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| Isolated, in the best possible way. |
The lighthouse atop is barely visible.
We're waiting for a yellow boat, affectionately named Moutarde, to take us there for the next couple days. A beluga spouts near shore, only increasing my excitement.
Then, the low hum of a small outboard motor.
For five kilometres, we brace ourselves against swollen waves – it has stormed the past couple days and snowed only a few weeks ago.
As we approach Île aux Perroquets, a raft of sea lions nod. Puffins and razorbills (here, "petits pingouins") whir overhead in a spectacle of rapidly shifting dots and dashes – a welcome in Morse code.
As our luck has it, we're the only guests on the island for both days. |
| CliffsNotes on effective takeoffs. |
Our hosts are incredibly hospitable, creating delicious homemade meals from local ingredients: haskap berries, seafood and freshly baked croissants. And always, too much dessert.
As it's part of the Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve, tourists visit during the day. But by 4:30, it's just us. Emboldened, thousands of birds drop from the cliffs in batches, peppering the sky in a search for dinner. Sea lions bark roughly from Île Nue, slightly to the east.
Puffins extend their orange feet, fluttering furiously as they land – standing – in holes etched into the cliffs by their shell-like beaks.
With tourists gone, they've come out to play. It's a feathery fireworks finale.
And the sun sets like a flock of flamingos, aflight.
Vitals:
- Time: 35 minutes
- Distance: 51 kms
- Province: Québec
- Weather: Overcast and cold
- Wildlife: Beluga spout, sea lions and countless birds, including puffins
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