July 16: Goodbye Gaspe

Water, water everywhere! I love riding around, under, and over water on my bike. Today’s ride from the Gaspe Peninsula, through New Brunswick, and into Nova Scotia was filled with water views and bridges over water – lakes, rivers, marshlands, and mud flats. After riding over 600 miles, I am now in yet another time zone and ready to depart for Newfoundland.

I woke up to blue skies and the sun on my face as the morning light cast an amber hue to the cliffs in the distance. My route south on highway 132 skirted the edge of the Gaspe Peninsula, providing many beautiful views of the sea beyond as well as the tiny villages on its shores.

The first couple hundred miles were fairly similar to yesterday’s ride – little coves and inlets surrounded by colorful homes and businesses facing the sea. Tourists and residents alike strolled along the sidewalks, ate at small local restaurants, and played on the beaches.

As I headed further south into New Brunswick I rode many bridges over bays, inlets, rivers, and marshlands. I saw several brightly painted lighthouses and a varied landscape – wet murky marshes sprouting with grass, vast mud flats with swirled shapes, and deep blue rivers and lakes. It seemed that everywhere I went I was greeted by water of some kind. Even as night fell, I was still able to enjoy the twinkling lights of homes and businesses on a variety of small lakes and rivers.

Today was less about exploring and more about arriving in North Sydney, the departure point for tomorrow’s ferry to Port Aux Basque, Newfoundland. I am excited about boarding the ferry tomorrow and reaching Argentia, a city on the southern tip of the Island and relatively close to the small French Islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon..