The Long Cruise: Follow Me: Casablanca, Morocco

Day Seven: MS Rotterdam Casablanca, Morocco

We had been warned so many times that Casablanca is a different port from any European port, - that we should be careful of our belongings, not wear any jewellery, not eat or drink anything while there - that we were a little on edge.
But while the city was not the romantic place I had imagined, neither was it threatening or apparently dangerous. The best part was visiting the suq - narrow alleyways full of stalls selling everything from shoes to live chickens, from dried figs to spices.

It was noisy, colourful and smelly, full of life and dirt and energy. I would have pent more time there, but our companions were a bit put off by the odours and noise so we toured the other parts of the city.

The mosques are impressive, but the city itself has an air of decadence and decay. I’m glad to have seen it, but I don’t think I would make a special trip to go back.

The suq was full of cats! - they were everywhere. One little creature in particular broke my heart. I found this little kitten cowering on a ledge, trembling. It was so little, and one of its eyes was either missing or badly infected. It was obviously doomed.

I wanted to sneak it back to the ship and nurse it back to life, but that was impossible. I thought about hiding it in a bag under my sweater, but you have to go through a scanner, and I assume they would find it, and a kitten probably wouldn’t stay quiet either. It would undoubtedly be full of fleas and bugs, too.


So I left it to its fate …. But I can’t stop thinking about the poor thing.

Nova Scotia Beckons: Lobster, Lighthouses and Lithographs.

Culinary and Artistic Rambles in Nova Scotia

Somewhere between the lobster corn chowder and the pan seared Digby scallops, I started to speculate about what it would be like to live here. By the time I got to the lemon tart and fresh raspberries, I was discussing with my dinner companion the logistics of selling my home and moving here.

Parts of Nova Scotia have that effect on visitors.

I was comfortably settled in a corner table of Tempest, a fine restaurant on the corner of Front Street and Central in Wolfville.

As we finished our main course, we watched the lawyer in his office across the street put on his suit jacket, hoist his briefcase and set out on his walk home. It wasn’t just the sight of a lawyer who still wore a shirt and tie, or a lawyer who walked home from work that was intriguing. I could imagine dinner waiting for him in a high ceilinged dining room in one of the large clapboard homes, maybe one painted white or pale yellow or blue, like the ones we had seen in the centre of town.

Others walked by – exercising their dogs, completing errands, just walking for pleasure as the sun turned the historic Acadian dykes to pink and gold.

The scene was a graphic explanation of why so many artists have either been inspired here, or have migrated here. Nova Scotia has become a Mecca for the artistic spirit, and in that process, has developed into an art lover’s destination as well.

Artists are notoriously retiring in nature, however, and finding them can be a challenge. The Studio Map, a year-round guide to Arts & Craft in Nova Scotia, is the answer. Originally created as part of the annual Studio Rally Weekend, a two day celebration of art held each spring when all the artists open their doors to the public, it has evolved into a useful year-round guide and the art lover’s best friend.

Through the Guide, I found artists who worked in every media, from watercolour, oil and graphite, to glass, clay and wood. The map/guide is an inspired pairing of the descriptions of the art work and the location of the artists of Nova Scotia with the several driving routes that the province has developed in their Doers’ & Dreamers’ guide. With a copy of each guide in hand, a visitor can discover the heart of Acadian culture, as well as the best places to stay and dine.

The Studio Map's directions to the homes of artists whose work is for sale are detailed, and often quirky. For example, visitors are led to Kathryn Gordon’s studio with directions like these: “At the Huey Lake/Mount Pleasant sign, turn left between the red barn and the white church. The studio is the fish shack at the very end of the lane.” Gordon transforms glass into one-of-a-kind beads that she fashions into wearable art in her ‘fish shack’ studio in Lahave.

The Studio Map brought me to The Tangled Garden in Grand Pre and to Beverley McClare who was one of the co-founders of the map. Actually, I had already fallen in love with McClare’s jams and jellies at the One of a Kind craft show in Toronto. I remembered them not just because the products were delicious, but also because they bore labels with a reproduction of a George Walford watercolour painting and were enclosed in wooden gift boxes painted in soft greens and blues.

