My Travel Adventure To The Canadian Maritimes Part One
It took only 55 hours to hitch 980KM (609 miles) from the south shore of Montreal to Moncton. While it's hardly a world record, it's pretty damn fast. I'm glad that I didn't spend $150 on a long bus journey.
I had spent a year in Ottawa, the national capital of Canada. Though Ottawa is my second favorite Canadian city after Montreal, I was slowly stagnating. Ottawa is a very staid and conservative city. During the summer it's a great city for biking and exploring the nature in and round the city. However, I was socially isolated and very lonely there. When Der Kosmonaut gets bogged down by stagnation, then it's time to hit the road.
I have long wanted to visit the East Coast of Canada known as The Maritimes. The Maritimes consist of the three provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. Gaspésie the easternmost peninsula of Quebec along with the island of Newfoundland comprise the rest of Atlantic Canada. Many Newfoundlanders will quickly remind central and western Canadians that they are not part of The Maritimes.
When I first moved to Montreal more than 15 years ago many of the first people I met were from The Maritimes. I obtained my first job in Montreal thanks to two men from New Brunswick. Also within my first year I met Francophone Acadians. I learnt the differences between the Quebecois and the Acadians. My first lover was from Gaspésie. My first girlfriend hailed from St. John's Newfoundland. My second girlfriend was an Acadian from Moncton, New Brunswick.
I learnt quite a bit about The Maritimes and Atlantic Canada from my many friends and lovers. I had long wanted to visit the region but never got around to doing so for various reasons. Mostly because of the distance. As the second largest country in the world by area, it takes quite a bit of time just to go from one province to a neighboring one. I was told that it's a 16 hour drive from Montreal to Moncton. Given the distance, the cost of travel is rather prohibitive. In my typical paradox, I actually ventured all the way to the North American West Coast and went as far as Eastern and Southeaster Europe before I traveled to The Maritimes.
I was done with Ottawa and I needed to see a new part of the world. The time was now ripe to make the journey East. Indeed, The Maritimes is the last part of North America I hadn't explored, which I had wanted. I've been to 29 US states plus the District of Columbia. The remaining 21 states I have no interest in seeing. In Canada, I have at least seen all of the main provinces between Quebec and British Columbia. I'm sure that the northern territories would be fascinating but since my travels are based on cultural and social interests, the far north of Canada never appealed to me. All that was left was The Maritimes. I knew that there was plenty of culture and that the social structures of the region would fascinate me.
As usual with most of my trips the problem was cash. How was I going to finance my journey and moreover how where would I stay and how would I eat. As always, these concerns are secondary as I have always managed to make my way. Even if some trips are disasters, such as my Swiss misadventure, I quickly retreat and make sure that I don't get trapped. Der Kosmonaut will periodically get stranded but I never get trapped forever.
I decided that that I would hitchhike from Ottawa to Montreal at the end of April. I would spend a month in Montreal. From there I would either hitch or take the bus from Montreal to New Brunswick. It was a nice return to Montreal. I got to meet many new people as well as reconnect with many old friends. I had wanted to organize some spoken word performances to raise funds for travel but that didn't pan out. However, I had made my mind up that I was going to The Maritimes come hell or high water. Once Der Kosmonaut makes up his mind to do something, it's set in stone.
Planning The Journey
I went to the bus terminal in Montreal to ask about the cost of a one way ticket to Fredericton. $150 was a bit too steep. In fact, it cost less to take Amtrak rail from Seattle to San Francisco which is a much greater distance. I had no other choice but to hitch. A few people in Montreal discouraged me from trying to hitch to New Brunswick. The distance was just too great. Moreover, trying to hitch from Quebec City to New Brunswick was risky as there is little traffic. I took that into consideration. I concluded that it would take between 15 hours and 15 days for me to hitch. Many suggested that I look for a ride-share online. Still, I had an initial budget of $10. Fortunately I was able to raise it to $20. That wasn't enough for a ride-share as many expect petrol money. $20 wasn't enough to cover petrol for the 813 KM distance.
The initial plan which I drew up was to hitch from town to town and find a place to stay each night via the Couch Surfing social media site. I thought that I would spend the first night in Quebec City. The second night in Montmagny and so on and so forth. There were a couple of snags to that plan. The first snag was that I was unable to find anyone to host me in Quebec City. The second snag was trying to get a lift. According to the hitchhiking online guide Hitchwiki.org, I would have to take the Montreal Metro next to the last stop, then take a one hour and forty-five bus ride to Repentigny and from there hitch to Quebec City. In other words, it would take me nearly three hours just to get far enough out of the city. The next snag was to discover that once in Quebec City, I would need to cross the mighty St. Lawrence River in order to hitch on to New Brunswick. To my dismay I read that it's impossible to get a lift from the bridges across the river to points east. I would have to take a ferry boat from Quebec City to Lévis. From the dock I would have to walk 5KM to the Trans-Canadian Highway. Between my backpack and my laptop case I'm carrying nearly 40KG of weight. To walk 5KM with that much cargo would be too much of a burden. Moreover, I needed to cross the St. Lawrence River to get to New Brunswick. I decided to take advantage of the Montreal Metro service to Longueuil. From Longueuil, I would hitch up to Lévis. Hitchwiki.org suggested that travelers heading east of Quebec City should asked to be let off at the St. Nicholas rest area and ask for a lift further east. I had more or less decided upon my route. I did my laundry the last night and I was ready to begin the next adventure.
