Just as the pendulum swings, drawing patterns in the sand, tides and currents churn, building islands that are ever changing with the times. Rocky islets are slowly nibbled away, while the swirling waters draw tail-like bands on others or join a cluster with dunes embracing lagoons.
Long and narrow, Les Îles de la Madeleine or the Magdalen Islands appear as strange comma or fishhook shape in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Lush and verdant vegetation caps terra cotta colored sandstone cliffs while sandy beaches abut lagoons and wetlands hosting a plethora of life.
Île d’Entrée was first to capture our attention in the early morning light, its reddish hue gradually becoming visible beneath an abstract pattern of clouds that appeared to emanate from its summit. Gannets drifted past, glowing brightly like a light against the still dark western sky. Ahead electric lights twinkled from the village of Cap Aux Meules.
It became quickly apparent that tourism and fishing were important economic activities in this unique island archipelago where French is the dominant language. As one might expect, shoaling, shifting sands caught many vessels by surprise and shipwrecks played a major role in not just providing wood for construction over many generations but bringing an influx of new settlers as well. What was a surprise to many was why some of the earliest inhabitants came. Fishing was important then just as it is today but hunting of walrus and seals also encouraged colonization hundreds of years ago. Acadians, expelled from Nova Scotia to New England or France, yearned for land to be their own and these islets were just the answer.
How can one possibly drink in the diversity of an almost 90 kilometer stretch of land in just a few hours? We decided to divide and conquer and as we poured from the gangway buses dispersed in multiple directions. We did a pretty thorough job of exploring the inner edges of Île du Havre Aubert where the Musée de la Mer proved to be a must-see stop. As the rain began to pour down, indoor explorations looked more and more attractive and we found ourselves at various times investigating unique sand handicrafts and sampling local beers back on the Île du Cap aux Meule. Between the showers we drank of the odor of the sea and strolled through wood and meadow. Everywhere colorful houses sprouted from the soil enticing many to consider a future extension of visitation. Quite possibly the evening’s fresh seafood dinner might enlist a few more to return to Quebec’s Îles de la Madeleine.
