Being in Canada for over 3 months, time seemed to fly by. But also, daily life became more normal but slightly boring even though I am working on something really exciting. In short, it was time for another adventure! So, for my birthday my love booked a beautiful Airbnb in Quebec 😊
Quebec history in short
Quebec is one of the thirteen provinces in Canada where French is the official language. Quebec comes from the word “Gepèèg” which means narrowing of the river in the Mi'kmaq language.
The first official settlement in Canada was in 1608 by the Frenchman Samuel de Champlain in the region what we now know as Quebec. Between 1534 and 1763, Quebec was called Canada and it was one of the 5 French colonies, together called La Nouvelle-France (New France). After a war of 7 years with Great Britain, France got defeated and Canada became part of the British empire. Out of fear of rebellion from the Quebec citizens, the British parliament approved the Quebec Act in 1774. This act recognized the French law, the Romain Catholic church, and the French language of colony Quebec.
Quebec got separated into Lower Canada (now called Quebec) and Upper Canada (now called Ontario) in 1791. Nowadays Quebec is the largest province per square meter in Canada and is only outnumbered by Ontario in its population (8,1 in Quebec and 13,5 million in Ontario).
The drive up north
With a long drive ahead, we left early in the morning packed with our clothes and groceries. We got coffee on the way (so Canadian and convenient) and we both were excited for the days ahead.
While we drove up north away from the GTA region (Grand Toronto Area) the landscape with lots of houses and busy traffic changed into a quieter road with small hills, forest, rocks, and lakes. We stopped halfway through our drive up north for an amazing lookout at Temagami. We climbed up the stairs and reached the top of the fire tower which provide us which gorgeous views!
After a drive of over 7 hours, we reached a forest/farm area where our host was waiting for us. While our host goes ahead with our luggage, we walked towards our place to stay for the coming nights, a yurt in the middle of a forest! 😊
The yurt originally comes from the Mongolian nomadic culture. This one is standing on a deck and has one more special feature; in the middle of the tent, there is a dome so from your bed you can see the stars!
While we unpack and charge the cooler with the electricity from the solar panel outside, we talk about the days ahead. We flew the drone, and I helped my love who prepared a BBQ dinner for us. After that is was time for a campfire and tea.
With a night sky full of stars, it was hard to fall asleep as we both rather wanted to stare at the beauty above us.
B-day
With birthday gifts that arrived from the Netherlands, send by my parents and Waleed quickly put the happy birthday garland on the wall, my birthday could really start. We spend some time near the yurt because they predicted rain.
That afternoon we went for coffee, had a video chat with my parents and decide to go on a hike because it was still dry. We drove to the hiking area called Footpaths of Kékéko hills.
I hiked in my dress that I put on for the dinner later that day but hey it was my birthday 😉 According to the app we had this trail should be easy, while I do think saying this at least is moderate would be more fitted. The first part was up and rough, walking only uphill on big and small rocks. I almost jumped up when I saw a snake just near my feet. When we hiked 25 minutes it looked like it could start to rain again. We decided to go and hoped it will pass.
Our goal was to reach a beautiful lookout. The trail took us through a deep and dense forest area with lots of fluctuations in height. It felt like being in the middle of nowhere, at a place where not many people have been before.
After more than 40 minutes we reached the lookout point. We both were so excited and enjoyed the beautiful view!
On the way back everything seemed to go faster and when we arrived at the car, I changed my shoes and got ready for dinner. Waleed took me to a restaurant in the middle of the closest town, Rouyn-Noranda, which is 40 minutes away from the yurt. We enjoyed our nice dinner and as a dessert, I got a cake with a candle to make a wish for my birthday 😊
Parc D'Aiguebelle
With a cold morning, we both were feeling a bit sleepy still but we decided to go on a hike.
We booked tickets for the national park only 12 minutes away from the yurt, Parc D'Aiguebelle, and drove to the trailhead. This national park is a beautiful and dense forest area with many beautiful lakes. There are close to 30 trails expanding over 30 km. During the hike, we picked loops around Lac La Haie.
While we arrived at the parking lot it was already busy for a Friday morning. We decided to come back a little later after drinking some coffee and eating lunch at the yurt.
We got back to the same trail, and it was even busier. We walked the whole trail which brought us to many beautiful viewpoints. But the most beautiful view you get from standing on the suspension bridge. The suspension bridge is 22 meters high, and the two sides of the bridge show amazing views overlooking Lac La Haie. I felt extremely tiny and grateful while only being surrounded by nature.
After our hike, we made food and packed so that the next morning before checkout we could go on the same hike once again. While we were lying in bed, we could hear the wolves and coyotes howling.
The next morning, we woke up super early. With fully charged batteries and hiking boots, it was time to go back to Lac La Haie.
This time we only saw two other cars parked next to the trail and with sore legs, we started our climb up to the viewpoints. While we reached the viewpoint, we were close to the bridge. We took pictures and then Waleed walked back to the viewpoint to fly the drone. I stayed behind on the suspension bridge.
With the wind in my face and the amazing views, I stood in the middle of the bridge and felt so happy. Then suddenly I heard the sound of wings flapping on my left side. I turned my face and saw a hummingbird less than half a meter away from me, it stared at me for a couple of seconds and then flew away. It was more than magical!
After hiking back to the start of the hike I had a conversation with other hikers, and I enjoyed the view while I was waiting for my love to come down too. We drove back, packed our bags and it was time for a drive back with a stop at Mont Tremblant. Along the way, we stopped to fly the drone and I enjoyed seeing all the beautiful nature. In my whole life, I never saw so many trees as I saw that day haha.
By the time we reached Mont Tremblant, we both were super tired. Mont Tremblant is known as a beautiful area for skiing in winter. We wanted to go and take the cable car up to Mont Tremblant, but it was already closed by the time we got there. We had dinner in the town and ended up sleeping sometime in the car before we reached home.
Tired but happy we can’t wait for more adventures to come!
With a smile,
Nicole
Ps follow exploreandsmile.com for more adventures! The next post will be about the sunflower and lavender farms we visited in Ontario 😊
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