Romaine River Trip - Flight Delayed!

The delay was hard to deal with!
Photo: Dimitry Sapon

We should have known once we got into Havre St Pierre. The signs were all around us. After dinner as we got our stuff from the car to take into the hotel, the rain just dumped on us. Not only did we get soaked but we even had to wade through small lakes to get in the front entrance! Then of course the room we got was not even made! Sheets all over the place and windows opened - we won't even guess what went on in there! Then to top it off, the drain in the bathtub was partially clogged! Guess who showered last in the "pool"! (no one better have peed in there!!!)

Always being the first to get up, I immediately peered out the window. It was still grey overhead, but bright and promising. At least I thought. We had a great breakfast at a seaside cafe and set out packing with anticipation. We were all hyped and ready to go until we got to the airbase. Despite what we thought and could see into the distance, the area we wanted to go was covered in fog and mist. Not only that, Air Saguenay was 2-3 days behind in flights due to bad weather! Talk about instant dejection! Tomorrow at 11:00 was given as the next opportunity to fly out. We left "under the weather".

The beautiful north shore of the St Lawrence

Photo: Ben Albert

We decided to visit the St Lawrence (ironic that we visited her at the beginning rather than at the end) and release the pent up energy. Surprisingly, we were all pretty entertained - like kids in a big sandbox!

We became "engineers" and built a dam signifying the fate of the

Romaine. A submission will be made to Hydro Quebec

suggesting how effective sand dams would be.

Shhhh! That's our secret!!!

The male ego is the best way to burn unnecessary calories through competition - The Chasm Spanning Long Jump! Rob Dale representing Canadian Anglophones and Ben Albert representing Canadian Francophones

Rob's approach...

...impressive execution...



...picture perfect landing!



Ben's approach...


...his execution (yawn)...


...his pitiful landing! (ouch! lol!)



Later in the afternoon we drove further east to Baie-Johan-Beetz just for the hell of it. We probably should have driven to the end of the road at Pointe-Parent but we had enough of driving and turned back after visiting a Canada Parks office.






Between the small towns it was pretty barren out there.
But at the same time a mesmerizing landscape!
Photo: Ben Albert




Ben, get it together! Your jump wasn't really
(cough, cough) that bad!
Photo: Dimitry Sapon



Back at Havre St Pierre we got some groceries for supper before heading to a hilltop overlooking the town to set up camp. The air base was nearby and it was the best place considering most of the surrounding area was wet bog! Plus we were wary of the hotel!


As funny as it sounds, all four of us clowns crammed into a 2 man tent and played cards while polishing off the remaining beer. As expected, the hard day got to us as we eventually laid our heads down and actually all fell asleep! (trust me, no funny business here despite how we were positioned!) So much for day one of the "Romaine River trip"!


Finger crossed for the flight tomorrow!


Yes, this tent was the one. No!, we were not

on top of each other! Shesh!