The Tangled Garden is in fact a real garden, a living piece of installation art that visitors can walk through, ideally with a bowl of McClare’s freshly made lavender ice cream in hand. Her sculptures are a whimsical surprise along the garden paths. The cottage-like store displays her mustards, vinegars, flavoured oils and jellies as if they were works of art. On the top floor is George Walford’s studio, where he displays the large mixed media paintings he is doing right now, complex explorations of texture and colour. Formally trained at the Luton Art School in England, he fell in love with Nova Scotia some thirty years ago, and is still finding his artistic inspiration here

On the Lighthouse Route, I found the Mariner King Inn in Lunenburg, and enjoyed a bowl of green olive tuscan soup with shrimp and scallops at the highly rated Fleur de Sel Restaurant, before I hit the art trail. The Studio Map took me this time to Joan Bruneau’s pottery shop – it is one of her vases that was chosen as the cover art for one of the Art Rally posters. Then I walked to Bradford Naugler’s folk art studio.

In nearby Chester, a picture perfect coastal town, I visited Chez Glass Lass, where Sharon Mcnamara and Paul Palango create fused glass dinnerware settings that are now collectibles, and the studio of Jose Valverde, a transplanted Spanish painter.

Right now is the perfect time to visit Nova Scotia but the Fall is also a good time. In the Fall, the many trails of the province are much quieter, hotel rates are lower, the weather is surprisingly mild, and most of the artists are busily working on their next creation. While many of the galleries and studios are open daily, a phone call to any of the artists will open the door for you, especially if you are in a buying mood.

Adriane Abbott, co-founder,with Beverley McClare, of the Studio Rally and Map, describes the guide as a ‘catalogue of characters’. “The artists on this map are sociable and derive real pleasure from the interaction and feedback your visit provides.”

She has this advice for the art loving tourist: “Take the back roads and the far roads. Laugh a lot. Don’t get mad at the navigator; delight in the fact that you are seeing the same incredible view twice. Eat well. Visit the studios, enjoy the people, and if their work moves you, for heaven’s sake, shop!”

My last stop was the iconic Peggy’s Cove. On the patio of the only bed and breakfast in town I watched the sun set behind Canada’s best known lighthouse. It was clear why this is such an artsy island. Sky and boats and reflections in the water conspired to create a scene ready for pigment and canvas.

There is no lack of inspiration on this coastline.

If You Go

Studio Rally/Studio Map

Adriane Abbott

PO Box 41

Musquodoboit Harbour, N.S.

B0J 2L0

Tel: 902-827-7117

www.studiorally.ca – the website has the studio map complete with photographs and a short description of each artist’s work and contact information, or you can request a copy by mail.

Nova Scotia Department of Tourism & Culture

www.novascotia.com

tel: 1-800-565-0000

Ask for a copy of the 2009 Doers’ & Dreamers’ Guide. I found Tempest, and the comfortable Tattingstone Inn in Wolfville through the Doers’ & Dreamers’Guide issued by Nova Scotia Tourism. The publication, over four hundred pages long, is one of the best organized and most detailed driving guides I have discovered anywhere. It tells you about museums, places to stay and sites to see along several routes around the island province. In addition to the well known Evangeline Trail, there is the Lighthouse Route, the Cabot Trail, the Sunrise Trail and several others. It’s a practical and informative book.

Ten Tips for Better Vacation Photos From The Pros

TOP 10 TIPS FOR BETTER VACATION PHOTOS FROM TRAVEL WRITERS & PHOTOGRAPHERS

APRIL 21, 2009: The Society of American Travel Writers (SATW), the world’s largest organization of professional travel journalists and photographers, recently polled its members to come up with the “Top 10” tips to help travelers take better vacation photos.

“With digital cameras, it has never been easier or cheaper to take top quality vacation photos,” states SATW president and broadcast travel journalist, Bea Broda. “However, there are still some things that travelers can do to help them come back with stunning images of their vacation,” she said.

Listed in order of votes with comments from SATW writers and photographers, the “Top 10” tips for better travel photos are:

1. Shoot photos early in the morning and late in the afternoon. Between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., the sun is overhead and the light is flat. Shooting in early morning and late afternoon will add more color and shadows to your photos, giving more definition to the subject.

