Wednesday 26 February 2014

Tadoussac: where whales enjoy to be watched

Tadoussac is a small village in Québec at the confluence of the St. Lawrence and Saguenay rivers.
It looks just like a bunch of colorful wooden houses thrown along the Saguenay fjord, but it actually holds the record of the oldest European settlement in Canada.
And, besides this, it holds at least a couple of surprises.

 First of all its main (and perhaps only?) hotel.

Hotel Tadoussac

Hotel Tadoussac is large wooden construction from the Victorian era (well, actually rebuilt during 1940's after a fire - but still preserving the original style) which makes you feel like stepping back into history: the atmosphere you breathe is very much Gone with the Wind-like, and I've so much enjoyed it.

Hotel Tadoussac

If you feel like being in a movie while staying there, anyway you are absolutely right, because this hotel has been chosen as a set for the film taken from one of my favourite John Irving's novels - Hotel New Hampshire.
I think its old style halo can be really fitting for the kind of strange and sweet stories Irving has conceived - and maybe, with a little effort of immagination, you can even picture some of the charachters being there at your side, making breakfast with you or playing the piano in the hall.

Secondly, as for the surprises, if you just turn the corner around, where the settled part of the village finishes, you'll immediately find yourself plunged into the rugged and amazing beauty of the Saguenay fjord.

Saguenay fjord, Tadoussac

It's a wild area made of rocks and water, with some really pretty views.

Saguenay fjord, Tadoussac

For me it was also the very first touch with the Canadian nature after visited three of the main cities of Québec and Ontario, and so I was very eager of the silence and the beautiful wilderness I could enjoy here.

Saguenay fjord, Tadoussac

You could wander for hours just by meeting trees and rocks and water - which I bet it's pretty normal anywhere in Canada, but for an European like me, such wild and pristine spaces are rare and precious, and therefore I do appreciate them as great wonders.

Saguenay fjord, Tadoussac

 
But the main aim why I came to Tadoussac was to try whale watching.
I must admit I was pretty much skeptical about it: I mean, yeah, some whales could have been there, but I thought it might have been quite rare they would have actually shown up exactly when our boat was sailing there... - I thought.
But here came the third surprise.

Whale watching, Tadoussac

As soon as the boat reached a decent distance from the shore, the show began.
A spurt of water was appearing somewhere, then you could see the back and the fin and finally the tail.
One time, two times, three, four ... it truly was like a show, with dancers following one another on the show.
We saw beluga whale, minke whale, humpback whale, fin whale and even one blue whale.
It seems this place is very popular among them, because the meeting of the cold and sweet waters of the Saguenay with the warmer and salty ones of the St. Lawrence creates a very rich marine environment, so the whales do have a lot of krill to get nourished with.
It's been amazing to see them.
Unfortunately all the pics I've taken suck quite a lot, because it wasn't really easy to take them: you had more or less 15'' after you were noticing the spurt to zoom, focus and snap. And the boat wasn't very steady - so most of my shots are quite blurry and unclear.

Whale watching, Tadoussac

But anyway they witness that I've seen :)

8 comments:

  1. Blurry or not, who cares you saw it IN REAL LIFE. What a sweet memory to cherish.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes indeed!
      It was amazing to see them, and we saw so many.
      It seems they really love this place :)

      Delete
  2. Ohhh how I'd love to go here one day - mostly because of the whales and beluga's. They are so ugly and yet so cute. And Saguenay sounds like a fairytale to me :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, whale watching has been a memorable experience!
      And belugas are indeed super cute. I was really surprised we saw so many, I didn't think they would have shown up so much. It's been great.
      The Saguenay fjord is really a beautiful area - so wild and rugged, and peaceful.
      But nature in general totally spoiled me during my stay in Québec, I really miss it!

      Delete
  3. Whale watching in Quebec has been on my radar for awhile! Especially since it's only about 6-8 hours away from me! Looks like such a great experience.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, you should go for it, Hannah!
      It's been awesome.

      Delete
  4. How cool that you saw all of those whales! And Tadoussac looks so serene and scenic! I really would love to spend some quality time in Quebec!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, I couldn't believe we would have had the chance to see so many! It's been lovely.
      Tadoussac is indeed a good place where spending some relaxing and regenerating time in touch with nature.
      I definitely recommend it :)

      Delete