“Mom” had a bit of a moment this morning as we said au revoir to Eric. His advisor is driving the Shawi TA’s back home this afternoon and we are heading for the north coast of the Gaspe Peninsula.

On our way out of Quebec City, we took a quick tour through The Battlefields Park and the Plains of Abraham, site of the major battles between French and British empires in 1759 and 1760. 

The Plains of Abraham was likely named for Abraham Martin dit l’Ecossais (Abraham the Scot), a close friend of Samuel de Champlain and Canada’s first royal pilot.

The first public performance of O Canada in 1880 occurred at a banquet held at the park.

After passing the very exciting Accordion Museum, we stopped for lunch at a Saint Hubert bbq joint in Rivière du Loupe, where we were served yummy barbecue ribs by a robot waitress.

We stopped at Fromagerie Littoral in Baie des Sables for a lunch of local Quebecois cheese and charcuterie. 

Rayon d’Or is a unique style of cheese made in Canada containing lots of good healthy probiotics!  We also enjoyed their epave (aged cheddar) with garlic and had some cheesecake for dessert! 

Here in Matane we are on the edge of the Chic-Chocs mountains which are a part of the larger Appalachian range.  Matane comes from the Mi’kmaq word ‘mtctan’ meaning beaver pond. 

There are LOTS of moose signs on the highways; hopefully a good sign for the days to come.

Le Knorr is a replica of a Viking ship notable for her dragon-shaped prow

The Riotel Matane is right on the edge of the St Lawrence River. It is incredibly wide here, spits up seaweed and driftwood and has tides like the ocean but is still considered a river. Maps show the Gulf of St Lawrence at the end of the Gaspe Peninsula and beyond.

Dave was sad that we have been in Quebec for almost a week and he hasn’t had any poutine yet – we have tried a few places along the way, but finding a gluten free gravy is difficult! Luckily our hotel in Matane offers poutine- dejeuner, hash browns with cheese curds and hollandaise sauce with fried eggs! It was so good he ate it two days in a row.

Early in the morning we drove inland to the Matane Wildlife Reserve (Reserve Faunique de Matane). We had to time today’s adventure well, as the reserve closes on September 2 for hunting season! 

There are said to be upwards of 4000 moose living in the reserve. The mineral mud flats here are a rare feature in Quebec and are a favourite feeding area. We saw some clear hoof tracks in the mud beside the pond and some scat on the trail, but no moose!

Lunch was picnic style (with all that cheese from the fromagerie!) beside the lac Matane, where we listened to the mournful cry of a pair of loons.

Tomorrow we head to Gaspesie National Park.