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Buck Park, Magdalen Islands or ‘Parc Buck, Iles de la Madeleine’ starts off with a stop at the kiosque to learn more about the park, why it was created, some of the plant and animal life found there and the description of the park.At almost every turn, there is a park bench where one can stop and relax, listen to the birds, crickets or frogs and contemplate moving on to the next bench. The tranquility of the park makes moving on difficult.

Picturesque signs let visitors know exactly where they are in the park and what they can expect to see on each of the paths. The signs also give the number of kilometers (meters) of each path.The marsh path can go around some marshes…,and through other marshes…,

Before entering the woodland paths.
Trees can reach 70 feet in height in the park and have a trunk with the diameter of three feet or more. Not a bad feat for a wind swept salt island. My largest camera is sitting on the branch to give some scale to the tree but it is too small to be seen well.
More signs are found at the beginning and ending of all the paths so that the visitor can sit and think about where he/she might like to go next.Throughout the park there are charming steps and boardwalks to ease the path of the visitors and to protect the wildlife.One of the most exciting parts of Buck Park is the woodland walk to Lake Quinn or ‘Le Lac’ as it is called. Squirrels scatter across the path, playing and searching for grain and seed that the plants have dropped. They have a healthy curiosity about the visitors to their home.Lake Quinn is the embodiment of pure tranquility. The manganese mine of the 1940′s….

RV Campsite and caravaning around the Continent! Is there anything more pleasant, fun and friendly in this world? This is an activity that more people are opting than any other means of travel. For those who don’t enjoy sleeping in a different bed each night, RVing is an excellent option. Visit exotic places and take your home with you, something like a snail or a turtle.

RVing seems mostly to be a retired baby boom activity but more younger people are taking their work with them and they stay in contact with their employers by means of internet access.

Campgrounds on the Magdalen Islands

The Iles de la Madeleine has seven campgrounds that enjoy rv campers with a total of 663 sites of various accommodations. All are within walking distance of beaches and many have programmed activities on site.

One campground has a maximum of 30 amps of electricity to the rv site while the other campgrounds have up to 15 amps. All have access to wireless internet, showers, toilets, laundry, docking station for emptying septic systems, accept dogs on leashes and have common services.

Shaded camp sites are also available at some of the campgrounds. The price range is approximately between $20 and $30 per night for two adults and two children.

Amherst Island/Ile de Havre-Aubert

-   Beautiful Beach Campgrounds (Camping Belle Plage)

-   Gulf Beach Campgrounds (Camping Plage du Golfe)

Grindstone Island/Ile de Cap-aux-Meules

-   Barachois Campgrounds (Camping Barachois)

-   Islands Plover Motel Campgrounds (Camping Motel Pluvier des Iles)

-   Big Cape Campgrounds (Parc de Gros Cap)

House Harbour Island/Ile de Havre-aux-Maisons

-   Sillion Campground (Camping des Sillions)

Coffin Island Grand Entry/Grande-Entrée

-   Samphire Campground (Camping la Salicorne)

Camping Belle Plage

Camping Plage du Golfe

Camping Motel Pluvier des Iles

Parc de Gros Cap

Camping Barachois

Camping La Salicorne

Camping des Sillions

Vacancier

They have, “Discover the Quebec Province as Seen From the Saint-Lawrence River: One Week Cruise From Montreal”. The cruise run has been in place for years but this year is special….

On June 10th, the “Cruise of yester years” is added to the agenda. In addition to the regular voyage, will touch land at Pointe-au-Pic in the Charlevoix region, near the casino and the famous Richelieu Manor. Passengers will be able to enjoy a full day in the area, discovering new adventures by various organized tours. The 1960′s anchor for Jeunesses d’Aujoud’hui, Joel Denis will be on board to entertain the guests during the evenings, along with the ships regular entertainers. And of course there is the famous lobster meals that the Vacancier is well know for….

On the September 9th cruise, the gourmet cruise, the Vacancier will take their guests to a new destination will on their route from the islands. It will stop at the Saguenay and the Charlevoix regions as well as spending three days on the islands. Then the ship will sail the famous Fjord and stop at the La Baie, allowing for a magnificent exploration of the area. Chefs Jean-Paul Grappe (Vacancier), Marcel Bouchard (La Baie) and Jean-Michel Breton (Richelieu Manor) will serve up scrumptious gourmet meals.  Guided tours will be available in both regions.

