Another lovely morning and our last day on the Magdalen Islands...
This is why the layout is a bit weird in this hotel. The top section is the 4th floor that has the restaurant and banquet room. The 3rd floor below that is actually the ground floor when you walk into the hotel. The 2nd floor below that has walkouts. You would think that would be the first floor...
But no...another set of walkouts below makes the first floor (the dungeon as we lovingly called it). There was no elevator to the first floor, which wasn't made clear to those who would have a challenge with stairs.
Another painting I admired in the lobby...I'm guessing they are salt mine workers.
Oh hell yeah...bring a bus load of seniors to the edge of a cliff! I think Gilles was having small heart attacks.
Absolutely gorgeous day...it was easy to see how the islands are eroding.
Stunning...
The Fab Four...was there a colour matching requirement? We nailed it!
All 54 of us...a great memory.
We were on the west side of Cap-aux-Meules island today...
In a cute little touristy area...shops, coffee and time to wander around.
But first, Gilles wanted to make sure we visited Le Flâneur...we had no idea what we were in for.
Uh...different!
And inside is a world of colour and art like I had never seen before.
There was a bakery and coffee section, but who had time for that.
The wedding...creepy!
And this just blew me away...
I wonder what goes on in her mind...Arthure is the 75 year old artist. Absolutely incredible...
She paints, she makes the paper maché figures, and she makes all the clothes. Like nothing we've seen before.
And wait...an almost life size Gilles. He is definitely a celebrity on the islands.
A musician, a storyteller, a guide, keeper of the Madelinot history. Gilles told us that he went to school in Nova Scotia, but didn't speak English, so he would record the lectures and look up the words in his dictionary at night. Now that's determination.
You could spend a lot of time here...
And a great sense of humour..."If you ever find my body lying on a jogging track, know that I was murdered somewhere else and then moved here after the fact!"
Back to the beautiful surroundings...
No time for treasures and no more room at home for stuff. But I have my coffee mug!
It seemed like a perfect time to grab a coffee...but they were so busy. I had already paid for my iced coffee, but it was taking forever and we had to be back at the bus at 11:00 am.
I was ready to say I'd made a donation to the shop and leave, but Adam offered to get mine as he was in line in front of me. You don't want to be the last person on the bus or you'll get "The Clap" when you get on!
It was back to La Grave for lunch. Much as I would have loved another lobster roll, there were many options. We headed for the sandwich shop. The one girl working was doing everything from making sandwiches to taking money while a line-up went out the door. Was she stressed? She didn't appear to be. Island life...
We sat outside and enjoyed our lunch with Kevin (The Birdman) and his wife.
A pebble beach...
Carolyn's husband reminded her to bring home a fridge magnet, so we hit the souvenir shops. Roughly translated...in the islands we don't have the time, we have time.
Now that's a birthday cake to celebrate Acadian Day!
And on to a sandy beach...it stretches for 16 km.
Seaweed and footprints...
The white strips are actually sun bleached seaweed.
Me and my roomie, Carolyn...
Dan and Karen from Fredericton...the day before I had noticed his last name and said that I knew a family with that name in Bathurst. Of course, it was his brother! Small world.
Enjoying the beach...
And we made time for ice cream...
Mango something...it was delicious!
From the beach, it was on to the second largest wooden church in North America...
It was built between 1872-1881 and enlarged in the early 1900s.
Legend has it that the church was built of lumber from a cursed shipwreck. During a fierce storm, a ship carrying lumber wrecked off the islands. The captain cursed and offered the cargo to the devil in a fit of rage. The locals collected the timber to build the church, but storms struck three times destroying the structure. The villagers had a priest bless the "cursed wood" and construction finally succeeded.
Gilles showing where an image resembling Christ supposedly appeared in the wood...
Damage from Fiona has not been completely repaired yet...
A large cemetery...and a Jehovah's Witness Kingdom Hall is next door. They all get along!
I'm guessing Melanson is a derivative of the name Molaison.
Our last game of Five Crowns. Carolyn definitely had beginner's luck and whooped our butts. She does not have a poker face and laughed hysterically when she saw her last hand. Out of 13 cards, 7 were wild.
We were not impressed. This is a joke in the Schnarr family and what happens when the winner is just a bit too jubilant.
Gilles came back and performed for us that night. We were very appreciative of him and his love for the islands.
Ugh...up at 4:30 am and on the bus at 5:15. The ferry was leaving at 7:00 and Adam wasn't taking any chances on us missing it.
Not quite the same party as on the way over, but there was entertainment.
It was a super long day and we got home after 8:00 pm. Having a snooze on the bus.
The Islands are incredible and so beautiful. I would love to go back and take the time to enjoy them more fully.
Our next getaway will be a week at a cottage in Bathurst in September. There is no way Jim is getting out of this one!