“Although morning and late afternoon are considered the best light for making photographs, some exceptions apply. In the Caribbean, for instance, to capture the water at its most electric aquamarine, shoot the seascape from on high, preferably at noon.”-- Patricia Borns, maritime and travel writer/photographer

2. Move in close to your subject for impact (too far back and your photo can be too busy). Get close, and then get closer! Fill the frame with your subject.

“Use your camera to record details you would like to remember later such as street signs, place names and menus.” -- Shelly Steig, freelance writer and photographer

3. Don’t shoot every photo at eyelevel. Don’t be afraid to get low to the ground or climb up to get a better vantage point.

“Shooting a scene at other than eyelevel can add drama or perspective to an otherwise static setting. Even if you can’t peer through the lens, hold your camera overhead or at waist level and experiment.”-- David Swanson, freelance travel writer/photographer

Carry a rubber mouse pad in your camera bag. It will make it easier on your knees and clothing whenever you kneel down for a low camera angle.” -- Michele & Tom Grimm, photographers and authors

4. Pay attention to details and distractions in the back of the photo or behind the heads of your subjects. Frequently, a telephone pole or tree is sticking up behind your subject. Move around until there are fewer distractions in the background.

“Don’t rely on your zoom lens to compose your images. You have two feet. Move about for the best angle and composition.” -- Dennis Cox, travel photographer, director of Photo Explorer Tours

5. Shoot lots of photos and edit and erase at night. Digital space is cheap. Shoot in the highest res possible.

“Bracket your exposures and remember that if the light is low, you can increase your ISO (the equivalent of being able to change film speed) for every shot.”-- Catherine Watson, freelance travel writer

6. Always show a sense of place as to where you are. If in the tropics, frame the photo with palm trees; if in the mountains, frame it with pine trees.

“On cloudy, dreary days, try to include bright colors such as red (a person’s jacket, an umbrella, a sign) in the photo, since reds, oranges, yellows and fuchsias can make a washed-out rainy scene pop with liveliness.”-- Susan Farlow, freelance travel writer

7. Shoot important subjects from several different angles and vantage points and with different lens and at different exposures. Take an overall wide shot, a medium range shot and a close up detail shot. Check your photos on site to make sure you have your shot.

“When shooting with a slow shutter speed and no tripod, shoot three quick frames in a row, making a better chance one will come out sharp.” -- Michael Ventura, freelance travel photographer

“Remember to shoot verticals as well as horizontal shots. Verticals work best for covers or full single pages.” -- Susan Farlow, freelance travel writer

8. Wait before you click! Wait for the clouds to clear, the truck to move away from the front of the cathedral or other distractions to pass.

“Look around you and see what’s happening. If a child with a red balloon is coming around the corner, wait until she runs into your frame.”-- Mary Love, freelance travel photographer and writer

9. Put local people in your photos. Ask permission first and try not to pose them. Put people in your photos to give a sense of size and scale.

“Learn the phrase for ‘Smile, please’ in the language of the place where you are traveling, and smile before, during and after you click the shutter.” -- Maxine Cass, freelance travel photographer

“After photographing a local, turn your digital camera around and show the image to your subject. Everybody is happy to see what a great photo you just took.” -- Annette Thompson, associate travel and livings editor, Southern Living

10. Use fill-flash, even outdoors, to “fill-in” shadows.

“Sometimes you don’t have the option of waiting for the right light. The fill flash will light up a person’s face and remove shadows when the sun is overhead.”-- Laurie D. Borman, editorial director, Rand McNally

The Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) is a non-profit professional association that works to promote responsible travel journalism and to provide professional support for its members, including travel journalists, photographers, editors, electronic media, film lecturers, television and film producers, and public relations representatives from the travel industry.

For more information on the Society of American Travel Writers, visit www.satw.org

Amsterdam’s Brown Cafes

Amsterdam's Brown Cafes -

Fiercely Dutch and Proudly Traditional

By Barbara Ramsay Orr

AMSTERDAM - This city has many delights, but its brown cafes have their own addictive appeal.

These establishments have been a central part of Amsterdam life for centuries.

The oldest one, Cafe Chris (at Bloemstraat 42), dates from 1624 and originated to supply the needs of workers building the nearby Westerkirk, one of the city's best-known churches. No doubt they used up a goodly portion of their wages in the place.

