"The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in
its net of wonder forever."—Jacques Cousteau

Aug. 8 - Montreal, QC

Old Port
Yacht Club Montreal

We went through two commercial locks today on the St. Lawrence Seaway. They are much bigger than the ones on the Rideau Canal; these locks are used primarily for commercial traffic. The locking procedure is a little different at these locks. When we arrived at the St. Catherine Lock we had to dock, go up to a little building to use their phone to check in and then pay $25 by credit card...the wait can be long if there is much traffic. All commercial boats have priority and pleasure crafts have to wait. We were lucky...no other boats were coming either way. After we moved into the lock, they dropped lines down to us and we lowered 32', very quick and easy. The second lock was even easier...the doors were open and we drove right in.

We are now in Montreal in the area they call the Old Port. We had to go against a 4 knot current to get into the marina. We travel between 7-8 knots, so it was a bit slow going in, but we will be flying on the way out. Our first place to explore was Place Jacques Cartier, it’s an historic square in Old Montreal that is full of street corner artists, stalls selling fine handmade goods, and lots of restaurants and hotels. In the summer it comes alive with street performers, portrait painters and musicians. We sat on the terrace of L'aventure for lunch and watched the street performers. Nice location and our lunches were very good. We wandered through the small cobble streets of Old Montreal, enjoying the little shops and artists, and then rode our bikes along the Lachine Canal to Atwaters Market. It's an old public market full of fresh fruit, vegetables, meats and cheeses. We picked up a few things for dinner and headed back to the boat.

After dinner onboard we walked back to Place Jacques Cartier for ice cream. We have noticed people in the north love their ice cream; in Old Monteal there are at least 15 places to buy an ice cream cone. We spent the evening enjoying the street performers and watching people.

Place Jacques Cartier
Our lunch time music...country music with a French flare. They were very good.
Montreal City Hall
Path along the water in Old Montreal
Streets in Old Montreal
Bonsecours Market close to Old Port

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