Percé

Halfway down the last hill into Percé, I had to stop and take a break. I had been holding on to the brakes so tightly and for so long, that my hands cramped up and I was unable to brake at all. After a few minutes of resting and stretching, I was able to continue, but not before Luke came back trying to find out where I was, thinking there may have been another crash or breakdown.

As we pulled into town, we could tell from the amount of mist in the air that w

e must be close to water, but we couldn`t see more than a few meters down the road. Stopping in at the T

ourist Info, we discovered there were several campgrounds in the area, and we opted to take one right in town, so that we could check out the area for a few days.

This turned out to be a great choice, because the next day was bright and sunny, and we finally got our first glimpse of Roché Percé, a 450m long limestone island with a hole eroded right through, and another tower beside, which was once another hole but collapsed in the 1840`s. We decided to be true tourists, and take the boat tour around the rock, and over to Bonaventure Island where we spent the afternoon hiking and sightseeing.

Bonaventure Island was one of the first seasonal fishing ports in the area, and at one time had over 150 full time residents. Now, the entire Island is owned by the province, and has been turned into a provincial historic site. As well as having historic buildings,

and hiking trails, the island is also a bird sanctuary, with the worlds largest Gannet population (121 000). On the island you can also find hundreds of other bird species, including puffins, warblers, auks, gulls... a great place to visit if you are into bird watching! The island is surrounded by steep cliffs, and there are no predators for the birds, so they are able to build their nests and relax for the summer. Around the island you can also see seals and sometimes whales.

The next morning was rainy and stormy, and we decided to hang out for a little longer. The afternoon cleared up, and we were able to do a really cool hike up Mount Sainte Anne, the little mountain right beside town. Halfway up we got more great views of Percé Rock, and had a surprise when we hit the summit...

At the top of the 4x4 road and winding trails, we looked up to see a huge statue of Sainte Anne, as well as seating for several dozen people. Apparently the top of the mountain has been used as a place for worship and pilgrimages for thousands of years, and there is a church service help on top of the mountain each year. Sainte Anne is the patron saint of fishermen, and thus played a very important role for the Catholic settlers in the area.

The next morning we woke up ready to hit the road, so we packed up, and tried to head out of town. Tried being the key word here, as Luke realised as we were leaving the tent site, that he had a flat tire. It looked like a valve problem, so he pumped up the tire, resealed the valve, and we took off.

Since leaving northern Lake Superior we have not gone any great distances without major centers. As Luke grabbed his loaded bike he noticed that there was no air in his back tire.

It looked as though the valve of the tube was not sealing properly. He pumped it up, resealed the valve and all seemed good so we headed out. After a little over 7km, we stopped to get a drink, and Luke`s tire was low again, the valve was still not sealing properly, the tube was garbage. We began to be slightly concerned as we only had one more tube and it was an older tube that was previously patched. The concern was that we hadn`t actually realized until this moment that it was possible that although towns were almost continuous

it was unlikely that any centers were going to be big enough to have a bike shop for 2-3 hundred kms. So armed with only a patch kit and using the hand pump Luke pumped up our last tube and just before he finished...whoosh...the valve stem broke off. Un-patchable and at least for us un-fixable although we did try. As we sat there contemplating our lack of options a bus pulled up right in front of us, we asked if they take bikes, they said, "yes be back here tomorrow at 2:30."

So we grabbed a b@b across the street and at 2:30 the next day we boarded the bus for Campbellton NB, where we were lucky enough to WarmShower with André and Charline, and their two sons Zacharie and Martin. They also had another family staying with them, from France, who were biking across Canada, and then heading down to the tip of South America. This tour will take them 20 months, and the 4 children are currently 4, 6, 10, and 13. What an adventure! To check out more about the trip and their family, their website is http://cyclaubertein.com/.