The Adventures of Adriana1: Charlottetown to Gaspe

We had a few blogging technical problems but glad to be up and running again.Charlottetown was great especially since we could enjoy it with Willem and Josiah still on board. We entered this port on Canada day coming from Pictou.The weather was warmer and the sun was shining. The cruise ship'Maasdam' was also docked there. This confederation town was alive with people and music celebrating Canada's 146th birthday.We enjoyed a dinner outing on the busy main street and later spectacular fireworks on the waterfront--viewed from our boat . On Wed. Bill and the boys took the dingy out for a tour of the harbour .and waterfront. This time the 'Veendam' was in port. One of the 75 cruise ships booked to visit Charlottetown this season. To finish the day we went to see the musical 'Anne of Green Gables'. . Thursday, we rented a car and toured the island , saw the beaches and visited Lucy Maud Mongomery's country.We also drove over to Summerside and saw and reserved a boat slip[dock] for the Friday.That was the first time Bill and I ever saw the marina before taking our boat there. We made our way back to Charlottetown Airport where Willem and Josiah were booked for a 6:30 flight back to T.O. and home . Fun having you share life on Adriana 1 with us Willem and Josiah!
From Charlottetown we headed to Summerside,Nova Scotia.Saturday we moved on to Bouctouche,New Bruinswick [also Acadia country]. Everyone is bilingual in this area with French being their first language.The harbour master, John, soon told us about the beautiful parklike grounds the Irving family cultivated and designed and maintain- with many species of trees and flower gardens -amazing. We sure enjoyed our walks through there.We were really impressed with the church Mrs. Irving had built on the grounds in 2004.This started off being a Scottish settlement and Scottish Presbyterian. The harbour clubhouse was also a very special design-- looked after by the Irvings too.It was hard to leave here but Monday morning it was onto Miramiche Bay and we anchored behind Portage Island. Still surprised not to see other boats on the move. Not like Georgian Bay this time of year. On Tuesday we lifted anchor at 4a.m and it was already getting light . Early start for a long day to Chandler, the start of our Gaspe Penninsula journey. We are into Quebec now and back on EStime. We were met by the Captiene de Port, Annie. Great help! She gave us french pronunciation lessons for boat terms. Lots of fun. Apparently the way we said 'sailboat' actually was the word for thief. She liked birds too. Another lesson ! From Chandler our trip took us to the town of Gaspe. Not without reporting we saw our first 2 whales in the distance.This trip also took us past Perce Rock and Ile Bon Aventure , just over from Perce. This Island is the home and nesting ground for thousands of Northren Gannets and many other sea birds--250,000 at least. The Gannets have kept us company for many days now. They fly together in such beautiful formation-like an airshow. We had one of the best sails going into the Gaspe Baie -about 15 miles of great winds and water. We needed fuel and our shaft needed attention and Gaspe turned out to be a good place to have these looked after. What a friendly town . We went shopping for a drapeau de Quebec,and the storekeeper gave it as a gift. Merci! The next day was another big day 85 miles. We experienced currents that held us back some ,making it a long day. We were so thankful to be greeted by folks on the docks to help us tie up at Riviere -La-Madeliene. A quiet little port. The Gaspe mountains and cliffs and pretty villages along the way -very scenic!. The next day we dealt with strong head winds so were glad to get into St. Anne de Monts. Monday we had strong winds again as we made our way to Matane . Here we were allowed to anchor in a commercial harbour not far from a ferry dock. We are currently in Rimouski at a dock. We had to motor today but the wind and water and current helped us really move today.The marina here is great. We are already fuelled up ready to move on to Tadoussac tomorrow, weather permitting. We get to cross the St Lawrence River. Our plan is to be in Quebec City this weekend and meet Malcolm and Cindy and family there.