By Chris & Rick Millikan
Saguenay’s vast region lies within an hour’s flight from Montreal. From our European-style auberge in La Baie, our whirlwind of experiences extraordinaire starts above Saguenay Fjord at Nouvelle-France.
Inside its replicated Huron longhouse, we admire clay pots and gourd vessels, finger plush furs and model ritual masks. Outside, slender saplings form a palisade surrounding gardens of corn, beans and squash; a fish drying rack and meat smoker stand nearby. We’d seen this fascinating setting before in Black Robe, a Canadian movie depicting early Jesuit priests struggling to convert natives to Christianity.
Later seated on rustic church benches, a stern nun describes her harrowing voyage here and nursing duties in the tiny colony. Such actors dressed in 17th century garb re-enact Quebec’s early life. Over at Champlain’s trading post, a buckskinned gent expounds, “Trade furs for tools; eggs for beads, produce for textiles or utensils. Only Christians can barter for muskets!” At the shoreline, a Montagnaise in beaded deerskin dress describes her nomadic life from under a pelt-covered lean-to. Steadily drumming, she tells a haunting legend…her loon calls echoing across the fjord!
A gigantic barn encloses an equestrian extravaganza! Music soars as ponies and workhorses, once essential to survival in New France, perform choreographed dressage. Colonially dressed riders execute extraordinary acrobatics. A cirque du soleil-style aerialist, comedic bon vivant and show-stealing dog heighten our thrills and earn a standing ovation!
The cafeteria’s regional cuisine pleases our palates, particularly savory oven-simmered tortiere and soupe gourgane, thick with meaty broad beans. In upcoming days, we savor crepes, croissants spread with local cheeses, herbed northern walleye and cheesy poutine. Abundant after July, fresh blueberries create scrumptious pastries, parfaits and tortes.
At Musee du Fjord in La Baie, we bone up on fjord science, including fanciful myths! Across the street soap making and glass blowing studios beckon before returning to our auberge to spruce up. That evening we attend Theatre Palace Arvida and enjoy Quebec Issime, tracing Quebec’s musical history. Far from fluent in French, we immerse ourselves in the power, passion and pizzazz of this sensational revue.
Next morning we board a boat at L’Ans Saint Jean, a pretty village once adorning $1000 bills…and we’re soon immersed in million dollar views along Saguenay Fjord. “Carved during the ice age, THIS is one of the world’s longest fjords…and least known,” announces the captain. “Freshwater fish like trout and smelt and saltwater species like cod, Atlantic redfish and Greenland shark flourish here, along with 410 species of invertebrates.” Basking seals cluster ashore, but alas, no beluga, other whale sightings…or monsters!
In Saguenay National Park we follow the winding shoreline to a huge monolith sheered from the mountain eons ago, now providing a shelter for lectures or picnics. Shaded boardwalks lead us onto tranquil forested trails bordered by surprising saffron-coloured mushrooms. Outside this park, a municipal park displays a Creche collection of twenty life-sized nativity scenes created by Quebec’s artisans.
On another day, we stroll throughout spectacular Jardin Scullion in Alma. The owner transformed abandoned farmland into an Eden of glorious flowers bordered by cultured forests…
Our trip ends in Chicoutimi; the 1899 heritage hotel proves ideal for exploration. A red tourist bus takes us to La Pulperie, now a museum. This historic pulp mill displays captivating exhibits: one reveals the city’s enterprising past and mill workers’ difficult lives; the main gallery features self-taught painter Arthur Villeneuve, whose folk artwork and home vividly detail local life.
Though wishing to bask longer in this beguiling French-Canadian culture, we bid au revoir carrying back warm memories…and boxes of prized chocolate covered blueberries from Vieux Port’s Farmer’s Market!