-looking motel perched on a hillside), and pretty much the only two other people around both engaged me in warm conversation, the second one calling out "Bienvenue à Québec!" as I left. (I've since followed a protocol of conversing in French the best I can until/unless the person I'm talking with chooses to save his/her own ears and switch to English, and I haven't had a single negative experience. My only complaint is that people here drive like European maniacs, which is disconcerting after so many weeks among the very mellow drivers of the Maritimes.)

Driving south from Labrador, the Groulx Mountains were a sight to behold, along with the crater of the 5th largest meteor impact site on the planet (discovered when they dammed a river downstream and saw from an aerial perspective that this reservoir filled in a nearly perfect, enormous circle) and the dam itself.

Though crossing into Québec after days of Labrador felt like a big accomplishment, it was still another full day before I finally reached signs of civilization. (I got really excited when I saw some cows and realized that usually, I get excited about cows because it's a sign that I'm in a rural area, but this time it was a sign that I was in a populated area. Everything's relative!). When I finally hit the St. Lawrence seaway, I turned west and visited the Saguenay/St Lawrence Marine Park for some whale watching. Though, if you don't actually see any whales, shouldn't it be called "whale waiting"?

Then on to the spectacularly situated and very lovely town of Tadoussec, clearly a favorite of summer vacationers, where the Saquenay fjord (the most southerly fjord in North America) empties into the St. Lawrence.

After exploring a bit up the fjord, it was back to the coast, with a stop in Baie St. Paul, the place where Cirque du Soleil was founded (though they'd unfortunately chosen the height of tourist season to totally tear up their main street for repairs).

And then on to Québec City. WOW. I guess people told me to definitely stop in Québec City when I was planning this trip, but I don't think they really adequate stressed how ridiculously picturesque and romantic it is. I walked and walked and wandered and wandered, past the famed Frontenac...

...ate fresh strawberries from the old port market while sitting in La Place Royale, the core of the city as it was founded by Champlain more than 400 years ago...

...and just in general ogled this amazing place, which I would love to visit again. Maybe shortly before I die, when (?) cash and calories are of zero significance and I can just eat myself silly everywhere in the city? For now, it was enough to just appreciate its existence.