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
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