Brown cafes take their name from their traditional dark wood interiors, which have deepened in tone from age and years of tobacco smoke. They are by definition small - the Dutch describe them as "gezellig," meaning cosy and comfortable.

De Ooievaar (the Stork, at Sint Olofspoort 1, just around the corner from Central Station) is one of the smallest in Amsterdam - hardly larger than a couple of walk-in closets. On the night I visited, people were crowded around the tables and pressing cheek by jowl up to the narrow bar. The air was thick with smoke - the cigarette police have not hit Amsterdam yet - the temperature was steamy and the talk was loud.

When I casually asked what the dusty grey crocks were on the shelves, I was treated to an explanation - and a sample - of jenever, a potent schnapps-like gin.

A small glass of older jenever, darker in colour and more mellow than the younger, swallowed quickly from a small tulip-shaped glass, tastes like cold water until it hits the gullet, whereupon it delivers a warm punch.

The woman who had insisted we try the jenever then suggested we visit the brown cafe just across the alley where her husband was the barkeep. She didn't patronize his cafe, she said, because "it is difficult to relax when I have to watch him working."

Some of the brown cafes specialize in particular brands of beer or jenever, having begun as places where distillers would offer free tastings for patrons to try before they bought a cask. One such establishment is the Wynand Fockink, dating from 1679, which serves products from its own distillery as well as other well-established brands. It boasts a collection of liqueur bottles on which portraits are painted of every Amsterdam mayor since 1591. It is the custom in this bar to fill the jenever glass to the brim, making it necessary to put your lips to the glass instead of vice versa.

One of the most charming brown cafes is 't Smalle (Egelantiersgracht 12) in the Jordaan district. It serves simple dishes like soup and bread, sandwiches, local cheeses and sausages, as well as several brands of beer and jenever. The interior is small and dark, but there is a dock platform on the canal where patrons can sit by the water and enjoy the sunshine.

We jokingly suggested to two young rowers passing by that they might like to row us back to our hotel. To our surprise, they not only took us on a tour of the canals that led back to the Barbizon, but they supplied a running history of the architecture of the city. They were both lawyers, both Cambridge graduates who had returned to their hometown to work, and both extremely proud of their beautiful city.

The brown cafes lead to surprises like that. They are not known as tourist attractions: rather, they are the beloved meeting houses of locals. Each cafe has a loyal circle of patrons who come regularly to talk with friends, and each has a distinctive character. These little cafes remain fiercely Dutch in character and proudly traditional.

A favourite activity of bike-riding locals is a cycling tour of brown cafes. Start at the Cafe Karpershoek (dating from 1629), Amsterdam's second-oldest cafe.

Head west to the Jordaan neighbourhood near Noorderkerk for Cafe Papeneiland, opened in 1642, and nearby Cafe Hegeraad (mid-1600s), then hit Cafe 't Smalle and Cafe Chris. Southwest of the Jordaan, at Spui in the centre of town, is Cafe Hoppe (1670), a literary hangout. Swing east to Cafe de Sluyswacht (1695) and its terrace overlooking the Oude Schans canal. Wind up at Cafe de Druif (1631), near the Maritime Museum.

If you go:

Cycling maps are available from the Amsterdam Tourist Board (www.visitamsterdam.nl).

For more information on the Netherlands, visit www.goholland.com.

Les Iles Magique - The Magical Magdalens

Out in the cold clear water of the St. Lawrence can be found the Magdalen Islands, blessed with sublime beauty and the best lobster in the world. They are a little known gem and a must visit for anyone with an artistic eye and a taste for great seafood.

Les Iles Magique

It was floating in the surf that gave me my best view of Les Iles de la Madeleine.
I had just finished “L’excursion dans les Grottes”, body surfing through the caves along the cliffs. Before we began, our group instructor, Claude Boudrias, had us hold hands in a ring while he demonstrated how to right ourselves if tipped by the waves, and had outlined a zen-like game plan for enjoying the cave surfing expedition.
“Always let the sea take you,” Claude had said. “If a big wave comes, don’t fight it. Submit to the sea and she will protect you.” He had been right.

