Sat July 23: Portneuf to Quebec City marina

Determined to get a big push from the outgoing tide, my poor little alarm had to re-familiarize itself with this terrible time:

And to add insult to injury the boat spiders had been busy during the night (we are actually quite grateful to them for doing their best with the bugs.  Really, they should all weigh about 400lbs, given the number of flying things they are up against)

About halfway to Quebec City I came fully awake, and realized the land had started to take on more topography.  It's hard to see in this pic, but the three sailboats ahead of us are silhouetted (good French word) against a dark cliff.  The land should continue to climb all the way to the Sagueany River.

Rick's fear that the waters and marinas would be overwhelmed with people, starting July 15 with the holidays, has not come true, so far.  It may once we are between Montreal and Ottawa, next month.  However, his worry that we would be boarded DID come true.  (It was only a matter of time, so better to get it over with) With Quebec City in sight, we could see the small Royal Mountie boat randomly stopping boats.  This was an expected event, but Rick was still giddy with adrenaline about it.  You will not be surprised to hear he was AWESOMELY prepared - both of us in life jackets, passports at the ready, boat logs tidy, emergency gear up-to-date, 2022 boating docs properly displayed, courtesy flags hung, CanPass on his phone, etc.  The Mounties were adorable and friendly, and impressed with his preparedness. Mostly it was just friendly chatting.

You never know when you will need full battle dress when boarding a pleasure boat.

Now giddy with relief and excitement, we came around the corner to see Quebec City. As the poet Alain Grandbois once said, "le visage de Quebec est l'un des plus emouvants parmi les visages du monde" (the face of Quebec City is one of the most moving faces of the world).

The marina of Quebec City sits in Louise Basin, right by Old Town.  There is a lock that protects the Basin from the extreme highs/lows of the tidal flow.  If the tide is high, the doors of the lock are open on both sides.  At any other time one must lock up/down from/to the St Lawrence River.

Up we go.

It was hot and late by the time we tied up (that took awhile because we forgot that West is indicted by 'O', for Ouest, and so had trouble finding our spot at slip 19O).  I was on the verge of hangry, so we found the closest thing possible, a Quebec taco truck, and arranged to meet Mike and Linda there. It was an EXPERIENCE!  It was a water park/restaurant - not the kind of thing that would ever pass muster with the food service health inspectors in the US. I was equal parts fascinated and grossed out!

Great to see our ship-mates/deck hands again!  We hugged as tho it had been years since our last meeting...

Afterward we got in a bit of walking around to see the sights in the Old Port part, before tucking up to wait out the evening rain:

Look - they are using the old dock space as a swimming pool!  Since I've seen what grey water comes out of the boats in a marina, I might think twice about swimming in such a pool.  But it's a great use of space.

Gorgeous old gare (railway station).

The Museum of Bad Art is putting on a street exhibition called Unusual Passages - all around the town of QC are installations that might not look like 'art', but upon further examination are thought provoking.  Here are 4 examples brought to you exclusively through the Blue Horizon blog!

This one is called "Still not my story".  No, I don't get it either!

  The piece on the left is from Sweden, and is called 'When my father died it was like a whole library had burned down'.  It's very cool, and reflects on mourning - for transmission lost, for knowledge gone. With parents in their 90s this is really meaningful to me.  I'm in a race against time to get all my questions answered, and all the stories told.

The one on the left here, called 'Life Jackets' is by Ai Wei Wei, so of course I had to see it. These symbols of protection were used by Syrians refugees fleeing war.

This one is from Canada, and called 'Myth and Evidence' and has to do with the blurring of truth and fiction.

QC is a Unesco World Heritage City - it's been here since 1609!