Back to Canada, 2023: Forillon National Park

Our ride for Friday, July 28, was laid out as 16 miles from L'Anse de Griffon to Cape des Os. Figuring that we had plenty of time to play, we ended up with 30 miles on our bikes, at least 5 miles of hiking, and late to supper. Our first stop was Cap des Rosiers, at the tallest lighthouse in Canada. It is the tallest because a lighthouse was needed on a very low, albeit rocky, point of land. From there we entered the National Park, and seeing signs for a walk to a waterfall, made another pleasant detour. We continued in the park, and instead of turning right to our hostel, went left to go further into the park. We rode our bikes as far as we could on paved road, then stopped and hiked out to the point known as Land's End. Most of the group were not quite this ambitious and got to the hostel in plenty of time to prepare dinner for us. There was even a beer waiting for me.

Saturday was a day off the bikes. Most of the group went out on a morning whale watch. Fortunately, it was a lovely day to be on the water and fun to see from water places we had reached by land the previous day, as we didn't have much luck spotting whales. We saw from a distance the blows from great blue whales and caught a glimpse of one diving, but that was about it. It did give me pause to think that there were likely three or four 100 foot long creatures swimming in the general vicinity of our boat.

We stayed the two nights in a former school that had been converted into a tourist hostel. This place was a far cry from the hostels of my student days. I had a room to myself, although the bathroom was across the hall. We used a very well equipped kitchen to prepare our meals and had comfortable dining and relaxation areas at our disposal. As we are a congenial group, it is nice to have great common space.