After departing Cape Breton, Nova Scotia the night before, we arrived at the Magdalen Islands (known as Îles de la Madeleine in French) on a picture-perfect day. We split into three activity groups. One excursion was a bus tour of the islands, the second a scenic bike ride, and the third was a hiking tour across the beautiful landscape.
Our tour got to visit some of the archipelago’s striking red sandstone rock formations, a couple of picturesque lighthouses, and a tasting tour of a local artisanal cheese maker and smokehouse. This was in addition to an amazing lunch of mussels or fish and chips at wonderful restaurant in an old convent, and oysters on the back deck of National Geographic Explorer. It was a day rich in culinary adventures.
We were treated to some foot-stomping Acadian tunes played by talented local musicians Gilles Lapierre and Evan Martinet. Lapierre, who was also our tour guide for the day, is a masterful singer, storyteller, and player of the knucklebones, a percussion instrument made of beef rib bones that is used in a variety of folk music traditions. He and Martinet, the finest fiddler on the island, filled the ship’s lounge with joyful energy and toe-tapping rhythms.
