DAY 6 - Ville de Quebec, Wendake - June 15, 2017

I spent my second morning in Quebec City catching  and tagging striped bass. It's one of the many science programs that is happening aboard the Canada C3 expedition. (You can read about it in my "Through The Porthole" post here.) We were all back aboard Polar Prince for lunch, and then we all went ashore for the rest of the afternoon and evening. We divided into two groups, and I went with the group who opted to volunteer at  SPOT (Sympathique Place Ouverte a Tous).

Photo by Mike Sudoma

SPOT is an initiative by students at the School of Architecture at Laval to transform a vacant city lot in to a fun, free community garden/market/park for the summer. It was the day before it opened, and we were there to help them get everything ready for their first day.

When we showed up, the place was a-buzz with people painting, building, landscaping, you name it. The organizers assigned us the task of re-potting a bunch of plants, and the C3 people dove right in. After the non-stop adventures we'd been having since arriving on the ship, I think we were ready to get our gardening zen on.

 When that task was done, Raven and Chaitra grabbed paintbrushes and started helping with painting, and Kevin and Jimmy ended up rolling a bunch of logs in to place for people to sit on. The go-getter attitude was really impressive in this group of people. I don't think I've ever been among so many folks who were willing to do anything, anytime, at the mere hint of a suggestion it needed doing. It was great!

The go-getter attitude was really impressive in this group of people. I don't think I've ever been among so many folks who were willing to do anything, anytime, at the mere hint of a suggestion it needed doing. It was great!

When our time was up at SPOT, a school bus came and picked us up and we were reunited with the rest of our shipmates. We were bound for Wendake, an indigenous community about a half hour drive from Quebec City.  The first place they took us was the Hotel-Musee Premieres Nations. Man, is this place impressive.

We were met at The "Hotel-Musee" by our guide, Wendake Cultural Agent, Marcel Godbout. The Hotel-Musee is a museum and a 4-star boutique hotel in one complex. When you walk through the front doors, the first thing that hits you is the smell. Wonderful tones of sweet grass and sage fill the air, and instantly your spirit is calmed and uplifted. The museum contains some of the most exquisite Huron-Wendat artifacts and sacred items dating back hundreds of years. There is no photography allowed in the museum, so you'll just have to take my word for it. Or better yet, make a visit and see for yourself. I would go back in a heartbeat. My C3 roommate, Lyne, lives a few hours drive from Wendake, and while we were walking through the community she told me that she goes and stays at the Hotel-Musee often, by herself, as an escape and a retreat, and to work and write. When she leaves, she feels renewed. It is a special place of peace and beauty.

Behind the museum, the grounds open up to a small pond and grassy area, followed by a replica of a traditional Huron-Wendat long house.

The long house is huge, and is surrounded by a tall fence made of skinny trees. I suspect the fence had a dual purpose - for security and to keep the winds out. Inside the long house, the middle is open and there are three platforms on either side... essentially an open-concept three-story house. The platforms had animal furs spread out all over them - bear, coyote, wolf.

Photo by Mike Sudoma

We were welcomed in to the long house by our tour guide, and told we could sit anywhere, including the upper levels. At least half the group took the opportunity to climb the ladders to the first platform and snuggle in on one of the furs and watch the fires. As our guide spoke about the traditions and the long house, we all got very comfortable. So comfortable, in fact, that when our guide asked that we continue on outside NOBODY MOVED. I think we all had the same thought: this place is so cozy, so welcoming, so comfortable... I'll linger a bit and catch up with the group in a few minutes. (This strategy only works if the rest of the group isn't thinking the same thing!) At our collective reluctance to leave, our tour guide let us stay in the long house a bit longer. Andrea sang us a rattle song, and that was really special. Spending just a few minutes in the long house made me understand why this was the preferred shelter of a whole nation of people. It was just so... homey. There was something about the long house that was very reminiscent of our ship, both spatially and in spirit: a place to be among friends and family where we are safe and happy.

Eventually, we did pry ourselves out of the long house, and toured outside a bit more. The grounds are lovely, and include outdoor firepits and picnic tables. The Hotel-Musee offers guests the opportunity to spend the night in the long house, and I think they do weddings and parties too. It would be so fantastic to be able to spend the night there.

