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 The wind picked up steadily during the night—so much so that it kept me awake and slightly alarmed at the way the fabric would snap and the tent-fly buffet wildly against the wind. I mayhaps have dreamed of us unpegging and blowing gustily from the cliff and into the ocean.
Nothing untoward ended up happening so we dressed and headed for breakfast into the main town of Cap-aux-Meules. I had an otherwise unforgettable breakfast at a family diner on the main strip. Afterwards we stopped a wonderful bakery and bought sandwiches of capicollo and brie for later in the day.
 We spent our morning and early afternoon alternately fighting the blustery East wind and riding it up and down the scenic coast. We stopped at the cliffs of Belle-Anse for a spell and some pictures and enjoyed a day of wonderful cycling. I actually feel sorry for those that have to drive—they must miss so much of the scenery as they speed past. The houses are gorgeous—cedar-shingled and painted in a variety of bright colours. It's hard to be somewhere on these islands and not have an amazing view. It's interesting that the earliest of inhabitants were Acadians that came here during the great Exile, shipwreck survivors, and the French from St-Pierre-and-Miquelon during the French Revolution. I can see why they decided to stay.
 At the end of a long, rough road we found ourselves at a microbrewery overlooking vast dunes where birds and boats ply the wind and waves. Inside, we spent some time sampling their three brews—where even the barley used is grown locally—and chatting with the bartender who gave us some pickled herring to eat (it's my birthday, after all). I'd love to take some of the beer back home but it will have to stay in my stomach!
 We came back to the campsite for naps, the cool breeze a nice relief from the sun (and a far cry from the blistering heat at home).
We later headed out, by foot (we didn't want to cycle), to the nearby lobster processing plant-slash-cafeteria where we picked a couple of huge lobsters to devour for dinner. It was, in fact, this place that I ate at 7 years ago—at the time you had to bring your own wine, but now there's a bar and a certain semblance of tourism. In any case, we left stuffed and happy.
 We continued our walk into town (about 2-3 km) where we found ourselves at a very cozy and dynamic cafe/bar called "Pas Perdu"—candlelit, bustling, and with some amazing live, acoustical guitar music being played.
Gill and I proceeded to have a few drinks. Actually, she had two and I had... um... four or six... of the beer from the brewery we had visited earlier. We spotted several people from the ferry—and then a young English couple from our campground at the next table.  I introduced myself and they asked us to sit with them, so we spent some time discussing our trips and backgrounds. Jason and Jen offered us a ride back when the bills came which we gratefully accepted.
The park is quiet, and the wind has disappeared. The lights from the houses twinkling in the background across the island are beautiful. If the weather is nice tomorrow we hope to visit La Grave.
Let's hope!
One person has commented on this article.  No.1 À l'abri de la TempêteBelle photo,
Merci de votre visite dans l'archipel, au plaisir de vous revoir.
Santé,
Jean-Sébastien
Brasseur |
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