Day One Longueuil-Lévis
When I hitched from Ottawa to Montreal one month earlier, I had a rough start. This was replicated leaving from Longueuil. Though I woke up at 7 o'clock, I didn't leave the house until after 9 which is
quite late. I took the Metro to Longueuil. The writer for the Hitchwiki
site didn't describe getting to the highway properly. They just wrote to
take the 81 bus to Autoroute 20.It would've helped had they written the bus stop street and
intersection. Shortly after the bus departed, I saw
that we passed the sign for the highway. I then asked the driver if she
went to that highway. She said no. I asked her if she stopped at
LaFrance Street. She hadn't heard of it. I got off the bus. I ended up
hiking about 5KM via a dead end. I finally got to the highway on-ramp
but lost 2 hours.
Then I waited about 90 minutes for a ride. I noticed a young man who looked like he too was hitching. He had a knowing yet contemptuous smirk on his face. He walked about 150 meters ahead to a better on-ramp. Again, the page should've have been more specific. He only waited 10 minutes before he got picked up. I went to the spot. For another 90 minutes no one picked me up.
A few meters away was a freight train going back and forth adding more cars. One of the rail workers noticed that I had been standing in the hot sun for 90 minutes without success. He came up to me and offered me two cups of water. He brought luck. A couple of minutes later I got my first lift.
A 20 year old picked me up and drove me to McMasterville. He even bought me a Maple Ice Coffee from Tim Horton's. I didn't have to wait for minutes for my next lift to Drummondville by a father and son. Not 5 minutes after they dropped me off, I got picked up by a truck that took me to the rest stop in Lévis.All in all, it took 6 hours to get there.
Then I waited about 90 minutes for a ride. I noticed a young man who looked like he too was hitching. He had a knowing yet contemptuous smirk on his face. He walked about 150 meters ahead to a better on-ramp. Again, the page should've have been more specific. He only waited 10 minutes before he got picked up. I went to the spot. For another 90 minutes no one picked me up.
A few meters away was a freight train going back and forth adding more cars. One of the rail workers noticed that I had been standing in the hot sun for 90 minutes without success. He came up to me and offered me two cups of water. He brought luck. A couple of minutes later I got my first lift.
A 20 year old picked me up and drove me to McMasterville. He even bought me a Maple Ice Coffee from Tim Horton's. I didn't have to wait for minutes for my next lift to Drummondville by a father and son. Not 5 minutes after they dropped me off, I got picked up by a truck that took me to the rest stop in Lévis.All in all, it took 6 hours to get there.
I asked many drivers if they were going east but no avail. Most were either going into Quebec City or they were heading north towards Chicoutimi. The sun had set. I never hitch at night. It's useless. Most people aren't going to pick up a hitchhiker at night, especially a man. The rest area had wireless internet connection with a seating area inside open 24 hours. I ate a chicken sandwich which had been left over from the previous day's brunch in Outremont. I wanted to buy a coffee but the machine only took coins. The cafeteria didn't have a change machine. I sure as hell didn't want to break the ten dollar note. Outside of the building there was a wooded area which was perfect for camping. I set up camp. For the first time in more than a year since I was on the streets of Seattle, I slept outside. It was a warm and pleasant night. I was secluded far enough in the woods and I had a decent and restful sleep.
