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QUEBEC,
WINTER FERRY ON THE ST LAWRENCE
The ferry journey across the
St Lawrence between Quebec and Lévis can be quite pleasant in
summer but to be really impressed make it in winter and if
you can do it in February during the Winter Carnival time.
That's when the car ferries have to smash a a path on the ice
floes and dislodge mini icebergs the size of cars. As a foot
passenger it makes a great sightseeing bargain and you get an
excellent view of the city's fortifications. What you will
find hard to believe is that one of the highlights of the winter
festival is a canoe race across the St Lawrence. Some extremely
fit competitors wearing wetsuits and spiked boots paddle and
push hefty boats over the freezing waters.
There is a strong historic link. The
Indians once made log boats by burning a tree out, but with the
arrival of the settlers tools were used to make boats sturdy
enough to cope with the fast flowing, icy river. This was in the
days before the icebreakers arrived, days when a third of the
population of Lévis, across the water from Québec, earned their
living as canoe operators.
Eventually steamboats took over the trade but as late as the
1940's the 'canoes' were still in use around the islands. It was
a dangerous a job and in the Carnival one of the most exciting
events is the Canoe Race with teams of five rowing over the St
Lawrence and dragging their boats across on the ice floes.
To get a better understanding of just what they were tackling,
the night before the event we took the car ferry across to
Lévis. On the metal deck, we felt the vibrations rise through our
feet and we looked out from the bows as the ship forced its way
through the ice. We were surrounded by a roaring and thunderous
noise.
The ice was not smooth and we thudded through great lumps
of the stuff. I was somewhat in awe of
the canoeists and what they were about to attempt.
It was
impressive, so too was the journey back in the moonlight towards
the lights of the old city and the Quebec's skyline which was
dominated by Chateau Fortenac.
Links:
Ferry Quebec - Lévis
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ovember 2002