These pictures don't capture the awesomeness of this place at all!

Eventually, it was time to wander down the road to the community centre that also served as a language centre. Marcel served us a nice supper of wraps, sandwiches, and salads, and a special traditional homemade sunflower soup. The soup was so intensely delicious, I took a picture of it.

Traditional Wendat sunflower soup. This is one of the few photos of food I've ever taken. It was THAT good.

I know it doesn't look like much in this picture, but man alive! It is the very definition of the word umami.

While we ate, Marcel gave us a presentation on the Huron-Wendat language, and the conservation efforts that the community has undertaken to preserve it. We were joined by one of the teachers in the community, who was a bit late because she was at a year-end concert at the school. Her knowledge of the language, and her easy-going and enthusiastic way of sharing that knowledge was really inspiring. The translations were interesting, pretty much all of them routed in the feminine, sort of like le and la in French, except it was all la and no le. It really made me think about the importance of language how it permeates culture.

Here she is, singing a beautiful Huron-Wendat song. Her voice was incredible.

I stupidly didn't write down her name. If you know it, please message me!

And here is Marcel giving us a song. He was a gifted singer too!

After our wonderful time at the community centre, we boarded the bus and headed back to the ship. As soon as we were back, the crew slipped her lines and Polar Prince sailed away from the dock, carrying on this incredible journey down the St. Lawrence.

Another terrific day.  Day 6... Wendake... it was really sinking in how big and beautiful this country is.

DAY 5 - Ville de Quebec - Wed. June 14, 2017

We woke up in beautiful Quebec City to another gorgeous sunny day. After breakfast and our morning briefing we were met at the ship by Parks Canada staff who took us on a walking tour of the city. ALL OF IT UP HILL. The walk was worth it though. The city is magnificent. I was in Paris last year, and my memories of The City of Lights came flooding back.

The mural on this building was really great. Lots of detail, and it covered the history of Quebec City.

Reminded me so much of Montmartre.

 The walk culminated at the top of the hill, near the imposing and beautiful Chateau Frontenac. The view was stunning.

The view of the St. Lawrence was incredible!

Sandra and Andrea

Chateau Frontenac

So much history in this place. It was hard to take it all in.

The Plains of Abraham were so much a part of how Canada and, in particular, Nova Scotia took shape, that it was a little surreal being there and seeing the place where it all unfolded. "Acadian Driftwood" by The Band kept floating in and out of my mind, telling the story of le Grand Derangement in a way only music can tell.  The day was so perfect, the place so peaceful, it was hard to imagine such a bloody battle having ever happened there, and the devastating consequences it would have on the Acadians living peacefully throughout the Maritimes.

The city is rife with art, including a beautiful statue of Samuel de Champlain right outside the Chateau Frontenac.

The tour guide pointed out that no one actually knows what Champlain looked like. There are no known surviving paintings or portraits of the founder of New France.

And maybe a hundred feet away, this striking Salvador Dali statue.

The classical style of the Champlain monument next to this very modern Dali was a really cool juxtaposition. What an unexpected delight to find myself in the presence of this piece of art, by my favourite artist, in Quebec of all places! Apparently, there is Dali artwork all over le Ville de Quebec... one of many reasons to make a return visit.

After exploring the grounds around the top of the hill, we were in for a very special treat. Lieu Historique National des Forts-et-Chateaux-Saint-Louis is the underground residence and seat of power of the Governors of Quebec between 1620 and 1834. It's under the Dufferin Terrace, and has been there for 300 years more-or-less untouched until 2002! Parks Canada has done some fantastic archaeological work in preserving and presenting the underground dwellings of the Governors and his cohorts. They found tons of artifacts, dishes, buttons, jewellery, etc. which is on display throughout the rather large Forts-et-Chateaux. I'm not sure how big the site is currently (a couple of city blocks maybe? IT'S BIG!), but I don't think they're done digging. Each successive Governor expanded it a bit more. The whole place has really cool stone work, and the "culinary complex" was especially impressive.

