Day 6 McGill's Go Up North - Tadoussac, St Lawrence, Mer et Monde

We woke up on Day 6 at our campsite at Mer et Monde overlooking the St. Lawrence. I didn't sleep most of the night because of a crazy lightning storm, trying to figure outHOW safe we actually are, and counting the seconds between lightning and thunder. We woke up to a very drizzly morning but we were all safe and sound!

We hung out in the tent for a while, hoping the rain would stop and the sun come out. A few times we thought we were in the clear and then it started again. Scot eventually went outside and made us bacon in the drizzle. What a great husband/ daddy!

The rain stopped a few minutes at the time, but not only was it wet, it was really chilly. We did see a few whales from our tent, so that was worth it!

So here is where things took a little turn for the worst and I really don't have any pictures, so here is a picture of a pretty flower! The rain kept going and going, so we decided to get in the car and get some coffee. Closest bakery we could find was back in Tadoussac (about 25 minutes). Went there, got coffee, sunshine in Tadoussac, we are excited and drive back to the campsite... still raining there. From the car to the campsite, we have to take a small walk across rocks... I forgot to pack myself any other shoes besides Toms and Flip Flops... Can you see where this is going? My Toms are nice and wet and they are not really meant for climbing over slippery rocks. I have my coffee in one hand, my camera in the other hand and.... ouch I fall and hit my tailbone HARD, plus scrape the side of my left leg. (It's now 16 days later and it still hurts like crazy!).

I spent the next hour crying in the tent. This was bad... and we are suppose to kayak for 4 hours later in the afternoon!

Scot and the kids decide the drizzle will never stop and make the best out of it, so they explore! From the distance, I was praying no one else falls and gets hurt!

This last picture, isn't our campsite, but look how amazing this looks! If there is a next time, then I want to stay here.

We decide to drive back to Tadoussac, to go to the Marine Museum, have lunch and run a few errands. Three years ago we bought Finn a Beluga whale at the Museum and we promised him that one day we will show him the whales. Finn named the Beluga, Beluga and has been his best friend ever since. He decided with the $20 from Oma, he would buy Beluga a friend. So, he bought Baleine the Humpback whale. Baleine means whale in French.

After we purchased Baleine, we sat outside and enjoyed the view of the Fjord. In the picture below, you can see the ferry we took across the Fjord the day before.

Three years ago, Scot and I ate at this restaurant (below) and we had THE most amazing Fish & Chips. We talked many times about it and looked forward to having Fish & Chips again here. Unfortunately they changed owners and the food was less than mediocre. We were very disappointed. BUT luckily the sun FINALLY came out and it stopped drizzling and it warmed up!

I forgot to mention that during the course of the day, something bit Finn on both eyelids and under his hair on his neck. His ears were actually bloody from all the bites. We gave him some Benadryl, but it didn't seem to do much for him. I felt awful for him!

We took a little walk on the beach in Tadoussac and collected shells, sea urchins, pretty driftwood and sand glass. Our spirits finally started lifting and we all looked forward going back to our campsite and start our kayaking tour!

On our way home, we stopped at the Post Office to send our postcards to friends and family.

We got back to the campsite, and got ready for our kayaking tour. I tried to rest as much as I could as I was in so much pain still from the fall.

We met up with our Tour guide, Sammy. Sammy was German and French -Canadian. He was only 20 years old and about to start studying Marine Biology in Japan. He works in the summer as a kayaking guide and in the winter as a ice fishing guide. He was also very interested in History and told us the history of Quebec, which Scot and Jake found interesting. We all loved him and seriously hope we see him again! 

Sammy, also explained to us the marine life in the area and we talked about the whales we would hopefully see. He then helped us get our gear. We all had to wear a neoprene suit, a kayaking jacket, a kayak skirt, neoprene booties and a life jacket. It took some time to get all that gear on and I was seriously struggling getting the suit on with my tailbone hurting like that.

After we were all geared up, we got some lessons on how to hold a paddle, how to enter and exit the kayak and so on...

There were about 30 other people kayaking that day, but luckily since we were the only people not speaking French we had our own tour guide. Sammy helped us in the water and we started our tour. Jake and Finn did great paddling and we saw our first Minke whale soon. But then things went crazy...

About 30 minutes of paddling, lightning struck in near distance. We were told to paddle immediately to shore to evacuate. More lightning struck and the guides were starting to yell a little more for us to hurry to get to shore. We got to shore, immediately had to get out, walk up the beach, climb up these boulders, climb back down on the other side.... remember my tailbone and we have a 6 year old with us! We could hear thunder in the distance and the urgency for us to evacuate grew more and more.

In the picture above, do you see our kayaks in the very distance? After climbing over the boulders, we climbed up this hill, through some thick brush and through mosquito hell.

We finally reached a little road, where a pick up truck was waiting for us. Unfortunately there were too many people and we decided to walk back!

The tour was cancelled, we were bummed but hoped to do the tour the next day and this was kind of a fun little adventure.

We went back to the campsite, and started making dinner. Scot and I ate the most amazing steak, which totally made up for the bad Fish & Chips we had for lunch.

At the end of the night, we all sat around the fire again... I looked over my left and there was a whale... but this whale was doing something different, that I have never seen other whales do before and the whale had a white front... OMG a humpback whale!!! They are even rare for up there but we were told that there was a young one hanging out there this summer. We couldn't believe our luck and he gave us a show for the next 10 minutes. It really was amazing and the best possible ending of this day!