Day Two Lévis-Edmunston, New Brunswick
The problem
with hitching to New Brunswick is trying to get past the bridges that lead to
Quebec City. Most of the traffic between Montreal goes across the
bridges. Fortunately at the rest stop I found a couple that gave me a
ride to the east side of Lévis the next morning. One hour after getting dropped off, I got picked up one hour later
by a guy driving a red jeep without doors. It was the first time I had
ever rode in a door-less vehicle. You can bet that I put on my seat
belt. The wind was refreshing as we sped east. I was slightly concerned
that having an accident. Even with the seat belt if the jeep capsized,
then it would be bye bye blackbird. The driver was blasting AC/DC on the stereo. I never gave AC/DC the attention and respect they deserved. Back in the 1980s I had a strong bias against Heavy Metal music. I thought bands like AC/DC were just noise without rhythm and rhyme. Moreover, growing up in the USA in the late 1970s and early 1980s there was a severe racist backlash against Disco music. Indeed, at school the kids were racially polarized. Nearly all the Black and Puetro Ricans in New York liked Disco as nearly all the whites liked rock. People forget that one of the reasons Ronald Reagan was elected in 1980 was due to the white racist backlash against Disco. Heavy Metal seemed to be the whitest of rock music. I always considered Metalheads to be dumb as rocks (thanks to Clarissa for that metaphor). This was reinforced by the dreadful 1990s MTV series Beavis and Butthead in which one of the characters wears an AC/DC t-shirt. White Metalheads seemed stupid banging their heads as if they were suffering from an epileptic seizure. Heavy Metal certainly didn't have the rhythm to dance to. However, in recent years I have come to appreciate and respect some Metal music. As a professional music producer and DJ, I have insight into how music is composed and played. I'm also less partisan than when I was younger. No genre of music has a monopoly of good or bad. Listening to AC/DC at full blast going more than 100KM/H on the Autoroute was an inexplicable joy. That's how bands like AC/DC are meant to be listened to. I paid close attention to the guitars, bass and drums. Those Aussie white boys knew what they were doing. Their lead singer, while not having the vocal range and talent of Prince, wasn't a slouch. I realized that AC/DC wasn't bullshit and that they earned their success and global fan base on their own talent. Besides, AC/DC 30 years ago is better than most of the music being produced today. I found myself nodding and swaying my head and tapping me feet as we sped down the highway.
Day Three Edmunston-Moncton
My original itinerary was to hitch from Edmunston to Fredericton. AVD, my best friend in Canada had suggested that I visit Fredericton as it's the nicest city in New Brunswick. She told me that Moncton was quite depressed but Fredericton had a couple of museums worth visiting and that there was more to do there culturally. When the -2 degrees Celsius gave me a rude awakening, I went to Tim Horton's to warm up and to drink a coffee. I walked to the Trans-Canadian Highway and thought that I would reach Fredericton by the afternoon.
The third day was
long and most unexpected. I thought that Fredericton would be my next
stop since it was the next big city on the way to the coast. However, I
got a lift with an Acadian. When I told him that Moncton was my final
destination, he said that he lived on the Acadian Coast and would take a
shortcut via Northern New Brunswick. My good Acadian friend in Montreal had suggested a few days before I embarked that I
should visit the Acadian Coast. So I agreed to be taken there and bypass
Fredericton all together.
My driver was really interesting. He
works in agriculture but as a radical engineer. He is the Wilhelm Reich of agriculture. We had a very long
conversation about pollution of the soil and food. He explained how
nutritionists have everything backasswards. He said that vegetables need
to have an energy balance. He said that vegetables that have a poor
energy balance as far as the chemical elements can actually be
detrimental to the body. He works with Orgone energy. He was quite
surprised that I knew about Orgone. I explained that I've read Wilhelm
Reich, who was the one that discovered Orgone. The driver also is using
salt from rocks in order to help farmers and big agribusiness companies
to improve farming techniques. He's worried about GMOs and the poisoning
of the land.
We drove along Chaleur Bay and saw the Gaspé peninsula about 30KM across. We drove through hundreds of kilometers of
woods. My driver explained to me about the Irving Company which is the
biggest in New Brunswick. Irving is in the lumber and oil industry. We then stopped
at an interesting Native restaurant for breakfast which he treated me
to.After breakfast ee drove on through Bathurst. From there we drove and
stopped at Caraquet which is the oldest French settlement in Canada
unofficially known as the Capital of Acadia. We visited a very nice
cafe and bookstore. I had an iced coffee. He let me off in his home town
of Tracadie.
Then I got another lift with a sketchy Acadian
who spoke no English. While my French as atrocious in the extreme, I understand 75% and I know enough to get by. While my best foreign language is German, the ability to speak and read in French and Spanish has saved my ass countless times. This driver seemed to be mentally unbalanced. He said that he would drive me to Mirimichi but
the vibes were weird. He was blasting the latest Nickelback CD. It wasn't bad but I exaggerated how much I liked it as I was slightly alarmed by him. It was also good that the music was loud that we didn't have to converse. He reached down to the floor of the car and produced a sharp knife but put it in the compartment between the driver's and passenger seat. I kept my composure. He dropped me off in Neguac even though he said that he would drive me to Mirimichi.
I tried to get
another lift when a father and son picked me up. They said that I was
right in the middle of the village and they would drive me a bit further
out. They let me out in a town called New Jersey. I kid you
not. Ha! I've been to New Brunswick, NJ in the USA. I had no idea that
there was a place called New Jersey in the Province of New Brunswick. The next time that I will talk
to Americans, especially those from the Northeast, I'm going to fuck
with them. I will tell them: "I've been to New Jersey, New Brunswick." To which they will
automatically reply: "You mean New Brunswick, New Jersey."
To be continued....
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Labels: Canada, Commentary, Current Affairs, Der Kosmonaut, New Brunswick, Quebec, Travel
1 Comments:
Hi Der,
I've just read part one of your adventure. Very Interesting and detailed; I look forward to reading more, in the near future. It was very nice to have met you and I wish you well in all your travels. Keep in touch and stay safe. Karen
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