OCT 28: Saguenay, Quebec

To the best of my recollection, before this cruise, I had never heard of Saguenay.

It is about 80 miles up the Saguenay River from the St Lawrence River.

When we woke up this morning, there was heavy cloud cover and a light rain. Sunrise at 7:12 found us in the forward observation lounge. The clouds delayed the scenery getting lighter, but slowly, details emerged. 

As we proceeded up the river, there were periods of a partially cloudy sky, with some sun mixed in, and even complete overcast skies with rain showers.

We proceeded to a bay where the river bore off to the east. We docked at the head of the bay at La Baie.

As we began our approach to the pier, land suddenly disappeared in a heavy shower mixed with fog. The visibility improved as we got closer to the dock, but the rain continued.

Today's tour was innocently called Saguyenay Park Hike. Given the weather, we put on our rain gear before leaving the ship. That would come back to bite us.

On the pier, we rendezvoused with our guide and the bus - a school bus. Off we went to town and on increasingly windy roads, rocking in our seats, particularly during the last part of our 55-minute trip to the park. And the bus windows were fogged up, but I had a squeegee in my backpack. (We've been on too many bus/boat rides over the years not to anticipate that problem.)

Once at the park, he met our guide, Jackie. Before we set out, she suggested everybody borrow one of the walking poles provided by the park. Some people did, after which they suggested more strongly that everybody have one. She then urged the remaining holdouts to take one. In hindsight, why did that not set off alarm bells in my head?

The trail we would take was only about 3 km (1.8 mi).

It began with a downhill slope.

The views were impressive.

We had a steep climb to an overhang, where we stopped while Jackie explained some facts about it. Based on the tour description, Pam said, "Well, that should be about it for climbing."

Alas, she was so very, very wrong. Up and up we went over uneven stone steps, rocks, roots, and dirt.

After a climb that totaled 230 m (750 ft) in less than a half mile, we arrived at Bellevue. By that time, thanks to the rain gear we were wearing, although it hadn't rained a drop, we were soaking wet...on the inside of it.

Thanks to the slippery rocks, the trip back down was almost as much fun. 

The air was a bit cooler as we got on the bus for the return trip. After swaying this way and that for another 55 minutes, when we stepped off the bus at the marine terminal, it was distinctly cooler, edging towards cold thanks to a brisk breeze. On the plus side, the visibility was better.

By the time INSIGNIA was ready to depart, it was well after sunset. Once again, this evening, we had a stern window through which we could watch La Brie fade away astern into the darkness of the fjord.