{"id":33036,"date":"2014-08-01T10:53:51","date_gmt":"2014-08-01T14:53:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/motorcyclemojo.com\/?p=33036"},"modified":"2020-02-28T12:13:54","modified_gmt":"2020-02-28T17:13:54","slug":"madeleine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/motorcyclemojo.com\/2014\/08\/madeleine\/","title":{"rendered":"Island Hopping in the Gulf of St. Lawrence"},"content":{"rendered":"
Relaxation and a slower pace of life make the \u00celes de la Madeleine a true island getaway<\/p>\n
Across Colville Bay, the MV Madeleine plows along to her berth in Souris, Prince Edward Island. A yawing door opens, and I anxiously ride the Wing and trailer across oily steel floors into the depths of the ferry\u2019s catacombs and park. After climbing the stairs up three decks, a window becomes our entertainment for the five-hour crossing.<\/p>\n
A chain of Islands appears on the horizon in the middle of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The original name for \u00celes de la Madeleine is Monagoesenog meaning \u201cislands swept by the surf.\u201d The native Micmac word appears fitting on our approach.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Carefully inching my way off the ferry, we turn right onto Route 199, the main road connecting this archipelago of seven main islands, eight if you include the uninhabited and hard-to-get-to \u00cele Brion. The Wing churns over the hill, as Madeleine\u2019s miles of beaches, interspersed with ancient volcanic cones covered in green, spread before us. Our destination is the Grande Entr\u00e9e at the north end of the archipelago, all connected by spits of land and causeways. Slipping into top gear, we roll along, eyes darting left and right to take in Madeleine\u2019s unique landscape. With its windswept dunes and flaming red bluffs, it is still much like it was when Jacques Cartier first landed on \u00cele Brion in 1534 on his way to New France.<\/p>\n In the distance a tall tower splits the horizon, and as we get closer, I carefully pull off the pavement, being wary of the gravel that can give way to deep sand at any point. A half-ton motorcycle does not do well in sand. On our right stands a tall, vertical structure with two curved aerofoil blades mounted at the top and bottom of a rotating central shaft. It sits silently, spinning in the never-ending wind of the open sea. Invented in 1931 by Frenchman Georges Jean Marie Darrieus, this peculiarity is one of his two vertical-axis wind turbines in Quebec, the other to be found near Cap Chat on the Gasp\u00e9 Peninsula.<\/p>\n I carefully manoeuvre back onto the pavement, and a few miles later we pass the Canadian Salt Company mine, a huge reserve of salt that provides employment for many Madelinots. With not much daylight left, I speed up, winding left and right through Grosse-\u00cele, an English speaking community amongst this group of Quebec-owned islands. Grosse-\u00cele\u2019s heritage dates back to early Scottish settlers who fished these waters, and in an otherwise French-speaking area, Grosse-\u00cele stands alone, fiercely protecting its rich heritage.<\/p>\n Across another causeway, I make a hard right-hander and motor up a hill where we stop for Tina to mail a few postcards. At the top of the hill, another hard left takes us past an old Anglican Church beside a workshop with a pile of lobster traps that are being repaired for the next season. Lobster fishing is a very big industry here in Grosse-\u00cele, and at the road\u2019s end sits the largest lobster processing plant in Quebec.<\/p>\n