Bathurst to Percé

The ride from Bathurst to Percé had me following the shore of the Baie des Chaleurs on both the New Brunswick and the Québec sides. The views out onto the Baie are often quite beautiful. 

As I have mentioned in past postings one of the interesting aspects of riding a motorcycle for long distances over extended periods of time is the way the rider experiences the environment through which he is passing. For example you actually feel the changes in the temperature rather starkly. Today the temperature ranged from 22 at 7:30 when I pulled out of the hotel parking lot in Bathurst, to a high of 32.5 at lunchtime in Bonaventure, and to a low of 19 just before I arrived in Percé. Sometimes the sudden change in temperature, up or down, can be startling as it can happen over a matter of hundreds of metres. And you can smell the salt water, and the freshly mowed lawns. There's nothing like this when you're in a car.

As is my wont when I am in this part of the country, I stop at the cemeteries in Nouvelle and St Simeon to look at the tombstones of my ancestors and wonder how their lives might have been.

The Rocher Percé and Bonaventure Island are huge tourist attractions and the tiny town of Percé is all about meeting their needs with tour boat operators, restaurants, motels, and souvenir shops.

My dinner at Mathilde's, the restaurant next to the Trois Soeurs Motel, where Jane and I had eaten on a previous motorcycle trip around the Gaspé, did not disappoint. The salmon mousseline and local smoked salmon entrée was excellent; and the scallops presented on a Pineau des Charentes flavoured cream sauce, with rice and vegetables were superb. The Crawford Sauvignon Blanc was the perfect pairing. As I paid for my meal I was reminded that breakfast was served starting at 7:00. I just might have to start my day there tomorrow.

Here are a few pictures from today's segment. The first is looking out onto the Baie des Chaleurs in St Simeon, my dad's birthplace.

And this is Rocher Percé as you first see it from the road leading into town,

and again from my motel room window.

The governments are together spending $37 million to improve the shoreline in town and the results are impressive.

Here are pictures of my dinner at Mathilde's. Enjoy!