Groupe C.T.M.A. cruises have always been a highlight to the islands, but these two new stops will mean that the ship will be faster on the water, less time voyaging and more time adventure and learning. These are two cruises that are meant to be traveled by anyone for an affliction for cruising….

Chateau Madelinot

Prior to the Canadian Seal Hunts, on the Iles de la Madeleine, locals and tourists alike enjoy the annual seal watch. As soon as the Gulf of Saint Lawrence fills with huge drifts of ice and the harp seal begin to pup, there is a desire amongst the people to see these wonderfully soft white pups in their natural habitats.

This year unfortunately there will be no official seal watch. The hosts of the seal watch tours has canceled its attraction the second year in a row, due to the lack of solid ice in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence.

Seal watch companies have been taking reservations all winter for the event. Many bring their clients to the islands by charter plane from Halifax, get flown out to the ice flows by helicopter and spend time with the fuzzy little fellas.

Islanders also take the helicopters out to see the seal pups and enjoy the day taking pictures. Seal watching is big business when the ice arrives.

All is not lost though. You see, some of the seal actually arrive on the islands, where they have their pups on the beaches. This allows mostly locals to enjoy the Joys of Winter in quiet solitude. For the most part, these young animals are not subject to being prey to whales, polar bear and other predators. Those who would generally hunt seal tend to leave them alone as the seal become a break in the monotony of winter life.

Visitors still come but not so much. While they are here they enjoy the winter carnivals and ice sculptures made by the artists of the islands. In just about every night spot, music blasts out to encourage entrance. Restaurants serve their finest cuisine and most of the islands museums and eco-museums are open for visitations.

So you see, the islands are not only known for the infamous Canadian Seal Hunts of its day. Islanders are a gentle folk, enjoying all that nature has to offer. Every individual island has a lot to see and even more to do. They protect their environment to the best of their abilities and their environment protects them. Winter is a win-win situation for Islanders and visitors alike.

Long before the discovery of the islands by Jacques Cartier, long before the Basques, Normands, Bretons and English fishermen found wealth around the islands, long before Columbus discovered North America and the Vikings explored this area, the Micmac tribe came to the islands, in their canoe-like boats, to fish the mackerel and fall herring and to hunt the seal. In others words, prior to a thousand years ago, the islands were occupied by humans, if only seasonally.

The Vikings arrived in L’Anse aux Meadows on the northern tip of Newfoundland about a thousand years ago. They made a small encampment and stayed at least ten years. They explored the area and came south on the western side of the island province. It is known that they did battle with the natives and their leader, Leif Ericson’s brother was lost.

It is also known that honey nuts were found at the encampment which meant that they had to have traveled the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to reach Nova Scotia, the only know place where they could have harvested the nuts. It is difficult to imagine that the Vikings would have by-passed the Magdalens without so much as landing on them for fresh water. No trace of these explorers has been found, as of yet.

coloring by Emma

It is believed that the French fishermen found the Grand Banks around six hundred years ago, which eventually led them into the Gulf and to the migrating fish banks around the islands. The English were also on the seas looking for the best fishing grounds and suspected to be here. There is no real proof that they were here, but then again it is widely known that a fisherman will never tells where his favorite fishing hole is. The fishermen did not record the information.

Then in 1534, Jacques Cartier arrived with two ships from the north and 61 crew members, following the Viking trail through the Strait of Belle Isles. He recorded that they spotted the three Bird Rocks and stopped on the second to retrieve eggs and fresh meat of the birds. His men took the Great Auk, a marine bird and only Northern hemisphere penguin species, which has been extinct to the world for the past hundred years or so.

He then visited Brion Island which he named in honor of the principal financial backer of his expedition, Philippe Chabot, Admiral de Brion, “The island in question is the best land we have seen, as one acre of this land is worth more than all of Newfoundland. We found lots of beautiful trees, meadows, fields of wild wheat and flowering peas, as many kinds and as beautiful as any I have ever seen in Brittany, and it looked as if they had been planted there by man’s hand. There are many currants, strawberries and roses, parsley and other sweet-smelling herbs.”

To be continued in later posts…