Day 64: Cap-aux-Os to Douglastown

Yesterday morning, I had a cup of coffee at the hostel before getting my things ready. It started to rain soon after I started my ride. The light drizzle soaked my clothes as I rode for about 10 miles.

I decided to stop at Café de la Traverse in Fontenelle even though it was off route. Google Maps didn’t say anything about the cafe hours, but I thought it must be open on a Sunday. And it was.

The ham croissant sandwich and the coffee were perfect for this type of weather. When I was done eating, the rain had stopped.

From Fontenelle, I rode across the bridge and went up and down a large hill to the town of Gaspé. It’s the biggest town in the area and has many stores. After taking out more cash at an ATM I wandered around downtown.

On the promenade, I stopped by the Birthplace of Canada. It has a big stone cross and a few houses that were preserved from the early settlers period. I rested there for a bit before going across the street to the Maxi supermarket to buy a bottle of maple syrup, more Coffee Crisp, and a big bag of trail mix.

For lunch, I decided to eat at my first McDonald’s in Canada just to see if the menu is anything different than the ones in the US. They  have some international items, but I opted for a McDouble burger since I wasn’t too hungry.

After lunch, I cycled across another bridge and left the town of Gaspé. There was a very nice bike trail that I rode on in Sandy Beach. After merging back on Route 132, I took it all the way to Douglastown, where I’ll be spending the night.

Upon arrival at 2 PM, I was greeted by my host, Jean-Marc. He actually had met me the day before when I was on the road and he was on a motorcycle. We had chatted briefly on the side of the road.

Jean-Marc showed me the small house in the back where I’ll be staying, then he showed me the main house where I met his wife, Nadine. Nadine is an architect and she designed the house. Jean-Marc built the house. Again, I was impressed by them since they built their own house.

I also met their daughter Charlotte and her friend Sophie. But they were getting ready to leave.

I took a shower and went on my laptop to plan my stays for the next several days. Looks like I’ll be camping for the next 5 to 6 days.

At the main house, I was able to do my laundry and chat with Nadine and Jean-Marc. Nadine was surprised that my favorite architect is Frank Lloyd Wright and that I studied architecture for a summer at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design.

Nadine had designed her house with large windows and the long side of the house faces the water and the mountains, making the house to have a great view from the kitchen/dining area. Her house even has an attached greenhouse and a 16 foot ceiling. It made me feel the house is part of the vast landscape that’s surrounding it.

We sat on the porch admiring the view as we chatted. But around sunset the mosquitoes appeared and we moved back indoors. We had a very lovely meal consisted of a quiche, salad, ham, tomatoes, etc. Nadine also had a lot of dehydrated garlic that I love. She gave me some for my trip.

After dinner, I cleaned the dishes then walked back to my place in the back of the property. I went to bed after 9 PM.

This morning, I woke up at 6:15. The sun actually rises at 4:23 AM and sets at 8:22 PM, making the day to have 16 hours of sunlight.

Today, I don’t know how far I will ride. I’ll just cycle until I get tired and look for a campground or stealth camp.

The view from my seat in Café de la Traverse

On the bridge to Gaspé

Downtown Gaspé

An explorer from long time ago

Weird statue at the promenade

Birthplace of Canada

The big stone cross at Birthplace of Canada

Looking back on Gaspé

The bike trail in Sandy Beach

Nadine and Jean-Marc's property view

Sunset from Nadine and Jean-Marc's house

Nadine and Jean-Marc