K & L's Travel Blog

We’ve spent two days here in the community of Sacre Coeur, in a cabin with a view overlooking the Saguenay River. Our place is well-equipped, though appropriately rustic for our remote location. It’s not entirely remote. There’s a well-known restaurant down the hill on the water that we’ll eat at today, and a pizza place just a couple of lots up the road, well within carry-out walking distance. We’ll try the restaurant today and the pizza joint sometime between now and our departure on Wednesday. It’s about a 35 minute drive from here to the town of Tadoussac, and I’m loving the isolation.

Our trip here was a challenge! The ride is supposed to take 3.5 hours from Quebec City to Tadoussac, but our cheap, downgraded Hertz rental—a Chevrolet “Spark”—failed us with a dead battery on a scenic overlook. At least it was scenic, but we spent 3 hours trying to get Hertz “Roadside Assistance” when there was none. Finally, we gave up on Hertz and called AAA to get a guy with a cable within a ½ hour. 

The drive here was much more dramatic than anticipated with steep hills that descend towards the expansive Saint Lawrence River. We didn’t get to our cabin until 7:30, and it was a struggle to find in the dark. We navigated the brief ferry ride to Tadoussac and kept the car running. One turn onto side road was a total leap of faith for Kitty as it was so dark and our lights so dim it was as though we were turning off a cliff. On the two-lane roads we were expected to fly at 90 kmh with Moose Warning signs every mile. But, we finally made it and it’s been worth the trip.

That first night we repaired the day with excellent French wine and a picnic spread and watched the moon set over the river below. At one point I thought a previously unnoticed factory had turned on lights only to realize it was a small cruise ship lighting up the Saguenay.

The cabin is roomy with two bedrooms and a great porch. It’s been lovingly restored. It’s well off a main road, but during the day on Saturday there’s a lot of traffic, largely 4- or 3-wheelers or heading on a back road that leads to the Casta Fjord pier and restaurant and then beyond to Tadoussac. We are reminded of the film “Local Hero,” with its remote location and repetitive motorcycle traffic. Kitty was delighted to find a jigsaw puzzle.

We spent yesterday exploring around our neighborhood, and walked down and then up the very steep Casta Fjord road that ends at a pier, and then down another more moderate road that ended with a national forest entrance where you’re invited to pay 9.00 CAD online upon entering. There’s also a Canopée Lit area: lit up tree canopies with clear tent bubbles for glamping. We watched happy couples drive up, unpack, and set off into the woods happily towing their suitcases in a little red wagon. Kitty noted they were energized with anticipation of the sex the Canopée Lit setting might provide.

We speak to an artist who has an amazing woodworking shop across from the bubble place. We are pondering if a ball of well-sanded White Birch is worth the Boreal charge it promises for 80 CAD. We need a souvenir of some sort, but I think a lighter might prove more affordable! Still, I am quite taken with the Birch Trees that surround us, and may go with the Boreal Ball.

We have read there was a humpback whale spotted in the river below, so the game is on. There’s a great sight called “Happy Whale” that lets you track specific sightings of individual whales across the globe, and it looks as though there are quite a few in the Tadoussac area. We’ll go out on a boat on Tuesday morning and hopefully see our share then. For now, there’s the view from our porch.