With a full wet suit to protect against the cold June water temperatures, all that had been required of me was to wait for the right wave. The crest then propelled me through the seven caves like a cork, sometimes to a sandy grotto, sometimes back out again through an exit channel.
Then, after having passed through the caves, I paddled around until I faced the coast, and there it was – a perfect view of the iles at their best.
To the right were the red cliffs of the bluff, topped with green marram grass, and ringed with caves and blue and white surf. To the left, in a small bay, was a white sand beach, totally deserted. Straight ahead were gently rolling green hills with one citron yellow clapboard house glowing in the centre.
And overhead, a big windswept sky.
It was a scene that could have been coloured with a child’s crayons. It is that brilliant light and pure colour that has made the islands a Mecca for photographers and painters. But there is more to the islands than beauty. The water sports, the food, the artisans and the friendliness of the islanders, have also wooed visitors.
Walking the twenty minutes to the caving excursion had given me time to question our instructor, Claude, about how he came to the islands.
“About five years ago, I fell in love with a girl from the islands and moved here to be with her. I’m still here. Lost the girl. Kept the islands.”
And then he added, “There’s magic here.”

Les Iles de la Madeleine, the Magdelan Islands in English, are a crescent shaped group of islands belonging to Quebec and located in the middle of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The archipelago is made up of a dozen islands, seven of which are inhabited, and the six largest of which are connected by sixty five kilometres of bridges and causeways. Ile d’Entrée, the only inhabited island not connected by road, is accessible by boat or daily ferry.
The archipelago is in fact the visible part of mountains of salt rising from the seabed on which the red sandstone of the islands rests. Iron oxide gives the cliffs their warm red tone, and the constant wind has carved the soft stone into fantastic shapes. There is great variety in the topography, surprising in such a small area. There are quite hilly areas, and black spruce forests, stunted by the wind, as well as marshlands and lagoons. And then there are over 300 kilometres of white sand beaches, sea caves and dunes.
The caves and the long smooth beaches are what make the ‘Maggies’ an ideal destination for the sporting traveller. In addition to body surfing in the caves at La Bluff on Grande Entrée Island, there is sea kayaking, windsurfing, horseback riding on the beaches and cycling. For a different twist, there is a company called Aerosport run by Eric Marchand, a world champion in snow sailing. Eric takes advantage of the island winds, that blow between nine and twenty-two knots, to teach something called traction kiting. The kites are attached to dune buggies, kayaks, or surfboards to provide an exhilarating ride along the shore or water.
Exertion creates an appetite, and the food on these islands is a delightful surprise. Because the islands are so isolated, I expected good but simple fare. What I got was something that reminded me of meals I had enjoyed in fine restaurants in France. Who expected three perfect slices of foie gras served with wild cranberries and Muscat gelee for a starter, followed by scallops and veal sweatbreads in a port wine sauce, accompanied by lobster ravioli and mushrooms, and finished with a perfect lemon soufle? That was dinner at La Table des Roy in La Verniere.
Or eight different versions of mussels, including moules au bleu - mussels in a blue cheese wine sauce- and moules aux deux moutards- mussels in a sauce that included two different mustards- which were the specialty of Le Mouliere au Vieux Couvent? Or a perfect lobster risotto, or, amazingly delicious, vanilla lobster prepared by Dijon-trained Patrick Mathey at La Maree Haute in Havre-Aubert?
Breakfast was unexpectedly generous. The island is dotted with auberges, intimate inns with a few rooms on the upper floor and a dining room on the main. They are generally charming, usually brightly painted in the traditional style of the island and immaculately clean. For $115 a night for a double room in high season, I had expected a simple breakfast. But at Chez Denis a Francois, an auberge built originally from wood reclaimed from a ship wrecked on the Sandy Hook in 1874, my morning started with eggs Benedict, fresh fruit, roasted potatoes, meat pie, baked beans, orange juice, and a huge bowl of café au lait. There were purple pansies on the plate, too. Another morning it was feather light crepes filled with yoghurt and fresh fruit, napped with an apricot sauce.
It is at the table that the Madelinot spirit becomes most obvious. They are fiercely proud of their island and its authentic products. The sauce for my eggs Benedict was made from a local cheese, the unpasturized and aromatic Pied-de-Vent. This rich soft cheese is made by Vincent Lalonde from milk produced by a heritage breed of cheese-milk cows, the Canadienne, and it appears on almost every menu on the island. It was central to the flavourful quiche served at Le Pas Perdus. It was the main event for the raclette served at La P’Tite Baie, and it was the special flavour, along with the local wild cranberries and honey, in the spring roll served at Chez Diane. It even appeared in a sauce for one of the mussel dishes at the Vieux Couvent.
