Cap Aux Meules – christineswalkabout

Ferry Crossing, Île du Havre Aubert and Île du Cap Aux Meules

I was excited to drive onto the Madeleine II ferry for the five hour crossing to Cap Aux Meules which is the second largest, and most populated, of the Îles-de-la-Madeleine. It was a calm and beautiful day, with smooth sailing, and I enjoyed exploring the ship’s many lounges and outdoor decks.

Everyone was in a holiday mood, and this passenger was feeling very relaxed indeed!

I had hoped to get some blogging done, but when I asked about wifi, la madame a dit (avec un sourire), “On se connecte avec la mer.” I read, wandered, sorted photos, and wandered, and I was very excited for the first views of Île d’Entrée which is the only populated island that is not connected to the other islands of the archipelago. Here is a view from our closest passing,

and soon there were views of Cap aux Meules from the other side of the ship.

We headed for the Port du Cap Aux Meules, and had great views of the harbour as we entered and then waited for the first levels of vehicles to unload.

The harbour area and the town of Cap aux Meules (the main administrative and service centre of the islands) were very busy with people and traffic, and I went directly to my excellent and peaceful campsite at Barachois Camping on the other side of the island. My exploring would start the following day with a trip to Île Havre Aubert which is the southernmost island in the archipelago. It is connected to the island of Cap aux Meules by a highway that sits atop a long sandspit,

with the beach and sea on one side and a wide lagoon on the other which is bounded on its far side by another long spit. (It is super interesting to look at the geography of the islands using google maps, satellite view.)

On Les Îles I had expected to see long beaches, grassy dunes, lagoons, red sea cliffs, and colourful houses and characterful settlements, but the hills and the forests of the islands were a surprise to me. As I arrived on Île Havre Aubert, and approached its namesake town, I passed a sign for La Butte St. Antoine, a tall and steep grassy hill that called to me. I climbed up to here,

heading for the far peak, and noticed that a road can take cars half way up! But, it felt really good to climb after all of the level trails I walked on PEI! From the top there were views down to another, lower butte (de la Croix), and beyond that to the curving beach of La Grave and the long line of Sandy Hook spit in the distance.

I walked the trail down and then up to the top of Butte de la Croix, with views back to the higher butte and its grey and pink cliff slashing down to the sea.

This is a zoomed in view of La Grave below. It is a former fishing village, with its grey cedar-shake heritage buildings now housing art galleries, craft and gift shops, restaurants and boutiques.

I drove into La Grave, but it was very busy with people strolling and cars looking for parking. I found a spot, but had little desire to stroll with the tourists, so I went to the wonderful high beach of stones behind the shops, with views forward up the beach towards a headland, and looking back towards the buttes.

Next I drove to the harbour, with a stop on the hill heading up out of La Grave, for a great view back,

and then another stop to gaze across the shallow basin of Havre Amherst to the dunes of Sandy Hook spit, my next destination.

And here is the Sandy Hook beach! Looking first to the west,

then to the east.

Wow! The spit is around 6 km long and I walked about halfway, and was very happy indeed. I walked to around here, with views towards Île d’Entrée,

before turning for the walk back.

The strong wind was pushing dry grains of sand at speed over the darker wet grains, creating wispy, ever-shifting, and phantom-like ribbons of sand towards me. In places, the dry sand becomes trapped by an object and creates attractive patterns that were fun to photograph.

I found a quiet place for lunch, by the lagoon and out of the wind, and then I went for a walk along the Point à Margarite where I found lovely solitude, beautiful views, and then a patch of wild raspberries, perfect for dessert.

I continued along the south coast of Île Havre Aubert to the lighthouse at Cap du Sud,

and then along the west coast, loving the drive and the views of colourful houses scattered here and there over the undulating landscape. I made a quick stop at the beginning of Plage de l’Ouest where kite surfers were making the most of the wind. (You can click on any photo for a larger view.)

Then, I took the Rue de la Montagne east up into the hills, and through forest, to cut across the centre of the island, and for a few moments I felt like I could be on a B.C. Gulf Island. It was a very pretty drive!

I rejoined the main road, Highway 199, to return to Île Cap Aux Meules where I decided to explore several sites on the west side of the island before heading to my campsite. I headed for the Anse de l’Étang du Nord, where I admired this beautiful sculpture entitled, “Les Pecheurs”,

and then I continued to the lighthouse at Cap Hérissé which sits atop dramatically-sculpted and high red cliffs.

The views were spectacular from every angle as I walked all around and away from the lighthouse and along the cliffs.

In the distance I could see a small ridge of buttes,

and though I was beginning to feel tired I couldn’t resist the walk there, and then the climb up.

The wind waving through the grasses and flowers, the views, the sea, the air – it was all so incredibly beautiful and exhilirating!

I felt replete as I made my way back down to the lighthouse,

but I did make one last stop at the clifftops of La Belle Anse where I viewed the cliffs carefully, as common sense and the very graphic sign warns one to do!