09/29/2026
ILES-DE-LA-MADELEINE
After a day at sea we arrived at Cap-aux-Meules in the Iles-de-la-Madeleine, Quebec Province. Prior to arrival we popped along the corridor of our deck to the Bridge, where there is an ‘open door policy’. They even have a lounge for the visitors. It’s all very impressive.
We went ashore earlier than our tour time to have a little solo exploration. This is a charming little archipelago of only 13,000 residents, which receives about 70,000 visitors during the season (not including cruise ship passengers that are disgorged for only a few hours).
With wind gusts of about 35kmph we climbed the 187 steps to the Sentier du Littoral for a view of the harbour and island; blowy but exhilarating.
We joined our tour group to travel to the south of the island to Havre-Aubert where we visited charming artisan shops by the shore and chatted to locals (one invited me to his dance party that evening, thinking I was an overnight visitor and not a ‘blow in’ for only a few hours).
The most interesting part of the day was our visit to an old fisherman, Claude Bourgeois, who survived a shipwreck, decided not to return to the sea and created ‘The Site of Yesteryear’ on the hills of his property. It has miniature buildings from the past and some full size components, such as horses and carts - all made by hand by Claude.
While sitting in a room set up like a theatre, he told his tale in French as our guide, Annabelle, translated. Annabelle is a vivacious primary school teacher whose animated responses had both the fisherman and his audience laughing about a traumatic, near death experience - for which he was both surprised and grateful. He also demonstrated his still nimble net-making skills and how he used to trap lobsters. The whole thing was utterly delightful.
We finished with sunset views at the lighthouse on the red sandstone cliffs before making our way back to the ship.
Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours
