Quebec’s spectacular display
of whales Written by Habeeb Salloum
Photography by Tourism Quebec and Habeeb Salloum
After exploring Quebec City, one of the most renowned urban centres
in North America we left for a drive through Charlevoix towards
a boat trip to watch the whales in the St Lawrence River. As our
mini-bus, made its way, along the Côte de Beaupré
following one of the oldest thoroughfares in North America, I
was enthralled with the edging ancient structures that cover three
centuries of history as well as the thought of all this leading
to a climax of whale watching.
Forty minutes after passing the majestic Montmorency Waterfalls,
a spectacular natural wonder, whose waters plummet 27 storeys
- 30m, we passed the famed pilgrimage site of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré
– a 350 year old mecca for the faithful who journey here
to seek healing for their ailments or just to pray.
After driving through a tree-filled countryside we climbed a
short distance upward then turned and stopped on the edge of a
crater formed some 350 million years ago when a 15 billion meteorite
smashed into the earth. The 56 km wide crater whose outline can
be seen from outer space is one of the few inhabited on earth.
It forms today the heart of the Charlevoix region – a rich
farming and tourist area with charming villages and brooding mountains
that some 30,000 inhabitants call home.
We drove through the picturesque bottom of the crater then followed
the St. Lawrence, following the river to Auberge des Falaises,
a charming inn with a fine view of the St. Lawrence River, where
we planned to spend the night.
Early next morning we were on our way, driving for an hour and
half northeast along the St. Lawrence River until we reached Baie-Sainte-Catherine,
the place from where we would sail to observe the whales. Donning
red suits that protected a person from the spraying waters, kept
one warm and acted as a life jacket, we descended down to our
Zodiac (rubber boat).
It seemed our Zodiac was flying over the water as we made our
way to a rich river area where the whales travel to feed. In about
half an hour our Zodiac was parked along with half a dozen boats
waiting for the whales.
I was gazing over the water when I heard one of our group shout,
“Look! Look!” I turned my head to see in the distance
two huge beluga whales surface then plunge back into the river,
their tails a spectacular sight before they disappeared. The scene
was repeated a number of times by belugas and other whale species.
There are some six types of whales along with small cetaceans
who come to feed in this area of the St. Lawrence River and we
must have seen a good number of these species that day.
I was watching a beluga surfacing in the horizon when suddenly,
for a second my heart beat literally stopped. A huge blue whale,
the world’s largest mammal, leapt out of the water a few
feet from our Zodiac in front of where I was standing. Its huge
head seemed to dwarf our boat. I was mesmerized. I thought that
at any moment this aquatic giant would overturn our Zodiac.
Frantically trying to open my camera, I looked up. The whale
was gone. I had missed the shot of a lifetime. Still shaking,
as were most of our group, I sat down.
“Did you ever see a whale overturn a boat?” A lady
in our group asked the captain. “Never! And I have been
bringing tourists here for many years.” He grinned, no doubt
thinking to himself, “What silly tourists!”
On our way back to our Auberge that afternoon, while discussing
our encounter with the whales my seat companion remarked, “Our
captain told me that all the whales that come to feed have names.
The one who terrified us is called Tic Tac Toe. He said that it
is a very friendly whale. He just wanted to greet us.”
I smiled to myself as I thought of our panic that morning and,
after pondering, realizing that the “St. Lawrence river
has its surprises.”
Habeeb Salloum
is a Canadian author who grew up in Saskatchewan. For the
last 25 years he has been a full-time freelance writer and
author specializing in food, history and travel. Besides 6
books and 18 chapters in books he has had hundreds of articles
about culture, food, travel, history and homesteading in western
Canada appear in such publications as the Toronto Star, the
Globe and Mail and many others.
