The North Shore

Monday Aug. 8 and beyond
In the words of the Lonely Planet, “ The further Northeast you go, the greater the distance between the villages, the fewer the people, the deeper the isolation and the wilder the nature. “ This is certainly true. It’s easy to see as we drive further east along the coast. People seem easier, the houses are mostly more basic, and the piles of firewood cut last year for this years winter, get bigger. Lot’s of quad trails every where, kids and adults riding quads along the roads and on the beach, often without helmets. It’s all against the law but no one seems to mind much. Signs along the road warning of no fuel for the next 250 kilometers. Long stretches of road through mostly muskeg and shrubs with out crops of rock rising up and small lakes on both sides. Very sandy soil where there’s the odd desolate trail going who know’s where. Quad tracks down it of course. Then we get to Longue Pointe de Mingan. Not a big place. About 300 houses or so, but a great beach with a real laid back guy, Michel who operates a camp ground with sites right on the beach. Off shore in the distance you can see a bunch of islands called the Mingan Archipelago National Park. This environmentally sensitive area is home to about 200 different bird species and some very interesting rock formations. Most islands are protected from human interference …. sort of. One of the greatest attractions on the islands is the (in French ) macareux moine. This goofy looking bird which looks like a puffin, comes here to nest in early summer and then flies back to the Eastern shores of NewFoundland for the winter. The rock along the shore is a soft shale type of stone. Over the years the wind and the water has eroded the shore and created some unique formations which are also somewhat of an attraction. Parks Canada pays the guys in the village to run tourists out to a couple of these Islands in their boats where we get guided tours by park guides. A very cool trip and worth doing. It kind of puts this part of the trip in perspective. Stay tuned.