As I mentioned in an earlier post, when we left Quebec City, we would be re-tracing our steps, but this time going against the current. We had therefore 2 veeeeeeerrrry long cruising days ahead of us – cruising at around 6kts. These were working days, which despite me attempting to clear, I did end up having quite a few meetings scheduled. Therefore, I took the first driving shift very early in the morning, while David napped since he would be doing the bulk of the driving in the afternoon with me trading off when he had to join calls. It rained the entire day, and as we were cruising during the week day we met with several shipping container ships that passed us with several large wakes!
We stopped for the night in Trois Rivieres on anchor and then again just off La Pierre island. These were long cruising days with low key dinners on the boat while rafted at anchor.
We were trying to get reservations in Montreal, but as it would turn out it was a Quebec regional holiday and we could not find any capacity in any marina anywhere! After formulating and throwing out a few different plans, we decided that we would aim for St Anne, which is on the island of Montreal, but at the western-most tip. There is a free lock wall in the middle of the town, which had a 2-night stay maximum, but we had heard that it might be possible to ask nicely to extend our stay. We would arrive just shy of being able to spend the weekend there, where we might be able to make it to Montreal by bus.
The last portion of our cruise to St Anne, the wind started to pick up and we had some pretty strong waves – so Alex had a true boating experience. We arrived in St Anne just after lunch time, and Alex headed off to the bus to visit Montreal and catch up with a mutual friend who also happened to be in the city for work. Unfortunately I was not able to join due to having to complete the work day, but they had a nice time catching up. Just after Alex boarded the bus, the sky opened up as our phones started warning us of a marine thunderstorm.
The second day in St Anne, we confirmed that we would be able to stay through the weekend – yay – and made plans to bus in to the city on Saturday. On Friday night, we had an amazing Fondue dinner. Our waitress, who owned the restaurant along with her husband, was quite the character! The meal was incredibly delicious, starting off with three different kinds of cheese fondue.
The next day, after some quick shopping at the St Anne farmer’s market, we rode the bus into Montreal, about an hour’s ride, and wondered around the city on something of a self-guided tour, ending with a couple of breweries.
On Sunday morning, because we had been able to find Rugbrod, a special kind of Danish bread, Alex was about to make Smorrebrod for brunch. This is a kind of sandwhich buffet with fillings like eggs, potatoes, danish meatballs, and garnishes such as fresh tomatoes, lettuce, blanched onions, and caramelized onions. It was delicious!!