Central to the islands’ cuisine is, of course, the seafood. I was lucky enough to visit at the height of the lobster season, which lasts from early May to early July. On every menu was lobster salad, lobster club, lobster rolls, and just plain fresh cooked lobster with melted butter. The islands claim to have the best lobster in the world, due to the cold water and rocky seabed. You can watch the fishermen unload their boats at the docks on Grand d’Entrée, and then stroll a few feet away to the little restaurant, Delice de la Mer, and have a lobster lunch with the same men who caught the tasty crustaceans.
One of the least pretentious seafood sources, and a favourite of locals, is Les Pecherie Gros-Cap, a lobster processing plant, in L’Etang-du-Nord. The ground floor store is an eyefull, stocked with platters of lobster tails and bowls of fresh scallops. They will box and ship the lobsters for you, either live or cooked. But the real secret lies upstairs. There you will find La Factrie, a basic cafeteria, no different in appearance from what you might discover in a hospital or a school, except for the large window that looks out over the processing plant. But the menu! Seafood chowder, imperial lobster rolls, fried calamari, smoked salmon, lobster crepes, sushi, and ‘pot en pot’, the island specialty, a seafood pie filled with several different kinds of seafood and fish, topped with a flaky crust. Prices are modest, and the fish couldn’t be fresher.
In addition to lobster, the island also produces scallops, snow crab, mussels, several varieties of local fish, and seal meat.
Another local product that appears on many menus is the result of the resurrection of a once doomed industry. The fishing and smoking of herring flourished on the islands until the mid 1960’s when herring stocks declined and the smokehouses closed. But in the 1990’s the herring returned and the Arseneau family rebuilt and restored the Fumoir D’Anton, both as a herring smokehouse and an economuseum. It showcases the heritage and history of the smokehouse industry, and provides tastings and products for sale in a small boutique.
The Madelinots celebrate their unique identity, not only in their food, but in the high value they place on their Acadian heritage. The Acadian flag, blue white and red with a yellow star, appears frequently. The colourful houses on the island are a holdover from the days when the fishers used them as ways to locate their traps and nets. Now it is a style that is preserved with pride, though it also helps to brighten the foggy grey months of winter.
The Madelinot identity is prominent in the art of the islands as well. La Grave is a small artists community in Havre-Aubert. It sits on the rocky beach which was the landing place for the Acadians who were expelled from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island by the English in 1755.
Painters, sculptors and jewellery makers work here in small studios, many using indigenous products in their crafts. One of the most authentic is the Artisans Du Sable, another economuseum founded in 1981 by two artists, Niclole Gregoire and Albert Cummings. The products are made from local sand mixed with epoxy, and the designs are simple and beautiful. Graceful urns, large platters and classic hourglasses are just some of the objects formed from the sand. There is one wall covered with samples of sand from all over the world.
The cafés in La Grave are a good place to meet locals, especially the Café de la Grave, converted from a general store to a bistro in 1980.
For a different slice of island life, take the daily ferry, or hire one of the zodiacs available in Cap-au-Meules, formerly Grindstone, to Ile d’Entrée. This island, a one hour boat ride, is home to about 130 English speaking inhabitants. It has the look and feel of the Scottish countryside, with green rolling hills and scattered cottages. It is a good place for hiking, and Big Hill is the highest point in the archipelago, where you can get one of the best views of Havre-Aubert and Sandy Hook. There is one small restaurant, a shop and a seasonal B&B, but few other amenities on the island.
Back on the main islands, another English enclave can be found on Ile de Grand- Entrée, the lobster capital of Quebec. Here also is Club Vacances Les Iles, a nonprofit organization developed to introduce travelers to the islands. It includes a hotel, a Seal Interpretive Centre and sporting activities. It’s where you can arrange sea kayaking or the cave expeditions, or book packages, like their Totally Lobster package, or the Secrets of September, that include sporting activities and tours of the islands as well as accommodation and meals. One of their activities is a hike along Boudreau Island where, for a sybaritic treat, you can enjoy a mud bath, or if it’s chilly, just a mud mask, with the fine red mud dug on the island. If you allow the mud to dry in the sun, it washes off leaving your skin smooth and tingling.
Also on Grand-Entrée it is possible to visit some of the prettiest beaches on the islands, Old Harry, and La Grande-Echouerie, as well as the old port and the historic Anglican church.
Before the islands were joined by Route 199, completed in 1956, the easiest way that the Madelinots could visit each other was by walking along the beaches from one community to the next. The visits, however, were dependant on the tides. It is an old island saying, in reply to “When will we see you again?” to answer –“ une bonne maree” – when there is a good tide. It has become a euphemism for something that translates into “with luck, I’ll see you soon.”
Hopefully, ‘une bonne maree” will bring you to the Iles de la Madeleine.


