Jim and Kim's Travels: A Boat Tour of the Magdalen Islands

There was always some kind of art to admire in the hotel lobby...

Today the agenda included a boat tour and the seal interpretation centre...

You supposedly get the best view of the islands from the water. There were lots of nice boats at the dock...

Our boat for the day...very comfortable and lots of indoor seating in case of rain.

Every time I saw a map, I took a picture of it, but still remained confused as to where we were each day!

The whole gang...

I was trying to get a picture of Carolyn and me with Lynne and Marc in the background. Marc with his binoculars...he's a jokester!

Ooh, there's that hill with the stairs going to the top...now that's a lookout!

Our guide for the day giving us the life jacket demo. He was very funny as most of the islanders seem to be. Not a flattering pose...sorry, Buddy!

They've spent millions of dollars on breakwaters trying to prevent further erosion. Hurricane Fiona in 2022 caused a lot of damage with winds up to 170 km/hr. That would have been wild.

Our first look at the many cormorants...

Pretty cottages...it would be lovely to stay longer.

The cliffs are made of fragile red sandstone which is 99% quartz covered in a thin layer of iron oxide. That explains the continuing erosion...

A quiet cove for a paddle board...

A cormorant conference...

Absolutely stunning scenery...you really do get the best views from the water.

Some of these places seemed very close to the edge of the cliff...

The gals...Carolyn, Lynne and me.

Beautiful sea caves...

Poop rock!

We mostly ditched our seats and headed outside for the best views...

Marc and Lynne...

They hauled up a lobster trap so Buddy could show us live lobsters...

Even he was impressed with the size of this one!

There were 10 lobsters in the trap! He was looking for a female to show us the eggs and throwing the rest back in the water.

Wowsers! Very cool!

These hammer shaped structures are called dolos and are made of heavy reinforced concrete. The cost is huge, but so necessary to preserve the islands.

This ferry goes between the islands and cost $3. It can take 2 cars, 24 passengers and supplies.

That was fun! Back at the dock...love these boats.

A New Brunswick flag!

Marc saying goodbye to Buddy. The people in the raincoats are definitely doing a different type of tour.

Signs, signs...

Those stairs...we were determined that somehow we were going to fit this in.

It was a treasure hunt in the morning looking for your seat. Adam was pretty good about trying to accommodate everyone's preferences and still rotating the seating.

A lovely day...Fatima is the newest of the three villages on the island of Cap-aux-Meules (Grindstone Island).

We were supposed to have a boxed lunch that day, but the plan went a bit sideways. For starters, it was Acadian Day, the biggest holiday on the islands, so very little was open. The restaurant that was to provide our lunch was expecting 45 people, not 54. They scrambled and came up with more lunches, but there was not enough seating for everyone. So what do you do when that happens? Open up the luggage hold and you have built-in seating!

After lunch, it was off to the seal interpretation centre.

It was a windy day...

The islands are very popular with kite surfers and there are a few schools on the island to teach you how to surf.

The very important dunes which are covered in marram grass. The grass has long underground stems (rhizones), which form a net to hold the sand in place so it doesn't blow away. It is very important to stay off the dunes so as not to disturb the grass.

Lots of little churches...the islands at one time had 1100 farms, which is now down to 200.

A mermaid figurehead...I wonder if it came from a shipwreck?

Caught sight of this old truck...I knew Jim would enjoy it.

Brightly coloured houses were very popular on the islands and helped serve as landmarks for returning fishermen.

Arriving at the seal interpretation centre...

An aerial photo of the centre...

They look so cute...an adult seal can eat up to 1500 kg of fish in a year. They consume these amounts to maintain high energy in cold waters. I wasn't really sure I wanted to hear about how they are keeping the seal population down.

This might be a hooded seal...

Back flippers and a tail...

Our guide was again was very good. The centre is open until November and then closes until the spring.

Lots of different seals...

As a result of the seal population, cod, herring and mackerel are now endangered. Seals have no predators in the St. Lawrence. Seal hunting is regulated by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and there is training on humanely harvesting them. That's where the presentation ended, for which I was thankful.

And we were back on the bus...there are seven campgrounds on the islands.

Another church made from wood from shipwrecks...

Once again because it was Acadian Day, there was little open. Gilles called ahead and the pottery place opened for us.

This potter's work was absolutely beautiful...

There is art everywhere...

Another industry on the islands is the salt mine. It opened in 1983 and is Quebec's only underground salt mine. They are currently at about 500 m below sea level. It is owned by Windsor Salt, but provides only salt for roads rather than table salt. They produce about 1.3 million tons per year.

The headframe...they employ approximately 150 people. On this island with 500 people, it is a major employer.

That is a long conveyor!

Surprisingly, there are only two wind turbines on the island.

This was a nunnery, but is now a boutique hotel and restaurant. It was built around 1915 and was designed to train local girls to become school teachers.

Another busy day! This is in Lynne and Marc's room where we usually had pre-dinner wine and a game of Five Crowns. Lynne's bowl from the pottery place.

I think this was the only dinner picture I took. Pork tomahawk...it was huge!

Our ever kind and patient bus driver, Terry. He agreed to take us to the Big Hill after dinner so we could climb the stairs. The only caveat, we had to be back on the bus by 8:15 as he had to be off the road by 8:30 pm. No problem!