RV is finally fixed – only took 5 days, but we are able to continue on our way. Picked up some supplies and did some needed laundry and will be heading out of Quebec City in the morning.

Left Quebec City Saturday heading for Les Escoumins to hopefully see some Beluga whales. On the Route de la Novelle France, we pass the Montmorency Falls which are very visible from the road, but we did not bother to stop as they are nothing like Niagara. Parking is also expensive, but we do admire them from the highway as we drive by.

We are taking the scenic route, so we pass many old building and churches in the small villages. Our first stop is at Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre, a religious pilgrimage shrine. The church is spectacular, huge and clean stone with a breathtaking entrance complete with gold doors. The ceiling is at least 100 ft high and incredibly detailed. A service is underway, so exploring and picture taking was not encouraged. Inside the entrance, two huge pillars are filled with crutches, canes, walkers etc of the “healed” and both side hallways contain numerous confessionals, some in use. Outside next to the gift shop is a booth than you can get your souvenirs blessed by a priest dressed in white robes. A very different but nice stop.

The Charlevoix region is next –  a narrow highway full of hills with huge descents of up to 15% grades, so steep the road disappears as you approach the descent. By the time we reach the end, I’m convinced that the engineer used to design rollercoaster rides. Aside from that, it’s a pleasant drive thru very picturesque villages filled with quaint churches, lots of old heritage brick buildings and cemeteries. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to pull off and take any pictures. We take a ferry across the Saguenay river mouth to Tadoussac that runs 24h a day before making our final stop of the day at Cap-de-Bon-Desir Interpretation and Observation Centre. We arrive just in time to view a couple of Minke whales from the shoreline, as well as numerous harbor dolphins before we have to leave. The whales are so close we can see their blowholes.

We overnight across from the town of Les Escoumins on a peninsula of land that juts out into the river with a dozen other RVs all parked along the road enjoying the beach and the beautiful view of the town across the water.

Our second day is spent whale watching.  We take a cruise out into the Saguenay Marine park where the waters are protected from casual boating.  Our zodiac is full with 30 people and a naturalist.  we are lucky to see some minke whales, porpoises, seals, as well as some humpbacks.  The humpbacks are breathtaking when they flip up the tail as they dive.  Unfortunately, we do not see any belugas, but apparently, there are only about 900 of these left in the wild today.  We spend some more time again whale watching from the rocks at the interpretation center and see more minke whales. Back to our beach campsite for another night of free camping.