This was one of the "icehouses". Important that the Governor be able to serve sorbet year round! 

A few C3 folks got really in the zone while we were there, including Jean and Tara.

He feels pretty! Oh so pretty!...

Tara... or Terrance?

After our historic walking tour we headed back to the ship for lunch, and then we went to the conveniently located (very near the waterfront) Musee de la Civilisation for a special C3 event. We met a class of Grade Two's who had watched Paddle to the Sea (aka Vogue-a-la-mer) earlier that day. We brought along a very special guest... you guessed it! Paddle came with us to meet the children! So fun. We talked about watersheds, and what sorts of animals might live in the St. Lawrence River.

We were all given markers and paper, and we drew pictures of the animals, vegetation, fish, boats, and environment along the St. Lawrence. Now this, my friends, was an exceptionally anxiety-inducing task for me. I CAN'T DRAW OR COLOUR! Fortunately, the children were fairly encouraging (at least I think they were... there was a bit of a language barrier there :) ) and I managed to draw a picture of a "tortiere" (haha - shout out to Kevin!) sitting on a log with some very colourful tropical invasive species of fish. 

My "tortiere" hanging with some invasive species.

Then we had a small presentation where we each shared our artwork with the group. This was by far the most nerve-wracking part of the whole expedition for me! The kids' pictures were only a little bit better than mine, so that made me feel okay and I got through it. An artist I am not!

This kid did a great drawing and had very passionate presentation skills!

After this, the Canada C3 participants headed back to the ship where we were each presented with a gift from the Museum. A gorgeous coffee table book called "Journey to the Heart of the First Peoples Collection". It's a beautiful book full of photographs of rare and splendid indigenous artwork and clothing, and I will treasure it always.The pages are full of unequaled beauty.

That evening, we hosted a very special dinner aboard ship. The hanger was transformed into a lovely banquet hall fit for a king. Or at least a prince. We had Prince Albert II of Monaco join us for a terrific evening of dining and music. He was lovely! Very charming and easy to talk to.

Guylaine, me, Carol, and Chiatra hob-nobbing with Prince Albert II.

Joanne and Ellie were the bartenders for the evening.

None of us were told we'd be dining with royalty prior to the expedition, and one of the most fun parts of the evening was everyone trying to figure out how to dress up the clothes they had brought with them! Chiatra had her sari, which was a stroke of genius to have packed it. My outfit consisted of a black house dress with a bathing suit wrap as a scarf and a pair of rubber boots for my feet. No glass slippers for this Cinderella! I'm glad I had those rubber boots with me. The Newfoundland crew were pretty chuffed at my choice of footwear for the evening. Oh, how they laughed! I even learned a new saying from Drew, one of the engineers: What a lovely set of shores under that shithouse, which translates roughly to "Nice legs!"

Me and Lyne getting all dolled up for the Prince!

You may be wondering, why on earth was Prince Albert aboard Polar Prince in Ville de Quebec? The Prince is one of the patrons and sits on the board of directors for The Students On Ice Foundation, the umbrella organization overseeing the C3 Expedition. Why he happened to be in Quebec City? I'm not sure, but I'm sure glad he was. It meant for an amazing meal and a lovely evening. Our "celebrity chef" for Leg 2 was Matt Krizan of Mateus Bistro in Mahone Bay, NS. I'm not much a foodie, and not much for gushing over food, but holy smokes! The meal was fantastic! Here is the menu, and yes, every dish was as decadent as it sounds.

For those of you who are reading this and find yourselves on Nova Scotia's south shore, go to Mateus. You will not regret it. Chef Matt's cooking is amazing.

The evening was rounded out by performances by our participant musicians. Our expedition leader, Geoff Green, spoke, as did Captain Guy, and the Prince himself got up and said a few words.

Our beloved Captain Stephan Guy giving a toast. That's Chef Matt on the left surveying his masterpiece!

Prince Albert offering a toast of friendship.

The party splintered off after dinner, most of us going below to The Knot for our evening jam session. Prince Albert stayed aboard until late in the evening, knocking on the portholes to wave goodbye to us as he left.  It was a truly splendid evening!