The day finally arrived!
C3 Participants were expected at the ship, docked in the Old Port, at noon. We arrived, one by one, and the excitement was palpable. Every one of us was so thrilled to be there – even those trepidatious few among us known to suffer from seasickness. (As it turns out, the water and weather cooperated nicely along the whole of Leg 2. Smooth sailing meant no hanging over the leaward side for any of us.) Introductions were made, and the small but mighty Nova Scotia contingency quickly became known for our rowdiness enthusiasm. Among the participants, there were five Nova Scotians: Carole MacLean (also from Dartmouth), James Raffin, aka JR (Pugwash), Heather Rankin of The Rankin Family (Mabou), Matt Krizan (our celebrity chef for the leg, from Mateus in Mahone Bay), and myself. Not to mention part of the ship's crew were from Nova Scotia, and all but a handful were from the east coast, mostly Newfoundland. (More on the ship and crew later.)
Day 1 saw us getting to know each other and the ship. There were two per cabin, and me and my roomie were assigned to the cabin formerly inhabited by the bosun. The cabins were small, but very comfortable and cozy, and we had more than enough space for the short spell we were aboard.
I was assigned to bunk with Dr. Lyne Morisette, Chief Scientist for Leg 2. Lyne is one of the most remarkable women I have ever met, and an expert on marine mammals. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven! Not only is Lyne exceptionally accomplished, she is also just about the nicest, coolest, person you will ever meet. Lyne travels the world doing research and advocating for the protection and conservation of marine habitat, but she does so with an attitude of compassion for people and political savvy. Check out her 2016 Ted Talk, La résilience : des écosystèmes aux humains. And here we are on Day 5, getting dolled up for dinner with the Prince of Monaco. (Yes, really! More on that later...)
Lunch was followed by our safety drills, and then we had a local historian visit the ship and speak about the Old Port and the impacts to the environment in and around the St. Lawrence River caused by infrastructure built for Expo '67. After that, we went to Les FrancoFolies where we saw 2Freres, who are rumoured to be the next big thing out of Quebec. Les FrancoFolies is an enormous outdoor rock concert at Place des Arts, attended by thousands of people every weekend all summer. Canada C3 was invited to view the concert from a loge, aka the VIP area looking down over the street and a great view of the stage.
After that (yes, there was more to come!) we were invited to view Montreal Avudo, a completely mesmerizing 30-minute multi-media show about the history of Montreal, and celebrating the 375th anniversary of its founding. The show took place on the water, and consisted of short historical vignets projected onto a giant architectural sculpture and on to the water itself which was sprayed into the air in various configurations creating a 3D effect. It was amazing, and my words don't come anywhere near describing it. This amateur video also doesn't really do it justice, but it will give you a better sense of the magnitude of this amazing show.
Finally, Day 1 was done. I've taken entire vacations where I do less than what we did on that first day. One thing was certain though, right from the start: the people who were selected to join Leg 2 were the absolute best. Over the next several days, we would bond. As cheesy as it sounds, they feel like family, and that was a feeling I got right from the get-go.
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