Guests of nature

MONTREAL

Finally the long-awaited trip is about to begin, to visit Canada we chose the fly & drive formula, and, advised by a trusted tour operator, we booked from Italy both the car rental for the first week of the tour (Montral, Quebec, Saguenay, Lac St.Jean, Maurice Montreal) and the hotels for the entire duration of the trip, and we chose to do the transfer to Toronto by train, and to visit the metropolis we're relying on public transportation. Ready at Malpensa airport with everything we need, we set off for Amsterdam, and here we board for Montreal, which we reach after about seven hours of flight, and we're finally ready to discover everything this fantastic and enormous trip can offer us.

First of all we have to take care of the formalities at customs, where the very long line moves fairly quickly but certainly not at the expense of the checks, which are quite thorough; once through customs and having collected our baggage we head to the Herz counter to pick up the car, already booked before departure, and after taking a turn around the parking lot, just to get familiar with the automatic transmission, we head toward downtown Montreal in search of the hotel, which we find without problems since the directions are good. The hotel is comfortable, very close to the metro stop and not far from the station and the old port. Unfortunately we're overcome by tiredness and even though it's only eight thirty we decide to call it a day, so we can start our tour of the city tomorrow with all our energy.

MONTREAL

Even before starting our visit of the city, the first surprise: rain; the city is covered by menacing gray clouds so we go out equipped with raincoats and little umbrellas, first of all we head toward the Notre Dame basilica, a masterpiece of neo-Gothic architecture, which unfortunately finds itself surrounded by buildings not exactly of the same style...

we continue toward the old port of Montreal, but by now the rain gives us no respite and we decide to visit a bit of the 30 km of tunnels that, beneath the city, house another city, that is, an enormous shopping mall, where you can find everything and more, from clothing stores to grocery stores, from the cinema to bowling and restaurants from every part of the world, and we ask ourselves why all this?? The mystery is soon solved, in fact here in winter they have the problem of truly very cold temperatures and with this underground city they can move around and do their shopping, go to the cinema or buy a pair of jeans without having to go out into the freezing cold, but just by taking the metro!!

MONTREA - QUEBEC

Finally we're off! It's time to start clocking up some kilometers and so we set off for Quebec. Driving along highway 20 we immediately notice the vastness of this country, around us vast highways, with double emergency lanes (both on the right and

QUEBEC - COTE NORD

After an excellent and abundant breakfast, the time has come for us to say goodbye to this fascinating city, surely the most European we encountered on the whole trip, and so we get into the car, ready, accompanied also by a beautiful sunny day, to face the 256 km that separate us from our next destination; driving along the St. Lawrence River we have to reach Baie Sainte Catherine, where we have planned the whale-watching excursion. The traffic, almost completely nonexistent, is certainly not a problem; what intrigues us most is the fact that here they have very powerful cars, very wide and very long roads, and yet there are speed limits we would consider unthinkable, beyond any possible and reasonable guess; here on the highway the limit is 100, I mean 100 km/h.

It's true that we are completely captivated by the charm of the majestic nature surrounding us, but for Dario (I haven't introduced him yet, my inseparable companion in life and travels) holding back from pressing the accelerator is sometimes really difficult. Despite the speed limit, the trip is truly pleasant and we immediately notice that what here is a river seems more like a lake, at times perhaps a sea, you can't even see the other shore... and we immediately notice that, as on every other trip abroad where we have traveled by car, there is a much stronger sense of civic duty than in Italy; people respect the limits, both in urban centers and outside, they respect right of way, little shouting and nothing out of place (e.g.

garbage on the roadside, papers on the ground...), but why is it so difficult in Italy to make people understand respect for others and for the environment?!?!?! Apart from this quick digression, we arrive in Tadoussac (the hotel chosen in this location is simple and essential and convenient for all the tourist activities in the area - and after the quick ferry crossing we head towards the small tourist harbor and ask about going to see the whales. We are offered the excursion in a rubber dinghy, but Dario, who doesn't much like the water, suggests choosing a vessel that gives more of a sense of safety and, once decided, we wait half an hour or so for departure time and enjoy the fantastic panorama this area offers, with a green that captures you and a blue sky that almost takes your breath away.

It's finally time for our excursion, we get on board and after about half an hour of sailing we are at sea, oops open river, and, accompanied by the voice of the guide who explains everything and more about the whales, we wait for the great encounter, which certainly doesn't take long to arrive; we are first flanked by a small group of seals and then we see that at about 10 m the backs of whales can be glimpsed, whales that in this meeting zone between the fresh water of the river and the salt water of the sea are really comfortable given the large quantity of krill, a most delicious food for them, that is found there; we move a bit and spot some others and then another small group, the spectacle is truly fascinating, until the most exciting moment arrives and in the blink of an eye we find ourselves with about ten boats, of all different sizes, around a whale that gives us ten minutes of

intense emotions, starting to slap its great tail fin, almost as if it wanted to play with us or perhaps just to send us a greeting and a welcome; unfortunately the hours fly by among whales and seals and the three hours scheduled for the excursion are now over, so we return to dry land with a great emotion in our hearts and a memory we will carry with us forever.

COTE NORD - SAGUENAY

We say goodbye to this picturesque little village and its enchanting small harbor, take the ferry again and begin to go back up the fjord; we have entered the Saguenay - Lac Saint Jean region, a vast region with endless natural wonders, a river, an immense lake and a majestic fjord with breathtaking views, so along the route we stop in several little villages, until we reach our hotel, on a small hill with a view of the fjord, an enchantment.

