DAY 39 Manic 5 to Baie Comeau to TCH/route 20 before Montreal

Waiting for FREE ferry on Quebec 138

June 27, 2013
Driving the last of Quebec 389...
This morning I awoke at 4:25 am because someone left the heat on from yesterday; it was hot (62 degrees) in the camper (lots of blankets on).  I woke David and offered him the opportunity to beat the 40 or so trucks parked at the truck stop plus the log trucks we would meet along the way.  It was dawn and the sunrise was beautiful; then it rained ½ the day.

 

Here we re on the ten minute ferry

We thought that probably ½ of the 40 trucks in the truck stop were probably going to be breathing down our backs on the way out along with the log trucks that work the area from Manic 5 south.  We left within 5 minutes and kept checking the rearview mirror to see if they were there yet.  There were three wide loads that we were most concerned about with very few places to pull over.  The roads were winding but the up and downs to Baie Comeau were not real steep like they were before Manic 5. 

 



Another cloudy day in Quebec...on the ferry

LUCK was on our side as it took us three hours to get down there (126 miles approx.) and not one truck was behind us ever.  Maybe four small vehicles passed us but that was it.  Sited a roadside bear and moose bum.

Had breakfast out maybe 60 miles down the route 138 and then saw two of the mobile office/wide loads in a parking lot!  They obviously weren’t far behind us and they drive FAST.  All the trucks are pushing it up the hills and down.


David likes the free part of ferry.

 

After Baie Comeau on the St. Lawrence it gets scenic with many farms (surprised me!) and farm animals. This I would like to go back and revisit. 

 

Scenic 138 Quebec

We stopped at a boulangerie (bakery) for bread.  The women didn’t know a knick of English but with hand signals I was successful in buying a loaf of bread and getting it sliced…wohoo.  IT was a cheese bread (fromage) and delicious.  Good bread can be defined as an enjoyment when eaten solely by itself for the pure pleasure it.  It was in St. Remy near Baie St. Paul and it was Boulangerie La Remy...a mill and bakery...historic!  Here is the link...not to be missed:  http://www.tourisme-charlevoix.com/en/activities-attractions/artisan-bakeries-pastry-shops/Boulangerie-Meunerie-La-Remy 

Neither David or I know French; I know a few words but couldn’t make a sentence to save my life.  Ordering breakfast was a challenge but I was successful.  David whimped out and just ordered the same as me.  The waitress really didn’t know any English to speak of either.

 Our ride on route 138 along the St. Lawrence was lots of big hills/mountains and ups and downs but it was pretty there.  We didn’t know where we would end up this day. 

At one point we are driving south on route 138 in quebec province, we see lots of signs, deparately trying to figure out what they all say because they are solely in French, then we see the road end and ferry at the end.  Uh, oh…where did we go wrong.  David asked the person in front of us and it turns out this is the correct way and the ferry is FREE…the ride being only 10 minutes long.  Ok!  My map made no indication of a ferry but it did have in very small print…10 minutes…that I am guessing I was to figure out on my own.

Somehow we had managed to take out too much money so we had to convert our cash Canadian back into cash American which we did at TD bank in Quebec at a reasonable rate.  Then through Quebec in almost rush hour and out the other side to find a place to overnight.    We settled on a rest area just east of Montreal after a quick offshoot for dinner.  Lots of road noise but needed a place to stay that would be close enough to Montreal for a quick exit tomorrow morning.

To bed …will be home by tomorrow afternoon we hope.  Quebec and Montreal will be for another time when we have a tow vehicle maybe.  Our rv travel in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, and Labrador is almost over!