We woke up early again at Forillon National Park, but instead of a fox, this time a big cute dopey hare hopped across our site.
We had a short drive ahead and weren't overly eager to leave the park, so we stopped on the way out for a hike that left from the visitors' centre. We didn't find the red-throated loons that had been reported, but we did find a new sparrow and startled a northern shoveler out of hiding among some reeds, and it was a nice morning for a walk.
The drive along the north coast of the Gaspé Peninsula is extremely scenic, with long stretches of road right next to the water and steep green hills rising on the other side. We stopped a few times at haltes municipales and found a cozy cantine with indoor seating, where B got a shrimp guédille and was pleased. We strolled through a picturesque cliffside cemetery in one town and were hailed by a local woman, who seemed to be a volunteer caretaker and who chatted at us enthusiastically with a fascinating accent — without much prompting from us, we learned about each of her kids' jobs and spouses and current whereabouts, the harrowing details of the last few months of her deceased husband's life, and the state of the various fishing and tourism industries in the region. In Sainte-Anne-des-Monts, a little town on the coast, we investigated some tidepools and got dark-chocolate-dipped raspberry sorbet cones from a fancy chocolatier.
Our route turned inland from there towards Gaspésie National Park, where we're staying at the very fancy Gîte-du-Mont-Albert, normally far out of our price range but shockingly affordable before the high season begins. We walked over to a waterfall and then came back when the room was ready — a big comfy room, much larger than a tent, on the top floor of the quieter building up the hill, with a big window looking right out over the trees at Mont Albert. This taste of luxury is going to our heads, and we're now thinking of buying a couple of porsches and maybe a private island.
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