Living and Breathing Saguenay

Last weekend (29th Nov - 1st Dec), four friends and I went on a road trip to the village of L'Anse-Saint-Jean, near Saguenay in Quebec. We were all wanting to take a bit of a breather, get away from the city and see some Quebec countryside, especially after the beautiful snowfall that we had just had.

The best thing about road trips is that they often become a crash course in getting to know people. Our group was about as varied as can be - we each came from China, Iran, Aruba, Poland and Australia respectively, so had a lot to talk about. Our eight hour car trip became a sharing of cultures, languages and ideas, from things as trivial as food to politics.

Passing by Quebec City...already -6 degrees.

I found it quite surreal and odd to think about the fact that, though we all came from different corners of the world, we were all able to share and communicate with each other through the English language. I find it nice sometimes that it's my maternal language that often allows people from different backgrounds to communicate! It certainly rendered my heritage as boring though, so I tried to mix it up a bit by offering them some gems from the Australian dialect of English, such as the treasure of diphthongs and the easiest way to sound Australian (add 'mate' to the end of any sentence).

And interestingly, it was our diversity and interest in each other and the place we were visiting that made our adventure...well, all the more adventurous! (More on this later)

So, I was expecting the countryside to be beautiful near Saguenay...but not quite so beautiful as it really was. Every minute or so I had to stop and sigh as I saw another unexpected image of complete and utter beauty that literally took my breath away.

Taking the luge down the hill near the hostel, leaving for the day's activities, trekking through the woods, horse riding in the mountains...everywhere we went was stunning.

Leaving the hostel in the morning

On our way to go snowshoeing in the woods, we had come across some locals trying to get a car out of a ditch and had asked them what the best hiking route was. After about an hour of trekking it through the pristine countryside, admiring the absolute silence, gentle chill and still forest, we were starting to get a bit tired.

No wind, no sound, just silence

We were starting to doubt whether or not we were going the right way to the lookout when we suddenly heard the sound of motors behind us. We turned around to find the two guys from earlier - come to give us a lift on their snowmobiles!

They were some pretty cool dudes, and the man who was driving the snowmobile I got on had the need for speed! I for one screamed "Woohoo!!!" all the way down the mountain as we zoomed past the incredible scenery, breaking that calm and silence we had enjoyed earlier!

We were then led to the lookout, where we admired a spectacular view of the semi-frozen Fjord du Saguenay, lined with little chalets and snow-topped pines.

The Fjord du Saguenay

Our absolute awe at the surrounding scenery and our diversity led our new local mates to invite us into their chalet to warm up by the fire (a welcome haven from the -12 degree weather outside!). Whilst at first I was worried that things were sounding a bit too Wolf Creek-esque, it turned out that the men were so lovely and just genuinely nice locals, sharing a taste of their life with us. They explained that seeing tourists in awe of the views reminded them of how lucky they were to see it every week.

Chalet in the woods

They also recommended us a great diner called La Fringale where we rested for a poutine stop in the afternoon as the sun was setting.

I was just loving the welcoming spirit of the people from the villages and getting a sense for the variation in the way they spoke French too! As well as these men we met on the road, we also had a great experience with the guys who took us on our snowy horse ride adventure. The man running the tours was a legend, organising a trail ride for us at the last minute. 

Horse riding through the hills

I found the way he spoke French very warm and welcoming, and much more laid back than the city folk I've met in Montreal. I noticed in the villages that people used the word "là" a LOT - sometimes even filling whole questions with it!

Some examples I heard were:

• When we were organising the time for the ride: "Là, là? Je dois faire le ménage, là. Mais on peut le faire à 10h?"

• When he was showing us his warm clothing and how the locals dress themselves for winter : "Ça, là? C'est chaud, là."

I found it all very sweet and have started trying to work this gorgeous (and useful) little word into my conversations.

I found the other guy organising the trail ride interesting too - he had just finished uni and was in the process of building his own house, wanting to grow his own food and live in the woods, working with the horses. It was really nice to see how people lived in the villages, how they found happiness and dealt with other people - it has certainly been different from my experiences in cities.

We had a long, but safe trip home from a wonderful snowy adventure listening to some jolly Christmas tunes on the radio. When this one came on, it made me feel really nostalgic (but of Charlie Brown or Arrested Development I can't be sure!):

It sure was beautiful driving through the snow and admiring the views by the river on the way back. Here's hoping for a White Christmas this year!!

This week, I will finish my exams (yay!) and after that I will have one more week to make the most of the amazing city of Montreal. I have already had to say some goodbyes and it has been very sad so far but I'm trying not to think about it too much until the moment I have to leave for real!

Looking forward to a productive week!

Erin xo

Couldn't ask for better travel companions!