What an amazing day!!!! I had so much fun today. 😀. I got up at 0530, and realized that I had oatmeal and Chai tea with me….excellent, as breakfast is over an hour away…and I didn’t really eat any dinner. I quickly packed up and headed off under cloudy skies. There was a bit of drizzle, but not bad enough to put on a jacket. It actually cooled me off a bit….still so hot and muggy. Feels tropical actually. So much debris on the road with washouts due to the amount of rain that fell yesterday.
When I got close to the bridge to get off the island, I noticed a store, so headed in. It’s an amazing bakery/butcher/grocery store….just amazing. I’m trying to eat well….but really the only thing she had for breakfast was a croissant, filled with almond paste then covered in chocolate….so I had to eat it!!!! That and an earl grey tea…..yummm. I bought a sandwich for lunch and a drink….I'm all set. The bridge was just as scary as yesterday, thankfully with less traffic. Finally off the bridge, I headed back to Québec city on the same path as yesterday.
With all the water that fell yesterday, I was only thinking about the debris on the road, and the standing water puddles, but I never thought about the flooded underpasses. I had one underpass to navigate….there was a sump pump going….but I couldn’t wait….so in I went! I had no idea how deep the water was. The farther I went, the water kept creeping up and up and up….the water level peaked once the bottom of my shorts were wet. Which meant wet shoes for the day. I had briefly contemplated removing my cycling shoes….but that was too much work, so wet feet it was!
I decided to take the ferry from Québec city to the south side of the St Lawrence….it would have saved me lots of time if I hadn’t gone around in circles for 30 min trying to find the place. Construction, no signage and just a man sitting beside a small kiosk covered in small sticky labels in bright orange that said - On Strike. Ferry operators and bus drivers have been on strike for the past two weeks….just when festival is happy in Québec city. Anyways….this small nondescript place was it, and he sold me a ticket. He sold me a ticket for was about to say something….but he actually saved me money..,.so all good with me. 😳😀
The ferry ride was short, but I managed to get some nice photos of Old Québec and the Chateau Frontenac. On the other side…I was tired. I had only cycled 40 km so far, but it was now 1230, it was getting hotter by the minute. I sat in the shade, drank some water and ate my sandwich and second croissant- they were only sold in pairs of course!!!! Eventually I headed out…and actually I was feeling good, much better than I thought I would be feeling. I chose this town because it has a Canadian tire so that I can buy something to repair my pole, and a selection of restaurants and a campground. I called the campground several times….no answer. Well….I kept on going, hoping that I could sweet talk whoever was in charge to give me a small place to set up my tent.
I passed a cheese shop when I was only 15 km away from the town, so I went in and bought some fruit and cheese curds. They had just taken them out of the fridge as they should be eaten at room temp. When I got to the campground the lady in charge said you must be Lucille on the bike! Yup, that’s me. She couldn’t believe that I had cycled all the way from port Hardy! We were chatting, me practicing my French and having fun,,,I then offered her some of my cheese curds as the package was much too big. She said no, but the man who’s going to show me to my campsite….he would love some she said. So I offered him the cheese curds when he entered….well he was over the moon! So excited….best cheese curds around he said! When I finally got around to eating them….oh were they tasty. Glad I had shared though…..as I hate to waste.
Met a couple who are also cycling….just a small tour of 2000 km. He was a mechanic in a hospital, so knew how to use the stuff I bought for the pole repair. With the humidity it’s not curing as quickly as we thought….so I’m in my tent without poles tonight…..feels like a bivy bag…..except that the mosquitoes can bite me through the mesh because it’s on me. I’ll have to get inside my sleeping bag even though it’s still hot outside. Hopefully the pole repair works. It will take over 10 days to get a replacement set, and I’m not sure where to send it. Maybe I’ll call them tomorrow….in the mean time fingers crossed that the repair works. I can still put up my tent….but it’s wonky, and it’s not water proof. Well….one day at a time. 😀
1 comment:
Oh my! Lots of water to deal with! Jo and I will be camping at Montmagny on Aug 5 - are you at Pointe aux Oies campground? If yes, let me know what it is like😊
Hope your sleep tonight can happen without the mosquitoes eating you alive!
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