If You Go:
For general information about the islands, visit http://www.tourismeilesdelamadeleine.com/, or call 1-877-624-4437. While the majority of the islanders speak French as their first language, most are bilingual.
When To Visit: July and August are busy months on the islands. Best times to visit are in June, when the weather is mild and the lobster is in season, or September, when the temperatures remain pleasant and the rhythm of the islands is more sedate. In winter, there are also helicopter excursions onto the ice to observe the seals. Shoulder season and off season prices are very reasonable.
Getting There:
By Air: Partners of the major national airlines make several daily flights to the islands. Air Canada runs flights from Toronto to Quebec City, with a connecting flight which stops briefly in Gaspe before continuing on to the Iles de la Madeleine.
By Sea and Car: Ferry services run between the Iles de la Madeleine and Sourie, Prince Edward Island. It’s a five hour trip, and several crossings take place every day during the summer. Reservations are recommended for the months of July and August.
Ferry Cruise on the St. Lawrence: From mid-May until mid-October, the ferry M.V. CTMA Vacancier sails from Montreal to the Iles de la Madeleine, with stops in Quebec City, and Matane. Part car ferry, part cruise ship, the rooms are basic, but the dining room is attractive and there is nightly entertainment, a work out room, and wonderful views of the Gaspe and the St. Lawrence. For details, visit: http://www.cyma.ca/


Where To Stay: Accomodation ranges from hotels, inns, resorts and cottages to campgrounds and single rooms. The little auberges are attractive, authentically Madelinot in style, and very affordable.
Auberge Denis a Francois, Havre-Aubert, tel:(418)937-2371 or http://www.aubergechezdenis.ca/
La Maree Haute, Havre-Aubert, tel:(418)937-2492 or www.ilesdelamadeleine.com/mareehaute
Club Vacances Les Iles, Grande-Entrée, tel:toll free: 1-888-537-4537 or http://www.clubiles.qc.ca/



Where to Eat: Food on the island is exceptional, ranging from the ‘resto-bars’ to sophisticated dining rooms.
La Table des Roy, La Verniere, tel: (418)986-3004, or email Johanne Vigneault, the chef/proprietor at jvigneau@duclos.net
Le Pas Perdus, Cap-Aux-Meules, tel: (418)986-5151 or http://www.pasperdus.com/
La P’tite Baie,Havre-aux-Maisons, telL418)969-4073 or email auberge.petitebaie@sympatico.ca
Chez Diane, Ile du Cap-aux-Meules; tel:((418)986-4686
La Maree Haute, Havre-Aubert, tel:(418) 937-2492
Le Mouliere Au Vieux Couvent, Havre_aux-Maisons, tel:(418)969-2233

Helpful Reading: The Adventurers Guide to the Magdalen Islands. By George Fischer and published by Nimbus, is a paperback that gives you an intimate and detailed tour of the islands.
Another book by George Fischer, The Magdalens – Islands of Sand, is a coffee table book filled with gorgeous photographic images of the islands.
For the history of the islands, try Frederuc Kandry’s Captains of the Shoals, published by La Boussole in both English and French.


© Barbara Ramsay Orr