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I was lucky to get a ride from Natashquan to Havre-Saint-Pierre with Raymond Rouleau and Ann Grantham who were returning home to St-Gédéon on Lac St-Jean after a vacation cruise along the St-Laurence river on the Relais Nordik.
We stopped to take a picture of the tiny Aguanish village a dozen km west of Natashquan (Aguanish means small shelter in Montagnais).
We stopped again to enjoy the view of the beautiful Johan Beetz village, halfway between Natashquan and Havre-Saint-Pierre. That's Ann sitting on the rocks in the left part of this 180 degree panorama.
Johan Beetz village was named for its founder a Belgian naturalist, painter and sculptor who fell in love with this region and built himself this fine house on a promontory overlooking the bay.
A clear sky and warm weather makes all the difference. No wonder Johan Beetz fell in love with this untamed coast. Use your slider to see what's left of this panorama on the right.
These glacier worn granitic rocks of the Precambrian shield have inspired many famous Canadian painters.
I was surprised to see this passenger cruise ship docked in Havre-Saint-Pierre because a longshoreman strike had prevented the Relais Nordik from stopping here.
Ann and Raymond dropped me off at the highway junction where I was soon picked up by André and Guylaine Dubé from Sept-Isles who had also been on the Relais Nordik.
André, the tall chap in the white T-shirt dropped in at this helicopter base to visit his fellow helicopter mechanics who were visibly glad to see him back from vacations.
This odd looking bird has contra-rotating rotors instead of a tail rotor to keep it from spinning like a top. It is a Russian machine especially built to lift extremely heavy loads. I don't know anything about helicopters but I took a picture of this one because it is unique.
André and Guylaine dropped me off at the local youth hostel only a few blocks from their home. By the time we got there the weather had turned nasty again showing how volatile the climate can be on the North Shore.
The warm friendly welcome inside contrasted sharply with the cold drizzle outside.
The large Sept-Îles Bay is a fine natural harbour protected from rough seas by seven islands hence its name.
This 360 moving panorama starts with the town as seen from the end of the city wharf, moving clockwise to the islands that guard the bay. On the other side of the huge harbour the big iron ore loading facilities can be seen before the view continues back to the town. The iron ore comes by train from Wabush mines near Labrador city 350 km north of here and from Shefferville another 250 km further north. It is shipped west through the St-Laurence Seaway as well as east, all over the world.
Same comment as for the Blanc-Sablon church: the Catholic establishment is still prosperous outside of the big cities in Quebec.
I took a bus from Sept-Îles to Tadoussac and the scenery was great in spite of the rain. When it stopped for a pipi break, I just had to cross the road to take this 180 degree panorama.
Here is the cross-roads into Baie-Comeau, halfway between Sept-Îles and Tadoussac at the mouth of the Saguenay Fjord.
