We had a full day tour organised by Marie and it was action packed, to say the least… Our guide, Vicky was born and bred here and very proud of her ancestry and mother tongue…. Interesting to note that English is their second language to French. A short drive to Centre Plein Air Bec-Scie, (the National Park) where we walked for half a kilometre along the beautiful river/gorge, whilst learning about the medicinal uses of local plants and trees, etc., with blueberries growing wild J …. and also admiring the beauty of this pristine environment.
Nestled into the beautiful thick canopy of nature, we arrived at the indigenous site of a very proud First Nations couple, dressed in their traditional skins with smiles from ear to ear. We enjoyed explanations of their hunting, trapping and fishing techniques as well as admiring all the various hides of so many animals, including bear, beaver, fox, moose, to name a few, as well as all their handmade implements and tools. They treated us to morning tea of a scone/cake with syrup and 'billy' tea and we all had photos taken 'dressing up'. We were farewelled with a blessing and given a token stone by Mrs. Mitch whilst Mitch (can't remember their names) drummed in the background.
Just a short ride in our yellow school bus to our three course yummy lunch venue in a small log cabin with the most brilliant view of the lake and imposing Rabaska Canoes…. A very welcome meal of soup, tasty beef pie with veg., followed by a sweet caramel flan – we were hoping for a blueberry pie, but we certainly could not complain.
Ok, now it was time to don those life jackets and get ourselves into those skinny canoes…. After lots of laughs whilst actually getting everyone into the canoes and then the heckling about 'skull in time' please, we had great fun enjoying the tranquil waters – strangely enough there was not a single badger, fish of any kind, bird or any species of wildlife to be seen or heard – just us!!!!
Well this day just kept giving and before we knew it we were back in the bus and on our way to hopefully sighting some big black bears in the wild…. And fortunately we did – our viewing log cabin was elevated and we were amazed to see six bears who just strolled around doing what bears do. The truth be known is that they are accustomed to 'afternoon tea' of cake and syrup at this spot each day and obviously look forward to their treats, whilst the tourists snap away with their cameras.
Our day was complete and we enjoyed every single minute with our knowledgable guide….. and thanks again Marie for organising this very memorable adventure.
