 |
| St Lawrence River at Ste. Flavie, Quebec |
On the 5th of June Marie and I drove north to Ste. Flavie, Quebec, not far from Mont-Joli in the Gaspésie, where Marie's aunt Thérèse's ashes were to be buried. It was an 8 hour drive, passing by Quebec City and Rivière-du-Loup, with glimpses of the river on our left and small villages interspersed with forest and hills. We had booked a night at the nearest camping site, Capitaine Homard, right on the St. Lawrence River and arrived in time to set up, have supper and be treated to a beautiful sunset. There were very few other campers there and we had a quiet and peaceful night. The next morning we walked along the beach with our coffee before heading toward the town of Mont-Joli where the ceremony was to be held, only a few miles east of the campground.
As the burial wasn't scheduled for later in the afternoon we had the day to visit some of the local attractions before meeting up with those coming to attend the ceremony. The first stop was at the Vieux Moulin, a well known business Marie and I had visited before, when we traveled to the Gaspé peninsula to visit the area and Marie's Uncle Claude and Aunt Évelyne after Marie's parents passed away in 2004. They specializing in hydromel (honey wine or mead) and other honey tasty products. We bought some blueberry and pear mead after enjoying the free samples before stopping to have lunch and explore the equally famous Centre d'Art in Sainte Flavie, featuring the works of local painters Guillaume, Isabelle and Marcel Gagnon. Marcel is also a sculptor and Marie and I were very intrigued by his impressive one-of-a-kind work, "La Grand Rassemblement", comprised of some 100 life-sized sculptures emerging from the St. Lawrence River and dotting the landscape.
It was a short drive to Mont-Joli where we wandered about getting our bearings and enjoying another beautiful warm early June day. There are dozens of huge murals throughout the town on the walls of the buildings, representing the historical record of the town's accomplishments, famous people and memories of the long gone Air Force base, built in 1942 as part of the British Commonwealth bombing and gunnery school, closed at the end of the war. We found the cemetery and parked within its gates and walked up and down the rows looking for the Bourgoin family monument where Marie's aunts ashes would be interred. By 3 PM there were a dozen of us gathered around to say our farewell to Thérèse. Besides Marie and myself there was Marie's cousin Denyse and her husband Yves, and Thérèse's cousins and their spouses. They were all very friendly and I was pleased to meet more of this extended family. After the ceremony most of us retired to a local restaurant for lunch, then we were back on the road by 5 as we had another long three hour drive ahead of us, planning to meet Denyse and Yves at a campground in Carleton-sûr-Mer on the Baie des Chaleurs.
 |
| Cimetière de Mont-Joli |
 |
| Marie and Denyse |
The drive from Mont-Joli to Carleton-sur-Mer took us through some stunning mountain scenery, following the Matapedia River along route 132. We arrived at dusk, finding our campsite next to Yves' 5th wheeler. We had a great spot on the water, the sandy beach littered with driftwood and seaweed, a few feet away. The campground was almost deserted, but clean and peaceful, New Brunswick off in the distance across the bay of Chaleur and Mont Saint-Joseph rising up behind the town. At this spot the explorer Jacques Cartier had met up with the Micmac Indians, where they called it Tlagatigetj, 'the place of the herons. A hot shower was welcome after we had wandered up and down the beach looking for shells and the odd piece of driftwood.
 |
| Meeting up with Denyse and Yves, municipal campground Carleton-sur-Mer |
The next morning, after breakfast, Yves and Denyse drove us up to the summit of Mont Saint-Joseph in their pickup truck ,the steep winding road reminding me of the drive up to the top of Mont Mégantic to the observatory. From the parking lot off the church site we walked along a wooden promenade to see laid out before us the Baie des Chaleurs and our campground, our truck and camper just visible as a white dot in the distance. Further off the shoreline of New Brunswick shimmered in the heat and the cool breeze at the shoreline was now replaced by the still and hot air of the mountain. It was altogether a lovely place and again we had it all to ourselves! Early June is certainly the best time to travel in these parts.
When we left the mountain Yves drove to the small village of Gesgapegiag where we were stopped to buy lobster at the native 'lobster pot'. The crustaceans were magnificent and well priced and we bought four large ones for supper. Back at the campground we boiled them in a big pot and ate what was truly one of the best lobster feasts I have ever had. Yves and I got on surprisingly well, he practicing his English and me my French whenever we spoke. When we left the next morning it was with good memories of their friendship and an invitation to visit us soon.
farewell dinner with Yves and Denyse
We were on the road towards home with the rain and clouds threatening and instead of returning the same way we had come up we decided to cut through New Brunswick at Pointe-a-la-Croix, crossing the bridge into Campbellton, following the 17 back to the Trans Canada to Edmunston and Riviere-du-Loup where we picked up the 20 again. We arrived home before dark and had just time to get ready for another drive to Montreal for Williams 4th birthday! We had closed off another chapter in the family life of Marie and, as we know, all that are left are memories. gws
 |
| almost home! |
