Some catching up is required

 When I last left you I was getting ready to ride from Shediac to Caraquet which as you all know is on the east side of La Baie des Chaleurs. I followed the Acadian Coastal Drive which, as the name suggests, runs along the Northumberland Strait going through such places as Bouctouche, where I had breakfast at a restaurant called La Sagouine, Richibucto and Grande Anse where I took these pictures.

Caraquet itself was a bust. There was nowhere good for dinner. After waiting half an hour after ordering a small pizza, which was after 15 minutes had first been wasted waiting to place the order, I bailed. I think it’s the first time in my life that I have left a restaurant after having placed an order for food. And my reward was to cross the street and have a Teenburger at A&W.

Wednesday I rode from Caraquet to Carleton-sur-mer, an interesting enough route along the coast. I stopped at a small shoreside park to examine an interesting rock formation, a kind of mini Bonaventure Island with hundreds of birds nesting on the top.

Carleton-sur-mer is a pretty tourist destination but not a place where I was able to find a good meal. But the beer at the local microbrewery was good and I was able to go out and walk along the shore.

Thursday was a busier day. I started off by going to visit the graveyard in Saint Siméon, my father’s birthplace, and I found the final resting places of my grandmother, Salomé Babin, my grandfather, Jean Bujold, and a number of aunts and uncles. The cross marks her gravesite while her husband’s which is right beside hers has lost its headstone.

From Saint Siméon I backtracked to New Richmond where I took the 299 which cuts across the Gaspé Peninsula. When I asked the person at the tourist information stand at the bottom end of the road what was  absolutely essential to see along the road she said: “rien, seulement les montagnes et les rivières”. But nothing didn’t really mean nothing. The scenery was amazing. The Cascapédia River, a very famous salmon river follows the 229 and there are marked spots where fly fishers can gain access to the gravel shores of the waterway. I saw many cars and pickup trucks with very long fishing rods attached to them with special holders. Except for a brief spell of rain the ride was great.  I arrived in Cap-Chat early enough to find a place where I could wash some clothes and book into my motel room for the night.

After a late forgettable dinner in probably the noisiest restaurant I have been in, not because of any music but the loud competing chatter from large groups at tables celebrating birthdays or whatever, I rode back to my room for some sleep.

When I got up this morning the sky was partly overcast and the temperature was around 17C. Highway 132 East literally hugs the shore of the St Lawrence and there are dangers along every stretch, from rocks and snow that can fall from cliffs, to waves that can eat up cars, and probably more troubling than anything else, bicyclists. 

But there are also some stunning sights along the route. I will leave you with a few more pictures including some of the most impressive Rocher Percé where I am now waiting until my 6:00 dinner reservation .