SAGUENAY - LAC SAIN JEAN

Always within the speed limits, today we cover 135 km towards Saint Felicien; along the way we take the opportunity to visit a paper mill, the first that began producing centuries ago, now closed and turned into a museum. The afternoon is dedicated to visiting the biodiversity park-zoo of Saint Felicien, an incredible place; the animals are only species that live in this climate (don't expect to find lions or gazelles!!) and while in the first part of the route the animals are below us (since you walk on raised wooden walkways), in the second part they are around us, they are free to move about while we move aboard a little train, we are definitely in full contact with nature.

LAC SAINT JEAN - MAURICE

Today the distance to cover is rather considerable; of course if we were in Italy it would be a whole other thing, but here they are very long and it is precisely when, captivated by the completely green panorama, we don't notice that the limit has been exceeded that the mishap happens: we see a police car flashing its lights at us with siren blaring and signaling us to stop; after a quick check of license and passport, moved by pity for clueless tourists, the young policeman limits himself to urging us not to exceed the limit and wishes us a good trip. In the afternoon we reach the Maurice area, where there is a fantastic nature park that we will visit tomorrow; for today we limit ourselves to strolling around here, after all finding a woods to walk in here is certainly not a problem!!

MAURICE

Today we dedicate the day to visiting La Mauricie National Park, an area of more than 500 sq km of woods, crossed by a road of about 70 km along which there are occasionally parking areas from which trails depart for hiking in the woods, parking areas near which there are perfectly equipped picnic areas or parking areas near small lakes from which to set off for a kayak excursion; in short, wherever you stop it is possible to choose one of the many possible activities; so we take the opportunity for a picnic, helped also by the beautiful day, and then a fantastic walk in a maple forest in the company of some squirrels not at all bothered by our presence...

TORONTO

For today we have planned the return to Montreal, the return of the car and half a day to see something we didn't visit last week, but the weather is terrible; Montreal with sunshine is definitely not in our destiny, in fact the day is awful and there is not the slightest sign of it stopping raining, so we are looking for some indoor attraction, hence the idea of taking the opportunity to buy a few souvenirs...

Montreal / Toronto

For the transfer to Toronto we chose the train; the journey lasts about four and a half hours and even here seeing the organization of the station and of the trip makes us think; unfortunately the comparison with Italy is inevitable and certainly our country, indeed our railways, do not come out victorious; here the station is tidy, clean, not at all chaotic, people get ready about 15/20 minutes before near the "descent" to the platform, obviously in an orderly single file where an inspector verifies that you are in the right place, so as not to make mistakes; I say "descent to the platforms" because the platforms are underground relative to the station, but users are forbidden to stand near the platforms; you go down, in an orderly fashion, accompanied by hostesses only when the train has arrived.

The trip passes quickly and, once in Toronto, we choose to use the subway to the hotel; no problems in getting around, in fact a lady, seeing us a bit "lost" in searching for the line to take to reach our destination, stops and gives us directions on what to do, how kind!! The hotel here is typically American, an endless number of rooms divided over 23 floors, so a perpetual line to take the elevator!!!!

Toronto

The day is entirely dedicated to visiting this metropolis, with decidedly American-influenced architecture, skyscrapers and more skyscrapers... surely the symbol of the city is the CN Tower, basically the telecommunications antenna, an enormous concrete pole, more than 500 m tall; aesthetically it is certainly not one of the seven wonders of the world, but the view from the platform at 350 m height is breathtaking and from the second level at about 440 m you are truly left speechless; the city guides inform us that in optimal weather conditions you can see Niagara Falls, but could we ever be so lucky?? I'll just tell you that it was cloudy, but even so the view thrilled us...

once down from up there we wander around the city and decide to go towards the exhibition area; we take the tram and in about twenty minutes we find ourselves in an immense amusement park with several pavilions attached for equestrian or skater shows, depending on the season; what brought us here is the "Chinese Lantern Festival", in practice in an adjoining area this festival has been set up, where walking along a path lit by Chinese lanterns, sewn by hand one by one in pure silk, you come across structures recalling China, a spectacle that at sunset leaves us incredulous, a combination of lights and colors never seen before.

At eleven at night we remember that we have to return to the hotel, but will there be a tram? alternative means?? no fear, here it's as if it were three in the afternoon, transport in full swing and lots of people both on the tram and the subway, but we've run out of water and now what?? the minimarket on the corner is open continuously, 24 hours a day, that problem is solved too....

Niagara Falls

Today the moment has finally arrived to go to the long-awaited Niagara Falls; we decided to book an organized trip for this excursion, so they come to pick us up directly in the lobby and off we go; unfortunately due to roadworks the trip becomes rather long, but the tiredness is already forgotten when we get off and find ourselves in front of this incredible spectacle of nature: it is not the height that distinguishes these falls, but the mass of water in continuous movement, and when we get on the "Maid of the Mist" to go under the waterfall we first pass under those on the American side and then near the Canadian ones, distinguished by their horseshoe shape, and fortunately we have been provided with raincoats (clearly returned home with us and carefully kept), we are practically under a shower turned on at maximum in the midst of an deafening roar...what an experience!!! Before conclu

ding, the trip includes a visit to a farm producing renowned wines, but who knows why we can't find anything interesting!?!?!?!

It's time to head back now, we make our way to the airport, reachable from the city centre by metro and bus, for the cost of a metro ticket (2.75 Canadian dollars, because in Milan this is impossible??) and we discover, since the surprises never end, that the flight is 4 hours late, oops and our connection in Amsterdam?? no problem here either, the Klm staff sort everything out in no time and all we have to do is wait to board for the return trip, but the memories and emotions of this journey come back with us.....