I'm going home!!!!

For the past few years I have been mulling over writing a book about the Lower North Shore of Quebec so I thought it might be a great motivator and a good way to organize my thoughts by starting this blog. Most people who know me have heard me talk about this place but for those who don't know; its an isolated strip of coast that stretches 375 km's from Natashquan, QC to Blanc Sablon, QC just below Labrador. Approximately 5,000 people live in small villages along the coast and their economy relies on the Atlantic fishing industry. Today I mainly want to tell you about my travel itinerary but I will devote a post or two to talking about the political and socio-economic issues that are affecting this place I love so dearly.

The last time I visited my family on the coast I was 17 years old; now I am 24, about to move to South Korea for awhile and have decided that it is imperative I go home before I move so far away. My heart is screaming for the air, the water, my grandmothers cooking and her amazing stories. Why you ask has it been so long since I've been home? Here's the deal, last time I checked it was about 1800$ for a return flight from Montreal to Chevery, since I was in school for so long that wasn't exactly feasible. But it’s in Quebec, Canada…a developed nation… we can probably just drive there from Montreal, or Quebec City. Well you would be partially right in thinking that. It takes about 10-12 hours to drive from Sherbrooke, QC, (it takes 12 hrs from Quebec City by bus) to get to Sept Iles. From there, if you have a car you can continue 4 hours north to Natashquan. Now the Nordik passenger boat leaves from there at around 7:30am, so unless you drive through the night you’ll have to take accommodations in town...don’t ask me where, I’m sure there’s a boarding house or two, in the summer there’s probably a place you can pitch a tent. Otherwise for a traveler like myself I can stay at a hotel in Sept Iles and catch the boat at 6am. After that it takes a few days depending on where you’re going….if you’re not accustomed to sea travel then you won’t enjoy that leg of the trip. Don’t be mistaken either, this is no cruise, there is very little to do other than nature watch and sleep; I think they may have television now.

So here's how I am getting home:
I was supposed to fly from Montreal to Sept Iles using airmiles my Dad had given me. I can't use them to get beyond Sept Iles because I have to take Air Labrador but thats okay the boat stops in different ports so I can get off, talk to people and take some photos for my book/blog. Anyway the flights are booked up so I can't fly to Sept Iles, therefore; lucky me, i get to take a 15 hour bus ride. I'll be taking said bus ride on Tuesday June 1st arriving in Sept Iles probably around 8:30/9pm. I'm hoping that I can stay with a friend because otherwise its a night at the Mingan Hotel for me and that will not be very pleasant. My boat leaves at 6am Wednesday and arrives in La Tabatiere (where my Dad lives) at 7:30 am Friday, weather permitting. I will stay there for a few days and then my Dad will take me by outboard to Harrington Harbour (where I'm from). For those of you who don't know what an outboard is its essentially a large wooden row boat with a motor on the back; I believe this part of the trip will take about 3 hours mostly on open water. Anyway maybe we can make a day of it; go fishing, stop on different islands, I think there are some ghost towns along the way. I'll let you know how that turns out. So then I stay at my grandma's B&B for a few days and then catch the boat on Saturday June 12th at I think 5 am. I will arrive in Natashquan on Sunday morning at which point I'm just crossing my fingers I can get a ride to Sept Iles. Incomprehensively the boat does not stop in Sept Iles on the way back it goes straight to Rimouski. On June 14th I finally board a plane back to Montreal, there was one seat left, I got lucky. I wanted to go farther north than La Tabatiere to Blanc Sablon, Old Fort, Brador Bay etc, there are about 8 villages I will not be able to visit this time around due to time constraints but I may be able to get someone to take me to St Augustin and Pakua Shipi which are the next towns north of La Tabatiere. I probably won't be able to write while I am actually travelling but I intend to talk about each place I visit. But first here's a preliminary look at each village along the Lower North Shore in order from South to North; the places in green are the places I will be visiting. I will also stop in Port Menier which is on Anticosti Island, Havre Saint Pierre and Natashquan but they are not part of the Lower North Shore technically.

Kegaska - Population: 130
La Romaine (Unamen Shipu) - Population: 1,050
Chevery - Population: 300
Harrington Harbour - Population: 300
Tête-à-la-Baleine - Population: 250
Mutton Bay - Population: 192
La Tabatière - Population: 499
Pakua Shipi - Population: 300

Saint Augustine - Population: 791
Old Fort Bay - Population: 347
St. Paul's River - Population: 468
Middle Bay - Population: 52
Brador - Population: 136
Lourdes-de-Blanc-Sablon - Population: 750
Blanc-Sablon - Population: 325

Here is a list of Ghost towns off hand that I may also be able to see:

Aylmer Sound

Wolf Bay

Mousquoro

Shag Island

Gull Cliff Island

Fox Island

Little Fox Island

I hope to have time to write a post about the history of the area before I leave next tuesday. Until then thanks for reading!