As we planned to be in Montreal harbour about noon hour, our two families rendezvoused at Tim Horton's in Casselman where the boys happily tested out some Timbits. We were soon on our way with our bikes strapped on the back of our cars. We were going biking on the Îles de la Madeleine...
It was busy at our CTMA port. We were pleased to see that were a lot of other cyclists as we loaded our bikes onto a trailer.
We waited under a shady tree for a shuttle bus to our boat. CTMA provide drinks and some fruit.
Sam decided we wanted the white bus NOT the yellow school bus. Alas, there was no room for us on the white bus...
It wasn't long before we boarded our ship, the Vacancier.
Good news, there was playroom right beside the reception desk!
We checked out our rooms. We called Grant's room, the "hobbit room" - very tiny and no porthole. We noted later that some people shared this room, lowering the top bunk. We found our room tiny but comfortable. The boys' room was larger with two sets of bunks. Good news that all our rooms included bathrooms as there were other rooms with a shared bathroom.
Note that the whole trip is on Atlantic time, so we all set our watches ahead an hour. After a lifejacket demo, we were on our way at 4pm. Soon our ship was leaving Montreal. We explored the outside decks, entertained by a talented string trio.
The boys discovered the exercise room was a fun place to be.
Bill checked out the first river birds.
Sam spotted some trains loading big boxes beside the river.
We had our first delicious dinner in the dining room, and sampled a local beer, Écume.
A new pilot came aboard at Trois Rivières. As the Saint Lawrence River has a narrow channel, we took on a new pilot for specific sections, out to Les Escoumins at the gulf.
We were treated to our first rainbow. And later we enjoyed a warm sunset through our porthole.
We saw the bright lights of Quebec City, to complete our first day on the river...
